SPLASH PADS
text and photos by Judy Van Zile
Cary, North Carolina
August 2024
.
Who invented them?
Dreamed a dream of a new way
to cool off and look forward to a hot summer day.
A way to play in and with water.
A space for little ones to explore on their own
without physical support from someone bigger or older
to help or provide a security blanket.
.
Sprays of water that start and stop
seemingly whenever they choose to do so.
Sprays that offer a range of kinesthetic experiences.
A narrow, harsh spurt projecting straight up—
waiting for a steady hand to form a lid that seems to stop it.
A series of vertical columns to run through
avoiding them or trouncing on the holes
from which they emerge.
Some that push themselves into an angle
that gradually disperses into a plume of bubbles—
a shower of popcorn kernels
to gently douse a tiny tot standing beneath.
If I bounce on it hard enough
can I make it stop?
Or tell it to start up again?
Turn to face away from it
and feel it pulsing on your butt.
Turn and bend over it
to feel a new heartbeat in your chest.
Faces fill with laughter and giggles and surprise
as each burst starts and stops.
A joyful tactile water symphony
eagerly awaiting new participants.
