Summer Fun

A pool party is always a fun event. After months of quarantine, we wanted to provide some of our Kew Gardens neighbors the opportunity to come to the Hudson Valley, lay in the sun, swim in the pool and visit with their neighbors. You have probably seen photos online of wild parties in Florida and elsewhere, with hundreds of people standing close together and partying. Don’t be disappointed, our event was much more staid.

We started planning over a month ago. A postcard type invitation was sent electronically to our guests. Nine people R.S.V.P.’d yes – including 7 adults and 2 children. The group was purposefully small to enable social distancing, both in and around the pool area.

Planning an event is usually not without some challenge. Before going into the particulars of the day, the back story will provide some entertainment. In hindsight these things seem humorous.

On Wednesday of last week, Newburgh received a terrific amount of rain. My 73 year old neighbor, across the street, told me it was the most he has ever seen in such a short period of time. Estimates are that we received 4 inches in a couple of hours.

In a matter of minutes, my house was a waterfront property. Water flowed from everywhere across my yard, overwhelmed the drainage system and made the small creek a raging torrent.

The rain had benefits. It reshaped parts of the stream by moving rocks, creating small pools. The grass, after a dry June, became green again.

The rain also had a downside. I noticed the pool pump had stopped working. Flipping the breaker did nothing, so I called my friendly plumbing and electrical guy. The water had entered the outdoor outlet and started a fire, which melted the electrical wires. As dramatic as that sounded to me I breathed a sigh of relief that it was only a single outdoor outlet that had a problem. When the repairman arrived we had looked at the wiring in the basement. He noticed there was a small amount of water on the basement floor – so small it was insignificant. We agreed it must be from the rain. It was evening when I discovered the pump problem, so he said he would return the next day to fix it. I happily went for a little walk around the yard to look at my new stream. Upon returning to the house, I wanted to wash my hands – the new normal – I want to wash my hands repeatedly throughout the day. It seemed strange, there was no water coming from the faucet. Opening the basement door, I heard a sound of gushing water. The basement floor was covered in more than an inch of water.

Plumbing from the original build of the house had eroded. A plug at the end of the pipe in the photo above had been blown off by the water pressure. Because the plumbing was from 1934, the parts were not standard to today. The plumber had to locate parts. It took until Saturday for the plumber to find the parts and fix the pipe. At one point we considered canceling the pool party – no water, no toilets, limited ability to prepare food, and no sinks for washing hands. The experience made me appreciate indoor plumbing!

Undaunted we continued to plan for our guests and our Sunday pool party!

The day of the pool party arrived. The pump was working with the use of an extension cord and the basement had dried out. We served food in small Chinese take out boxes. The boxes looked clever, they held just the right proportion, and it avoided people using common utensils to serve themselves.

We had vegetable fried rice with pineapple, potato chips, ice cream (in individual self-serve cups), watermelon and blueberries and mojitos to drink.

One of our guests brought a Dunkin Donut shaped pool float, complete with sprinkles! This gave the group the highlight of the day – jumping through the donut hole!

Social distancing was practiced by everyone. We had a wonderful day chatting with our neighbors, playing in the pool, and touring the yard. Challenges of electricity, burst pipes, and Covid-19 could not stop us from having a great summer party! Happy Summer!