The Boor At The Pool

No, this picture is not of our community pool.

Yesterday at the pool, I saw a man there with his son. I recognized him because I've seen this guy several times. First of all, in the past, he openly asked me if I was indeed the parent of Branch and Blossom. Now bear in mind I do not know this guy. At. All. I do not even know his name. Another time he asked my mother how much we pay our nanny, to which my mother replied scornfully, "I would have NO idea!".

Our pool area has recently started sporting "No Smoking" signs. They are near the 3 canopied areas with tables where families usually congregate. The tables supply plenty of room for the acoutrements of family swim outings - gear bags, pool toys, snacks, sippy cups, etc. There are also many, many lounge chairs around the pool in unshaded areas. Usually, adults without children or older teens take up those chairs to catch some sun and avoid the noisy families.

Yesterday, as I cavorted in the pool with the Branch, this guy sat in the canopied area, occasionally yelling at his son (I know the poor kid's name is "Daniel" from his father's frequent admonitions) and chatting on the cellphone - and smoking a cigar. He was nearly sitting under the "no smoking" sign. As I prepared to leave, I asked him if he had seen that sign. He said he was blind (!) and accused me of discriminating against blind people. He then hurried off to the other end of the pool to avoid me (same thing he did after he asked me if I was Branch and Blossom's parent)leaving his nasty cigar on the table, which looked like a turd- it was brown and kind of bumpy and crinkly.

Wow. What a great example to set for your son: "oh, the rules don't apply to US!". I honestly think if this guy had been sitting in the uncovered area, I wouldn't have said anything about the smoking. But in the area where families congregate and nearly under the "no smoking" sign? And to top it off - he sports a gold cross necklace and works on weekends as a clown at children's parties. (My mother told me this after his conversation with her where he inquired as to our nanny's salary.)