Had my first letter in the paper yesterday (see photo — I did not realize, before now, that the Inquirer‘s letters exist in the physical paper only). Wish it were for a happier reason. Maybe I will write another when West Philly community leaders succeed in getting Sayre-Morris Pool reopened.

Because this pool, of all pools, must not close. Closing it would be a disservice to its neighborhood, yes. But it’s not just about West Philly. We let this pool close, and we’re going to lose all of them, in the years to come, because we’ll never have enough lifeguards to staff them.

All of Philly needs Sayre-Morris fixed up and reopened. Everyone who wants to swim in a Philly pool come some future July or August – whether in West Philly or beyond – needs Thelma Nesbitt, and the other instructors she and Larry Brown have trained, hollering at young people about how to swim and how to save lives.

Thank you, West Philly, for leading this fight, for all of us.

(Anyone in North Philly thinking about doing the same for Hartranft?)