I heard this song the other day, and it reminded me of my youth, but more specifically, the pool I swam (lived) at when I was a kid. It's Aretha Franklin ft. George Michael "I Knew You Were Waiting".
Great song. Makes me flashback to smells of chlorine, tastes of deep-frozen Snickers bars and that irreplaceable feeling of having the time of your life just splashing around with your best friends. The sounds of soft rock ever-present in the background.
Summerhaven, later Paddock, wasn't exclusive. It wasn't ritzy. Hell, I'm not afraid to admit the place was kind of a dump. But it was the community's dump. And we loved it. My parents, along with a group of others kept the place weedless, wet and working until and amid the 90's North St. Louis County white-flight. They did all they could do, but couldn't keep the place going, so it closed. It was a church for a while, but I think now its just a concrete hole filled with rain water. Disgusting, desolate and depressing.
What my parents and the others may now see as a worthless struggle or wasted time, I look back on as some of the best times of my life. Due to their hard word I not only learned the Butterfly and Backstroke, but how hard work, cooperation and friendship can accomplish amazing things.
"Thanks."
Here is short list of other songs that graced mine ears while frolicking in the sun and splashing in the pool... wearing Speedos, mind you. I looked good:
1. Every Little Kiss - Bruce Hornsby
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2. Valerie - Steve Winwood
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3. These Dreams - Heart
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4. I Want To Dance With Somebody - Whitney Houston
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5. The Motown Song - Rod Stewart
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6. Do You Believe In Love - Huey Lewis and the News
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7. Middle of the Night - Billy Joel
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8. When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going - Billy Ocean
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9. Hard To Say I'm Sorry - Chicago
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10. Free Fallin - Tom Petty
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Check back in the next few days, and I'll post some photos of the pool and my Speedos.
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