A Story from the Sauna

He greeted me cheerily when I entered the sauna after my workout. He was small and of a wiry build. His wife, an attractive blond, sat quietly next to him. He was immediately talkative, telling me that he and his wife came to Evans Plunge every year on their vacation to the Black Hills. After a bit of chit chat, without any prompting on my part, he eagerly shared his story.

I was born in Poland. In 1974, when I was twenty, the Russians were in control of Poland and I wanted to escape the oppression. All that was on TV were stories of Russia and the bad things about America. There was one exception. We watched Bonanza. We loved that show and I wanted to go to America to see the cowboys. My friend, who was nineteen, and I went to a festival in France with a group. We jumped from the train in West Berlin looking for asylum. Since I had a trade as a tool and die maker I could get work with the English army until I could get papers to go to another country. the Poles had worked with the British and there were many of them that had stayed on in West Berlin after the war. That was good for me since I could communicate with them. I only wanted to go to America, but in order to be accepted then I needed three things: 1. to be healthy 2. to have a trade so I could support myself and 3. I had to serve in the American army and go to Vietnam.

I was so eager to go to American that I accepted those conditions, including military service in Vietnam. The war ended in 1975 so I did not have to go in the service, but I had been willing to do my part in order to get to America. At that time we immigrants got no health insurance or welfare. I met my wife in Chicago and when she went to the hospital to have our baby, I paid all the bills from my work. I never asked for any help. Today my son is a successful businessman.

In time I traveled throughout the States, and after working and living in New York and Chicago we settled in Wisconsin. I could not go back to see my family in Poland until 1990, but then I brought my mother and siblings to America.

"I want to write your story", I said to him as I got up to leave the sauna, sweating profusely. I had stayed too long, fascinated by his story and his enthusiasm. "I won't use your name."

"My name is Stanley", he said as I left.

Food for thought: it is because of a TV western that our country has been enriched by a Polish immigrant and his family.

Three Vets in the Sauna

"I served two tours in Iraq. I was wounded and after I left the service I found the best VA for helping me return to health is this VA in Hot Springs."

"I fought for our country in many wars from Desert Storm to Iraq to Afghanistan. I was a Ranger, testified before Congress about the conditions at Walter Reed hospital, I was wounded, have a plate in my chest and am part of the Wounded Warrior program."

"I love this VA and this town. I am from Boston and have been to other VA hospitals and I can tell you this one is the best. I love the peace and serenity here. People greet me on the street."

Three veterans using our Plunge. One of them believes that the water is helping to alleviate his PTSD symptoms. All three were sweating in the sauna, sharing some of their battle stories. One shared a photo on his cell phone of a very poisonous spider that roams Iraq, or Afghanistan, I can't recall which country it was since he served several tours in both countries.

These young men fought for our country. One loved the years in the service but was angry and frustrated about his medical treatment on his return. The best medical care was at a VA that the government was cutting. His distrust with our government was blatant as was the frustration with Congress. He said his entire family had served in the military in all different conflicts, but he was telling his son not to enter the military after what he was experiencing at the present time.

I remained in that sauna far too long, captivated by the war stories of fears, frustrations, anger and pain. Finally I had to leave, but before I closed the door I took one final look back at these men who appeared so healthy and fit. Because of what they had shared I saw further than the robust external into the shattered internal pieces that could linger forever. Will they ever return to "normal", whatever that is? Will they find their way back to a life that they once knew? Will they gain internal strength and hope?

I wonder and I wonder some more. Most of all I cling to hope. We here in Hot Springs have fought the battle to keep our VA open for our veterans for over 4 years. Our battle has not cost us our mental health as those three who served our country. It has cost us time, effort and some anguish. It is a small price to pay.

Connections

Remember the TV sitcom Cheers, "where everybody knows you name?" Maybe the bar is not the best place for connecting with others, but for many, that is their world.

For others there are jobs, family members, churches, civic and social groups that offer support systems, but retirement, death, divorce, job changes all take their toll on a social life and eventually many of us find our world shrinking with fewer of those contacts that made our life richer and healthier.

We all know the routine: the benefits of exercise, a balanced diet and staying involved. Aging does not imply sitting in front of the TV or computer all day, but rather movement, movement and more movement, be it running, biking, swimming, yoga, walking, lifting weights, dancing or whatever....just keep moving....often and regularly.

We in Hot Springs, SD are fortunate to have opportunities, no matter the weather, for movement, and, surprise, surprise, for making those most important social connections. Of course Evans Plunge offers exercise equipment, a walking route, a pool filled with natural spring waters and a health club for the aching muscles. What is not promoted or touted in any manner is the opportunity for socializing, so vital to well-being. Where does this happen? In the small area filled with heat. The hot tubs, sauna and steam rooms offer endless possibilities for vigorous or casual conversations and, after a time, friendships with some regular members.

I don't fancy bars, my job is long retired, family members and former friends have passed on, (my Christmas card list has grown shorter each year), my children have pursued jobs several states away, friends have dispersed to far-away places, (as have I) but new contacts keep rising to help me stay involved with life and also the intimacy and warmth of the health club at our local community fitness center offers opportunities for cultural exchanges with tourists from Austria or interactions with members who prefer to frequent a health club to sitting at a local bar.

                                                   Cheers for our health club...where many know your name!

The Best Facelift!

Oh, yeah, our municipal pool, Evans Plunge, has a new look after the annual two-week closure. Long time members say that never have they seen so many improvements after a yearly closure. In addition to the yearly pool cleaning, new non-slip flooring has been installed around the pool, new flooring in the lobby and gift shop, new ceiling tiles, separate showers in men's and women's locker rooms, private dressing rooms in the men's locker, new paint, mirrors, counters, sinks and many other additions.

There will be more improvements to come as finances allow, but for now we members are delighted. This was all done under government ownership! The city of Hot Springs appears to be more interested in the safety and health of members and visitors than making a bundle. They are close to breaking even and that is in the best interests of those using a facility dedicated to maintaining good health through its exercise equipment, renewing chlorine-free spring water and a rejuvenating health club with steam room, sauna and hot tubs.

The best news is that the city is keeping the facility open year round, unlike under private ownership. The city maintains a public library to nourish the mind, a convention center to facilitate meetings and cultural events and a public pool and health club to promote a healthy lifestyle for its citizens. This is of special importance to those of us who may not be able to keep our bodies fit without the healing waters.

We are extremely fortunate to have the world's largest indoor mineral spring water pool in our back yard, and available to us all year round. Ah.....as I write these words I can feel the soothing heat of the sauna, wiping away the stresses and arthritis that come with daily living.

More improvements to come. Stay tuned!

Men' lockers with private dressing rooms and showers, new paint, sinks and ceiling tiles.

And the turtle still swims in the river!












Women's locker room has new mirrors, counters, paint, ceiling tiles and.....





Private showers!
And the mermaid still graces the wall!

Come on in to Evans Plunge and exercise in the chlorine-free mineral spring waters of the pool. Your body will thank you as you soak in the steam room or relax in the hot tubs and your kids will have a ball! Open year round....closed on Tuesdays during the winter season. Check out their website for many more photos, history, hours, etc. Google Evans Plunge.

Sweat and Tears

We sat side by side, sweating in the sauna.

"I really want to get off of meds. I got back from Afghanistan and nothing fits. My wife no longer understands me. I came here to the VA to get help with my issues she doesn't understand, and they put me on more meds. I really love coming here to the Plunge. I can work out upstairs, in the water and then relax in the health club. I come here everyday. I want to get off of my meds and use the natural things to help my nerves and nightmares."

He talked rapidly, barely pausing for a breath or a response from me. Finally he paused and looked over at me, as if waiting for a reaction to his litany.

"Have your tried acupuncture or yoga?" I asked him. "Both of those services are offered here in town."

"I want to try both of those. I want to try every thing the natural way and get off of all those medications."

With those words he bounced off of the bench and disappeared out the door. His friend from the domiciliary was sitting across the sauna. He now had his chance to talk and he told me that he had come for treatment from Denver.

"I really love this VA and this town. I want to move here some day and make this my home", he told me. "It is easier to manage my issues in this peaceful community."

Two other veterans from the Dom came into the sauna. All four of them came to the Plunge every day.  They were all delighted with the amenities that our Plunge had to offer. They loved to let off steam with exercise, water, hot tubs and the steam. All four wanted to try natural means for healing instead of the artificial drugs which offered temporary relief and maybe, just maybe, added addictions.

All four were struggling to find their way back to society, back to their families, back to work. For now they felt safe within the VA system, but they also knew it was a temporary haven and they all echoed that they wanted to find their way back to "normal", whatever that was. So much had changed for them during their years in the service. They were different somehow and civilian life seemed confusing and unwelcoming.

"We used alcohol and drugs to soothe our anxieties. We just added another problem to our emotional ones. Now we have to deal with both."

I was happy that they found some part of "normal" while making use of the Plunge. I watched them join in with other townspeople in water volleyball and basketball. Looking on I would never have guessed that they were struggling with PTSD and substance abuse issues.

I doubt is any of us have reached perfect "normal" during our lifetimes. Perhaps it is best that we haven't. We all have our dark sides to battle at times. For me it helps in understanding those four veterans desperate to find some normalcy. I know of no one who has attained perfection. And, I believe that is what makes all of us interesting. Flaws weave a pattern of richness into a tapestry of humanness.  I wish, with all my being, that in some small way these veterans find some peace in their present lengthy conflict, a struggle that is possibly more difficult than the battle they fought overseas.

When I left the Health Club at the Plunge all four veterans were soaking, laughing and talking in the hot tub. They all looked relaxed and like the usual tourists. "What a nice old lady", one of them said as I waved goodbye.

Welcome home, guys.

An Amazing Veteran

First the VA cut the funding for veterans in treatment in the domiciliary to use our health club. (The Plunge).

Next our city allowed them access to the Plunge for $2.00 with the meal card used as proof they were in the Dom.

Then the VA called the Plunge and told them that they could not allow this. First they used the word "confidentiality", then they said "we cannot endorse use of the card", and the latest is something about the VA not allowing this for whatever.....

A veteran who went through treatment in the Dom and realized the importance of the Plunge in the healing process called someone at the Dom and asked how they could make this work for the benefit of the veterans. No response.

Today this same veteran went to the Dom and asked the person in in-take if she could print up a card in the packet that all veterans receive on entry into the treatment programs that told them that they could have entry into the Plunge for the reduced fee if they showed the card. This card eliminates the other reasons and would be exclusive to our local VA facility.

Sounds like a win-win for everyone. It will be brought up at a staff meeting on Monday. We are waiting to see what comes out of this jumble of regulations, restrictions and "word games" that has prevented our veterans who served, being served by our community, the Veterans Town of Hot Springs, SD.

Whatever the outcome, my hat is off to this veteran who does not see "problems", but rather looks for "solutions" and keeps searching until he finds one. He continues to serve.

Does the VA Really Care About Our Veterans?

Wait just one minute here. What are the ads from the VA touting on TV? "Hire veterans." Veterans, call this number for help." Etc,etc.

Then, on the other hand, are the numerous suicides, and recent Phoenix VA scandals, VA backlogs and rural VA closures around the country. What is wrong with this picture? We send our soldiers to other countries to "protect our freedoms," but when they return they wait months for care, become homeless, lose jobs and get lost in the cracks of our "freedoms".

We in the Veterans Town face this reality daily. The VA is trying to close one of the best VA facilities in this country for PTSD, substance abuse, brain trauma and other emotional issues located for over 100 years on the hill overlooking our town. They have been bleeding services over the past 15 years as I have written about in my book, Reveille in Hot Springs.

Recently I wrote about the VA cutting the funding for our veterans in our domiciliary to enjoy the facilities of our local health club known as The Plunge. Our city, which now owns the Plunge, decided that these veterans should not be penalized from the use of our healing mineral waters, and told the veterans that they could gain access for a $2.00 fee. The VA (funded by taxpayers) would pay nothing. We thought it was a win-win for the veterans and the VA.

Guess what? Are you ready for this? This week two of the employees at the VA called the Plunge to tell them (tell them--not ask, not negotiate, not talk to the mayor who is in charge) that veterans could no longer show their meal tickets as identification for the reduced fee for use of all of the facilities of the Plunge health club. They used some lame excuse such as confidentiality. I say lame because only recently the VA paid several thousand dollars a year for the veterans to make use of the Plunge by showing proof of their being in treatment in the Dom. The veterans who may have been concerned about confidentiality would pay full price for admittance or would not go to the Plunge. It was their decision.

What is wrong with this picture? Does this show a caring VA? Are they really interested in helping our veterans regain a place in society? This VA was built here originally because of the serene, beautiful valley with the warm, flowing mineral waters. Now the veterans who cannot afford full rates, many of whom are homeless at this time, will be denied a support to their healing.

The VA is not choosing win-win, but rather, it seems to me, a lose-lose. But someone must win in all of this. We know it is not the veterans, the town or the taxpayers. Who stands to gain from this mess?

A Victory for our Veterans

We sat side by side in the hot tub. "I would come here more often if I could afford it," he said to me. "I am in the Dom for six months and love to relax here and mix in with regular people. It is good to get away for a bit from the struggles and turmoil of recovery."

Ouch, those words hurt when I first heard them, but it was true! Mingled in with all of the cut-backs by the VA in Hot Springs was one that went almost unnoticed by most. It was not a closure of surgery, the laundry, the greenhouse, the library or many beds in the domiciliary that have occurred,  but it was a cut that did have an impact on many receiving treatment for emotional issues in the "Dom".

Last year the VA stopped the practice of allowing veterans in treatment free access to the use of the facilities at our Evans Plunge, which includes exercise equipment, the pool filled with natural spring mineral waters, and the soothing effects of the health club hot tubs, sauna and steam room.

The city of Hot Springs used to fund half of the expenses and the VA funded the other half. Since the VA stopped paying, a few veterans who could afford the fee would use the Plunge, but many could not afford the entry price. Hot Springs is not the Veterans Town in name only. The city purchased the Plunge last summer and could offer a solution. Starting this month veterans in the treatment program at the Dom can use the health club for a nominal fee of $2.00. The VA may have made another cut to our veterans, but the city of Hot Springs made the decision that  our health club is an important part in the recovery of those suffering from PTSD, substance abuse, brain trauma or other emotional issues. They are welcome at our Plunge along with the locals who use the Plunge regularly as part of their health regime.

We are a community of healing, we honor veterans and in this latest quiet gesture we are saying, "Welcome to our town, welcome to our health club, welcome to another assist to your recovery."

Now I can relax in the health club and be assured that the veterans can, and do, make use of what I often so casually take for granted. I join them in a lifetime of healing.

Tiny Steps to Reconciliation

For a brief time we faced one another in the steam room at the Plunge. Through the mist we shared our thoughts. She was angry and set against the "white man."

"We will not forget or accept your conquest. No one owns this water. The water comes from Mother Earth and is for everyone," she said angrily.

"Now that the city owns the Plunge and has the use of the water, it belongs to all of us. It is not longer in private hands so you and I and everyone have a right to the use of this water", I replied. "I would like to see an elder from Pine Ridge bless this water as a sign that all of us together share this water."

"No matter", she answered sharply. "It will make no difference. We will not forget how you took this land and now say that you own it and the water."

I felt the strength of her anger after years of her people being betrayed and losing their culture and way of life through the "eminent domain" belief of one race over another. Her ancestors, and herself, had lost their land, their language and their spirituality. Her feelings of rage were in sharp contrast from others of her Sioux ancestry who had achieved forgiveness in spite of the past injuries. I had met several in that steam room who reached out to me in love and gentleness. I remembered them and tried to hold their level of peace while feeling her anger bombarding me at that time in that place.

"My hope is for us to accept what we have now and cannot change and move on together toward a shared understanding and greater knowledge of one another as a people. Perhaps in that way we will create some change."

"Well", she acknowledged, "I have lived in Hot Springs for a long time and it is the least racist town in the Black Hills."

"I take that as a compliment. Let us start from there."  I did appreciate her one gesture of acceptance that we have made progress. I know well of the past history of the extreme racism prevalent in this area. I know that everywhere in everyplace prejudice and hostility still exists. But we are taking steps, little by little, toward understanding one another and through that understanding, reaching forgiveness.

So, we are the "least racist" community. I take that as a meaningful gesture we have achieved some wisdom. One little step and then another, can add up to a powerful amount of forgiveness in time.

Plunge into Health

Wow, yes we do! We have warm water during all seasons. Our community is most fortunate in that we have a pool filled with natural flowing mineral waters open year-round. It is named Evans Plunge and it attracts tourists world wide since it is the largest mineral water pool in the United States.

My husband and I use the water three times a week. Some of our time is spent chatting with tourists and locals, especially opportune while using the steam room, hot tubs or sauna. This week I met a woman from Colorado who brought her family to Hot Springs on their spring break. During their stay in our town they rented a cabin, spent one day at the Plunge, had eaten at restaurants, walked our lovely river walk through town, stopped at local shops, visited the Mammoth Site, the Wild Horse Sanctuary, and were considering a visit to Wounded Knee on the nearby Pine Ridge reservation.

No one can argue with me about the value of the Plunge to the entire community. When folks say to me that they will not go to the Plunge because the city bought it, my answer to them is, "If you boycott the Plunge you are hurting every business in our community which pay taxes, their employees and spread their money throughout Hot Springs.. If you love this town and want it to thrive, you will use the Plunge or bring your guests to the Plunge, volunteer at the Plunge or donate your ideas and talents and help Hot Springs be all it can be. Our town now owns the Plunge with the use of the water, more precious than gold. It is a treasure that most communities can only dream of owning, developing and supporting. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem and have no right to complain. Become a "Plunger" in any way that you can. Be proud of our natural, healing springs and plunge into health! If you do not take care of your health, who will?

Comparison Shopping

Bob and I stopped in at the city-run aquatic center in Rapid City. We heard rave reviews about it and decided to see what all the fuss was about. The following are my observations.

It was a lovely facility with many amenities for the citizens of the area. Did I drool or think "If only...?" There were a few things I would like to see in our city-run Plunge in Hot Springs, but for the most part I went back to our health club satisfied....more than satisfied with what our small community offered for us.

Our locker rooms are open and inviting. In Rapid I felt claustrophobic as I walked through the narrow aisles. The steam room was separate from the men's, with steam filled with city chlorine water.The exercise room has less equipment than ours. As I walked into the pool area I did admire their "water walk" and large hot tub, but none of that could compare to our natural, mineral spring waters flowing constantly, washing out the chlorine that filled their pool.

Our city does need to make many improvements to our Evans Plunge. I know many would welcome the less expensive rates of the swim center in Rapid City. It will take Hot Springs some time and money since the Plunge has been city-owned for less than a year, but as I worked out in our invigorating mineral water and later as I relaxed and chatted with men and women in the steam room and warmed in the sauna, I knew most vividly that what we have is beyond compare  for those of us who want healthy water and healing heat and conversation in a health club separate from the clamor of the pool. How many people can enjoy all of this, close to home, without fighting traffic and a lengthy drive?

There are times when comparing can bring about needed improvements. Other times it may bring envy. Then again it may bring gratitude for what we have and what we are about to have. For me, I prefer to live in the gratitude of the now with some hope for the future. Gratitude carries joy and anticipation can bring spice to the moment. And this moment, right now, is all we ever have.

In the Steam Room

Steam filled the room, blurring the face of the man who came in and sat down next to me. As always, the intimacy in the steam room encourages conversation between strangers and friends alike. It flows out as swiftly as the sweat pouring out of the heated up bodies.

I grew up with Finnish saunas in the north woods of Minnesota. Saturday saunas were standard among cabin owners, Finnish or not. With those saunas the wood was heated for about eight hours before pouring water over the rocks, unlike the steam rooms at our Plunge health club, which creates heat almost instantly, without the time consuming effort of pouring water over heated rocks. A user need spend no effort on heat preparation, allowing the entire time for enjoying the relaxing heat and the conversation.

The beginning words are casual...weather and water. These topics are usually followed by who, where, etc. The man who had just seated himself next to me said he came from Colorado and was living at the Dom. Oh, a veteran, and the topic slid to our domiciliary on the hill of which we are so proud. He was a patient in one of the programs.

"How did you happen to come to our VA?" I asked.

"My counselor at Fort Collins told me that I should come to the Hot Springs VA, and I am happy that I did. It is a great facility."

I warmed at his words. I have heard these so often in the past few years. "I could not make it through the program at other VA's. I came here and it is the best program. I believe I will make it here."

Yes, it is hard to believe that our VA has been going through so many cuts over the past years. The slow bleed has drained the Dom of many counselors and doctors, but those who remain manage, somehow, to maintain the excellence our VA has always shown for many years in treating the physcal and emotionl needs of countless veterans from many states beginning with the Civil War veterans and up to the present retuning soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan.

"They know me by name. They do not treat me like a number as is done in the larger VA hospitals. Here I receive respect and treatment tailored to my needs."

I hear this high praise almost every time I talk to a veteran, but it is in the steam room, sauna or the hot tubs where veterans join me in healing and sharing. Our health club at Evans Plunge heals more than aching bodies.

Yet Another Cut

This Christmas we enjoyed the company of several veterans that were in the treatment program in our Domiciliary.It was an honor to entertain them in our home. Bob and I are not veterans, and it was one way we could say our thanks to veterans for their service.

During the dinner, one of the veterans looked up from his dinner and said, "This is the first time I have ever been invited to some one's house for the holidays".

Another of the veterans, suffering from PTSD and brain trauma, with a subsequent addiction to alcohol, felt the need to get an anti-anxiety pill before joining us at our table.

A third veterans had served her country for thirteen years. This time included a year in Afghanistan, during which time she had been shot at, blown up and had shot over 60 of the enemy. After the service she could not find work and after struggles dealing with homelessness, she arrived at our Hot Springs facility to get care for her PTSD, and work toward getting a job that would solve her homelessness issue.

To my dismay, I discovered that this soldier, homeless and without work at this time, had managed to save money from the below-minimum wage received in the Domiciliary, to purchase a punch card to our local recreation facility with natural warm mineral waters.

"But their is no charge for veterans in treatment to use our Evans Plunge!" I said, stunned by her words.

It was then that I learned of yet another cut by our federal government in Washington. They usually paid a minimal amount to cover the veterans use of the swimming pool, hot tubs, sauna, steam room and exercise room, all helpful ways to speed their recovery.

The next day I learned that our Plunge is working on this issue, but, in the meantime, I felt another pang of anger and resentment toward the VA administration that once again has told our veterans that their years of service did not earn them another aid in their healing in order to be able to work through emotional or chemical issues and once again, re-join society and their families.

Our town is the Veteans Town, and we will find a way to welcome the veterans from the Dom to our local health club, no matter what cuts they make from on high. The veterans served us, and when they return, we will find a way to thank them.

They Never End

As long as their are people on this earth there will be conflicts. In Reveille in Hot Spring one of the veterans states that "there will always be wars" and I really believe that. Be it greed, power or  misunderstanding...disagreements, conflicts and even wars will continue to haunt us.

Our community has been involved in many issues, the longest lasting this far being the fight to save our VA in Hot Springs. We stand together against those in power who continue to erode veteran benefits. We were split on the issue of "to buy, or not to buy", when it came to the decision for the city council to purchase the Evan's Plunge, the worlds largest natural indoor, heated swimming pool.

The entire Black Hills is caught up in a struggle to battle foreign companies (and many local politicians who support them) who want to obtain permits for mining uranium by in situ mining, a process not un-like fracking, that has a long track record of contamination of aquifers in many countries, followed by an absence of thorough clean-up by those same companies, which prefer to pollute in countries other than their own.

The latest struggle will be our battle to save our American Legion in Hot Springs. Once again, it is those in authority who want to close us up in order to get at the leader of this legion who has been leading the charge to save our VA and irritating, to say the least, those who have the power to take away benefits from veterans. Those in charge have been doing it gradually and rather quietly for over 15 years and we citizens of Hot Springs, together with our veterans, are saying "No, it must stop here and now."

At a recent meeting in Rapid City, several of the leaders of their city council congratulated us, the people, for fighting for a cause. They said it has been the grass roots groups who have changed our country - from civil rights, the war in Vietnam, voting rights, etc. They asked us to continue to fight. It is, after all, a country "of the people, by the people and for the people" not of, by and for the corporations. At times it is difficult to believe that. They do have the money and greed is a huge influence on outcomes. But it did boost morale to hear kudos from elected officials for us who are fighting yet another battle.

There will always be battles and I hope many will continue to take up the fights, in whatever manner they can, rather than sit back and complain and criticize those who do. In looking back over my years I believe that it is in the battle that I will stay forever young and growing. There is nothing more that I can ask out of life, and life has indeed been good to me.

Motel 6 to the Rescue

On a previous blog last September I wrote about losing our health club, Evans Plunge, for the six months of winter. I complained about losing the healing waters, the steam room, sauna and hot tubs, and also the loss of a gathering place for social connections. I was especially concerned for those of us with physical problems whose only safe workout is in the water.

Members, though understanding the reasons for the closure, were upset at the absence of the benefits especially needed during the winter months. They are planning a meeting about the situation. Hopefully they will come to some resolution about this issue.

Meanwhile, upon hearing the news, our water aerobics instructors searched for another venue for our classes. Motel 6 responded, graciously opening their cozy pool, while raising the temperature for our two classes and furnishing us with a dressing room. For a minimal fee the pool is open to anyone. So during the next six months we have the advantages of the water for exercise plus the added bonus of the social interactions which, as our instructor reminds us, is as important for our health as the workout.

In our small community word travels fast. Deprived of one venue, two exercise classes and a local motel found a solution. Indeed, we could have sulked all winter, but a window was opened when one door closed. The winter no longer looks so long or cold.

Losing Healing Waters

The news came with a thud. The Evan's Plunge is closing for six months! I was stunned, to say the least. I love the natural mineral waters of our health club. Whenever I swim or attend water aerobics I feel renewed and ready to face the day. We have a long winter ahead and the core of my exercises are those healing waters, the steam room and sauna. We have a peaceful river walk that runs through the heart of town, but it can't compare to the large pool constantly refilled with warm spring waters during the raw, icy days of winter. It was especially important to me this year in helping me recover from surgeries.

What about the other members of the Plunge who faithfully work out in the pool, and who cannot do any other exercise because of their physical ailments? They must be more troubled than I am. Hopefully they have a more positive outlook than I have at this time.

There is also the social aspect of regular attendance. Many issues of the day, large and small, are hashed over in the coziness of the hot tub or sauna. Those interactions may be as important as the restorative physical benefits.

I think about the larger issues of this world to help me put this in perspective. The economy is struggling, unemployment is high world wide and our poor little community has been hit hard.  It is not economically feasable to keep places open when attendance is low. Some of our businesses have closed permanently. It is sad to see so many "for sale" signs in this beautiful town filled with historic sandstone buildings. And now we will have more unemployed people for the next six months.

"People are starving", my mother used to say to me when I was feeling sorry for myself as a child. I know, I know. I knew it then and I know it now, but for this moment I am rolling around in my misery. I think I will watch the news or visit a nursing home to help me put this grievance in its proper place, but for now I am thinking, "It is going to be a long, cold winter."