Louisa & Louisa – A Swimming Story
Photo © Stephen Flint
After a predictably quiet summer, everyone was returning to work and the kids were back at school. I spent a large portion of August (less so in July, basically due to the rubbish weather) at my local New York City “free” outdoor swimming pool. “Free” is good, especially when you are broke, and boy oh boy, did that water feel fantastic! I find swimming to not only be great physical exercise, but also a very mentally therapeutic and emotionally calming activity. I’ve always enjoyed swimming but I’m not a huge fan of the beaches around the New York area. I’d rather be in the Caribbean (who wouldn’t?) but that wasn’t an option, and the hurricanes had been producing such big waves and rip tides that you couldn’t really swim in the ocean, even if you wanted to. So it was the Tony Dapolito Recreation Center for me and I felt extremely grateful to have a swimming pool so close to where I live. Formerly the Carmine Recreation Center, it was renamed after Tony Dapolito, “The Mayor of Greenwich Village” whose family had started the famous Italian bakery Vesuvio’s on Prince Street.
