A beautiful day at the pool
 
This post may come off as a little self-righteous, but I don’t mean it to. It’s just some out-loud thinking. A lot of people have asked if we’ve gotten to know the ins and outs of our neighborhood--the hidden gems, out-of-the-way restaurants, great places to play. I’d like to think we have started to, but there’s one secret we uncovered that has puzzled me a bit. We live in an area called Dearborn Park II, which is just south of a development called, you guessed it, Dearborn Park I. One of the condo buildings in DPI has an outdoor swimming pool. It’s a nice pool, like something you’d find at a Ramada Inn. Not great, not huge, but a nice diversion if you’re staying in a hotel or if you have free access to it in your building. Apparently, though, any resident of DPI and II can have access to it during the summer for $500. A lot of parents I’ve talked to love it. They all know it’s small, but I think it’s become a nice gathering place for a lot of people. Maybe it’s because I’ve only seen this pool from the outside, but I still don’t quite see the attractiveness of it for $500. Especially compared to what we experienced yesterday. One nice thing we’ve discovered is that Chicago public pools are free to anyone, whether you’re a resident or not. One of the closest pools to us is at Dvorak Park in the Pilsen neighborhood, about two miles away. Pilsen was originally a neighborhood that attracted Czechs in the mid-19th century (Plzen is a city in the Czech Republic that I actually visited and preached in about nine years ago. Plzen is also where pilsner beer originated. A little factoid to help you make it through the day). Pilsen (in Chicago) is now a predominantly Mexican neighborhood and some believe it may become gentrified over the next few years. My wife, kids and I went over to the pool in Dvorak Park yesterday and had a great time. It wasn’t very crowded. It was a nice-sized pool. There were about 30 people there and we were probably the only Anglos swimming. After we swam, we bought 50-cent sno-cones from a street vendor and played in the park for a while. It was one of the most enjoyable afternoons I’ve had in quite some time. It got me thinking, though. Why don’t more people use this pool/park? Is it the neighborhood? Dearborn Park I and II are both very racially diverse; indeed, everyone I’ve meet is very committed to living in a diverse neighborhood so I wouldn’t think that swimming in a Hispanic neighborhood would be a big deal. Is it convenience? You can walk to the pool in Dearborn Park I. Dvorak Park is a little farther, but it’s not that far--we found parking very easily. Maybe people don’t know about it. Maybe people do use it and I don’t know that, which could be very possibly true. I’ve only lived here two months and so, truly, what do I know? The experience just got me thinking about race, class, and my own attitudes and prejudices. I’ve got a long way to go myself.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009