All summer long I had worked as a babysitter to save money, and whenever I was asked to help mow a lawn or some other chores that would bring in more money I said yes. I even scraped barnacles off wooden boats and that paid the most, even though my knuckles would be bloody and the pain lasted for days. In those days, the infinity pool wasn’t even a gleam in anyone’s eye. Very few people had their own swimming pool of any kind.
Right before Labor Day I had gathered all of the coins and bills and counted how much I had. $92.38. Then I took the bus to the Schwinn store with the intention of buying a blue Stingray with a banana seat and high handlebars.
But I so wanted to fit in at my new school, and in junior high no one was riding a Stingray. So I told the man at the store I wanted the light blue Continental instead. I was short by several dollars, but he told me it was okay and thanked me for buying from him.
I hated that Continental for so many reasons, and it never did do any of the magical things I had hoped and dreamed for. That was an important lesson for me to learn and it’s stuck with me for over 50 years now.
Dreams vs. Reality – Create Dangerously – Albert Camus
The loftiest work will always be the work that maintains an equilibrium between reality and man’s rejection of reality, each forcing the other upward in a ceaseless overflowing, characteristic of life itself at its most joyous and hart-rending. Then, every once in a while, a new world appears, different from everyday reality and yet the same, full of innocent insecurity, called forth for a few hours by the power
and longing of genius.”
My Perfect Day… Swimming in the Infinity Pool
“A mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes
What’s an infinity pool? I get asked this question a lot. The simple definition is that an infinity pool, also called infinity edge pool, zero edge pool, overflow pool or spillover pool, is a reflecting pool or swimming pool where the water flows over one or more edges, producing a visual effect of water with no boundary.
Not intended for the faint of heart, or those who easily become claustrophobic, or anyone who is afraid of heights, or drowning. Pretty much, the infinity pool is a concept best materialized by those who are courage, carefree, and intent on living their lives to the fullest and not missing out on anything.
I’ve finally made the leap. It’s the first time since the last, back in 2006 when I decided to change my life from the inside out.
It wasn’t as if Chatsworth or anywhere in the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles wasn’t good enough for me any longer. It was more that I couldn’t be a different person at the same job, same house, same city, and same car. I longed to reinvent myself and become a person that was, well different.
So, I refinanced my house and deposited the 80K into an interest bearing account at Chase Bank. I felt “lottery winner” rich and stagnated for a time while I contemplated my future.
“Don’t be stupid, Connie” I told myself over and over. A month later and I was on my way to Las Vegas for my CE – continuing Education classes to renew my Appraisal license.
Where Interstate 404 and Highway 14 come together I heard my phone ringing and decided to get off at the next exit to see who it was.
It was a man named Joe I had met some months earlier at a seminar about buying houses in probate. I told him where I was and where I was headed and he insisted I stop in Santa Clarita to see him.
I did, and met him in the parking lot at Central Park in Saugus. He then drove us to the model homes being built five minutes away, and damn if I didn’t write a check for 10K as a deposit on one of them!
Six years later I would begin living half of my time in Santa Barbara. I’d come to love this city for its Film Festival, cool breezes, liberal attitudes, and the ocean.
Santa Clarita had Six Flags Magic Mountain, but no matter how you slice it, having an ocean is better.
Last year, I decided to make the leap. I would build a new home in the Santa Barbara/Montecito area, with one amenity at the top of my list… an infinity pool!
I think this comes from my need to have excitement in my life and simultaneously something to fear. I love water and swimming, but I’m afraid of heights, so the infinity pool serves me well.
I’m USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Connie Ragen Green, peering over the edge and into the horizon and embracing the infinity of the world around me.
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