Jamaica Pond—Not just for ducks anymore

I find the idea of pulling on the water wings and wading into the cooling waters of my beloved Jamaica Pond to be a thrilling one. Mr. Fendley [letter, JP Gazette, Oct. 5] has proposed something beautiful. Swimming in the pond could be a positive addition to our quality of life. Mr. Lally (letter, JP Gazette, Oct. 19] has clearly stated some obvious obstacles which would need to be overcome—funding, parking, litter, noise. I suspect they can be overcome and/or outweighed by the advantages of giving the green light to swimming.

Regardless, I think it would be great to have a discussion over the details of the proposal. Hopefully, we’ll all do our darnedest to leave the name-calling and labeling out of the dialogue.

Almost every quality-of-life issue in Jamaica Plain seems to be born into a very passionate and sensitive environment. JP is a special place where new ideas are likely to be smothered, for better or worse, by our powerful human emotions. I thank Mr. Lally for noting a few of the obstacles in the way of swimming in the pond. But dismissing an idea by simply calling it “naïve” does us all a serious disservice. And the “deafening din of children from every corner of the city descending on the pond” is quite a phrase! I dislike children as much as the next non-parent, but that seems like more drama than this discussion merits.

Jeremy Robertson
Jamaica Plain

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *