In Defense of the Aboveground Pool
With public swimming options limited because of the pandemic, this backyard classic is finally getting its due. The Briley family lived on a cul-de-sac full of nondescript taupe ranch homes, and when I was growing up, every kid within a one-mile radius knew three things about the Brileys. We knew that Bear, their ancient dog, had only one testicle; we knew that their grandmother might flick a cigarette at us if she was in a bad mood; and we knew that they had a highly coveted aboveground pool.
If you rode your bike past the house on any given summer Sunday, you were likely to hear Molly Hatchet blaring through a tiny boom box and find Mr. Briley, a locksmith by trade, in that pool, bald head bobbing up and down like a fishing lure, Motörhead-style mustache turned to the sky, smiling. Staring at him from the hot pavement was the first time I ever saw an adult look truly relaxed (what can I say, I come from fretful people), and witnessing the sight made me long for whatever magic by osmosis the aboveground pool provided to reach such a state of bliss. Where I?m from in Kentucky, nothing really says ?backyard oasis? quite like having an aboveground-pool, bourgeois in-ground versions be damned. A conspicuous small-town and suburban point of pride ? or just an excuse to drink with friends and turn wrinkly ? aboveground pools have been a way to trumpet an appreciation for, and accessibility to, leisure time for the working and middle class, long before they became the ho...
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