Story Behind The Book
Growing up in the sixties I frequently visited a favorite swimming pool in upstate New York.Years later, after moving to Tucson, Arizona I stumbled across a story on the New York Times Archives. It went on to tell the story of the closing of the olympic sized pool due to "financial constraints" My memory flashed back in an instant and I suddenly was blasted with an epiphany! I began to remember vividly how the pool at the time was packed solid with mostly minorities! Caucasians were strictly a minority! I then came to the simple conclusion that the pool had been closed for political reasons. Since the area in question was a heavy populated "white region" My intuitive imagination took off. I quickly reasoned that this crowd was simply tired of all those "lowlifes minorities" invading their pristine recreating haunts! I threw in some nasty powersbrokers,politicians and gangsters. Added a dysfunctional family and brewed up my story. I knew I wasn't totally wacky with my story when I came upon another story. This one was set in Stonewall,Mississippi.It's title was "Unearthing a town pool, and not for whites only" The story related of how the 100 feet long by 30 feet wide pool was closed down and filled in with truckloads of red southern Mississippi dirt and left buried for thirty years until a local businessman spent $25,000 of his companies money to excavate the pool and rededicate to all,blacks and whites. Validation at last!