Recs and ReadsBy Anne McKay GarrisFamily Fun is the theme for the Clearwater Beach Library this summer! There will be storytime and crafts for everyone from the littlest youngsters to Grandpa and Grandma, at 10:00 a.m. every Tuesday morning from June 22nd to July 20th. Years ago, I remember a little ole lady who could no longer drive a car, but she wanted to go to Sunday School and church, so she got herself a golf cart to drive the few blocks to the Chapel-By-The-Sea. Shortly after she began this adventure, she began gathering up children along the way, with their parents' permission, I'm sure, and bringing them to Sunday school. It was a sight to see this lady putzing her way to Sunday School in her golf cart with children hanging on at all angles. It was like a motorized bouquet of children, laughing and singing and making one glad to be alive. Well, hanging children off of golf carts is probably illegal in our overprotected world, but it might be a fun adventure to pick up some of the kids in your neighborhood, using your car, of course, and bring them to the Tuesday morning fun at the library, giving their moms a morning off. While you're thinking "family fun," let me remind you that the monthly Frog Friday at the pool will be on June 25th. Frog Friday is when admission is free for everyone with a Play Pass, and $3 or less for the rest of us. Food, music, and pool games are part of the evening's fun. Call your neighbors, enjoy a visit in or beside the pool. Quick, while we still can! Incidentally, I've been researching history. The first pool was built on Clearwater Beach in the 1950's, located where Pier 60 Park is now located. When, in the nineties, the City Commission decided to redo that area, the Beach residents begged them to leave the pool in place as part of the new park. They eventually voted to build it near the Recreation Center instead, within the next two years. It was well beyond two years and after numbers of discussions with succeeding commissioners, some of whom managed not to remember there had ever been a pool on the Beach. "You've got the Gulf of Mexico," they said, "Why do you need a pool?" The current pool has been well used. It's too bad that we might lose it because the City's reserve fund can only be used for big projects, like Beach Walk and Bayfront Boat Slips, instead of maintaining this small amenity for our community. The first Clearwater City Council meeting to discuss closing the Beach Pool will be tonight at 6:00 p.m. and the Friends of the Clearwater Beach Library and Recreation Center are urging everyone who cares to be there and speak up.
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