My favorite outdoor swimming pool is the Upper County facility in the Washington Grove area of Montgomery County, Maryland. It’s a public pool operated by the county’s Recreation Department and is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day. An ongoing summer delight is swimming laps in the facility’s well-maintained lap-and-diving pool. Swimming has become my “goto” form of regular exercise, and swimming outdoors is particularly delightful.

Today I got to experience Upper County in a whole new way. Andrea and I decided to take our two young grandchildren there on a hot, sunny afternoon. In addition to the lap pool, the facility has a large family pool, with a ramped entry for easy access by kids.

Our grandkids, Hailey almost 6, and Junior 4, were excited to be joining us for the outing. They had their suits on when we picked them up. Our daughter had packed a bag with their towels, water bottles, and a change of clothes.

Arriving at the pool around 1pm, it was already more crowded than usual. One of the pool’s attractions is that it’s often underused. But today there were a few minibuses parked out front, indicating that some kids’ summer camps were using the facility.

We paid the fees and entered, finding a shaded spot on the far side of the pools where we could set our chairs and leave our belongings. The kids were excited to be there and eager to enter the family pool, but Andrea made them wait while she applied generous amounts of sunblock. The sun was full and hot, and she wanted to ensure that none of us got burned.

The kids were eager to get in and join the dozens of other kids frolicking in the water. We soon realized that most of the kids were in the county’s Therapeutic Recreation program, guarded over by young adult counselors dressed in red and yellow t-shirts. It became apparent that these were “special needs” kids, and it was touching to see how carefully the counselors were looking after their charges. Our grandkids seemed completely at ease and splashed and played with everyone they encountered. These included a number of kids with various physical disabilities, a few with Downs Syndrome, and a number of others apparently on the autism spectrum.

The good time that everyone was having was contagious. The grandkids splashed and swam to their hearts’ content. The young adult counselors, whose colored shirts all bore a “Therapeutic Recreation” insignia, seemed to be enjoying themselves as well, interacting good-naturedly with everyone, including our grandkids, who they introduced to some of the others.

Our granddaughter challenged me to see who could hold their breath underwater the longest. I was amazed that she could hold her breath as long as she could. She also reminded me how to play “Truth or Dare” and we had fun testing each other’s knowledge and daring each to do something new and challenging.

After about an hour, Andrea rounded us all up to have some snacks in the shade of the nearby trees. The 4-year-old was shivering yet cried that he didn’t want to get out of the pool, but Andrea seduced him with the promise of strawberries. After eating our fruit and nuts, everyone was ready to return for another hour in the water.

The pool featured a large cyclical water slide that was getting full use. Andrea had earlier asked our granddaughter if she wanted to try it, but Hailey looked up and declined in fear. But now she was eager to give it a try. Andrea took her over to the ascending stairs where a height indicator showed that she was just tall enough to use the slide. She bravely ascended the stairs about 50 feet to the top, where a lifeguard was controlling the spacing between descents. Another lifeguard at the bottom would give an ok signal when the previous slider had completed the course by dropping into the pool below. We watched a bit nervously as Hailey launched herself downwards. We could hear her screaming loudly as she descended, unseen, until she came rushing down into the pool below, ecstatic with excitement. She immediately wanted to do it again…and again and again, until it was 3pm and the pool was closed for an hour recess.

We all happily went to the respective men and women’s locker rooms to change for the drive home. Andrea and I had intimated one last surprise, which had them guessing in the car what it could be. Finally, we stopped at a local ice cream stand as the kids squealed with delight. I kiddingly urged that we get broccoli ice cream. They groaned and opted for chocolate and vanilla, but I let them have a slurp of my “broccoli ice cream” (green colored mint chocolate) which they thought was pretty good.

John Bayerl, 8/18/2023

Last week, Andrea and I attended a memorable production of Gounod’s “Faust” at the Wolf Trap Summer Opera in Vienna, VA.

I had bonded with this opera after attending performances of it at the New York City Opera in Lincoln Center back in my Fordham years (late 1960’s). That had been a widely acclaimed production. I attended its opening night in standing-room and was emotionally affected by both the story and music, returning to see it three more times. More than fifty years later, when I saw that it was being performed close to home, I jumped at the chance to experience it once again.

The Wolf Trap production was inspiring. It really brought to life Goethe’s version of the legend of Dr. Faust — an aging, despairing intellectual who, in a moment of utter spiritual darkness, invokes the forces of evil. To his surprise, an enterprising devil responds, appearing in the form of the depraved spirit, Mephistopheles, who offers Faust anything he wants in the physical universe in exchange for his complete spiritual submission in the afterlife. Faust is uninterested in the offered temptations of money or power, craving only a return to his youthful body and opportunities to find love and passion with women, something he’s never experienced. After Faust signs an agreement, Mephistopheles grants him his request, and relishes the spiritual capture of this fallen soul.

Mephistopheles immediately arranges a seduction for his new protege. The victim is a lovely, innocent young woman, Marguerite. She coldly rejects Faust’s initial overtures but is eventually won over by his lyrically expressed passion for her. Faust sings his passion with great warmth and beauty. Mephistopheles works behind the scenes to further tempt Marguerite with fabulous jewelry. In a scene of touching human passion, she finally succumbs to Faust, admitting him to her room.

Any remaining sympathy for the dashing, young Faust disappears when he quickly abandons Marguerite after impregnating her. He later returns to her, filled with remorse. His efforts to make amends are too late, however. Marguerite has succumbed to shame and guilt for her romantic surrender. She is also shunned by her friends and the Catholic Church to which she had been deeply devoted. In her desperation, she murders her infant and contemplates her own suicide.

But she then remembers the spiritual devotion she once had and ventures out to a nearby church. There she confesses her sin and begs God for mercy. But Mephistopheles arrives in thundering fashion to proclaim her crime and the everlasting damnation of her soul. As with Faust, he cravenly feeds on his domination over his fallen victims.

The real drama of the opera lies in this spiritual encounter between Marguerite and the devil. Mephistopheles is so brazen and so powerful in his vocal domination as to appear invincible. But as a church choir also sings out strongly, they are joined by a chorus of angelic voices. This slowly turns the tide against Mephistopheles, with Marguerita adding her beautiful soprano voice to the human and angelic choirs.  She dies ecstatically, within the loving embrace of the forces of the Light, as Mephistopheles slouches away in defeat.

A comprehensive musical review of this “Faust” performance by the Washington Post’s superb classical music critic, Michael Andor Brodeur, is available via the link below.

Wolf Trap’s ‘Faust’ brings a hard bargain to the Big Easy – The Washington Post

My lasting impression of the opera is very much an emotional and spiritual one.

The English poet John Milton is well known for his depiction of Satan as a most cunning and ruthless adversary. As such, Satan’s persona towers over Adam and even Christ in Milton’s epic poem, Paradise Lost. Similarly, Gounod’s Mephistopheles regularly steals the show – his music and words are often charming and urbanely funny. He has a deep understanding of the foibles of humanity and knows exactly how to tempt his victims at their weakest point.

His aria in the final act of the opera paints a picture in which the forces of darkness are obliterating the seemingly paltry goodness of Marguerite and her ilk of “do gooders”. It’s downright chilling to witness. Think of the Nazis winning WW2 and Hitler presiding for decades, with his bestial Third Reich imposing its evil domination over the entire world. That’s the feeling I had as Mephistopheles touted his dominance.

And yet, the forces of the Light rise up to meet this devil, and in a dramatic musical battle, finally overcome the Darkness as Marguerite finds her ultimate salvation.

There’s a Brazilian hymn by Alex Polari de Alverga that I’ve long taken inspiration from. A rough translation is:

“That which comes to test evil

Also comes to test goodness.

God allows evil

To see what we’re made of.“

Those words came to mind as I was digesting the thrilling performance of “Faust”. It led me to remember the supreme effort it took for the Allies in WW2 to overcome the dark forces of fascism, or closer to home, the valiant efforts of the Ukrainian people to overcome Putin’s brutal onslaught.

Marguerite wins her salvation by rising up to meet her devilish opponent, literally singing her heart out to overcome the steely treachery of Satan.

John Bayerl, 8/5/2023