Random pool sightings

[fireheart]

So I went down to the pool today with a friend of mine. Of course, I ended up with a couple of sucks there and back.

Story the first!

Outside the pool complex there is a benched area with pavers, leading into the carparking area (tarmac). I'm watching people coming in and out while waiting for my friend. It is also a VERY hot day and this is relevant.

A family of four come out (mum, dad, 2 boys). Boys look to be around 5 and 8. The 5-year-old is barefoot, the 8-year-old is wearing thongs. The 5-year-old is begging mum for his thongs because the pavement is hot. Mum snaps at him saying they are wet.

Now, hot pavers + 5-year-old child. What do you think happened here? Was it:

A) Mother had packed a pair of shoes that she kept dry for him to put on.
B) Mother gives him his wet thongs to wear until they get to the car.
C) Mother/father picks him up and carries him down to the carpark.
D) Mother forces kid to walk along the hot pavers which are akin to burning coals until they reach the car?

If you guessed D, you're right. On top of that, the kid starts screaming and jumping up and down once on the hot pavers because well, they ARE hot. Mum chooses to smack him for crying and making a fuss. The spanking wasn't the issue for me, it was more how she handled it.

Story the second:

Not a bad sighting, but an unusual one.

While I was waiting for my friend to put her stuff in the car, this guy walks past. Now I've seen him out and about a few times in public usually dressed in some mishmash of clothing. He always greets the girls with "Hey beautiful" or "you're gorgeous" but we think he has a minor intellectual disability of some sort. Lovely guy though.

Today he was wearing a full-on superman costume. Complete with padded muscles.

Story the Third:

This one's a roadkill sighting of sorts.

Basically, while driving home, a guy on a motorbike roars past. Doesn't sound SO bad right?

Well, while he earns points for remembering a helmet and not driving like a complete lunatic, he loses points for having arms and legs bare, plus also driving in thongs.

Yes I get that it's hot, but is it too much to ask you to keep yourself safe as well so you don't wind up with a zombie tattoo later on?

ETA: I also didn't realise just how padded my swimsuit was until last night. I wound up buying 2: a tankini that I can use for trainee stuff (so i don't have to strip naked every time I want to use the loo) and a one-piece for lap swimming. Well, the tankini I wound up buying because it prevented any wardrobe malfunctions. And as I discovered last night, it also made my boobs appear quite buoyant...

[wolfie]

Reminder for anyone in North America: "Thongs" in the OP are what you'd call "flip-flops", NOT the "butt floss" underwear.

[sms001]

Been thinking of you downunders a lot lately fireheart. Be safe and try to stay cool.
Related note: this awesome but scary image was all over the States' national news last night.

[LillFilly]

Reminder for anyone in North America: "Thongs" in the OP are what you'd call "flip-flops", NOT the "butt floss" underwear.

My teenaged niece was reading a book I gave her and began screaming how disgusting this scene was when the girl 'took her thongs' off in the store (in the book the girl is pregnant and the thin straps were cutting into her swollen feet), and my mom and I had to explain that those thongs were SANDLES! Then she complained it just didn't make sense.

[chikenlady]

We called flip-flops thongs while growing up. Now I get the funniest looking from my kids when I use that term.

[Opalin]

The 5-year-old is begging mum for his thongs because the pavement is hot. Mum snaps at him saying they are wet.

Forgive me if I expose a bit of my inner barbaric self but... what... exactly is the problem with thongs/flip-flops being wet...? And wouldn't putting them on the hot pavement dry them off? I know the only time I wore em was when I didn't have time to dry off my feet and as such they were essentially always wet when in use.

[AnaKhouri]

Why couldn't the kid walk in wet flip-flops (we call them that here)? They're made of rubber or something similar, specifically so they can get wet and not be damaged. If she didn't want wet flip-flops in the car he could have taken them off once they reached it. I cannot wrap my head around this.

[Sparky]

It can be difficult to wak in wet sandals. Your feet tend to slide around in them.

That said, the mother should be slapped in the face with one for treating her child so.

Not that, you know, I advocate violence or anything....

[fireheart]

To clarify, most thongs for kids are essentially rubber or a similar material and are designed for environments such as the pool and the beach.
I was asking myself the exact same question as well. I was wearing ballet flats since I'd been walking around before meeting my friend and I could actually feel how hot it was underfoot. And that was just in the shade!

[shopgirl15]

I've heard people refer to them as thong SANDALS, but yeah its weird to hear people just say "thongs."

[Mishi]

I can't imagine forcing a kid to walk across hot pavement/tarmac. In summer, it can get hot enough to cause serious burns. Hell, sometimes the tar melts. Regardless of that, I still have to bug the girls to wear their shoes, because "Mummy, I can run fast and it's not that hot!"

[fireheart]

I can't imagine forcing a kid to walk across hot pavement/tarmac. In summer, it can get hot enough to cause serious burns. Hell, sometimes the tar melts. Regardless of that, I still have to bug the girls to wear their shoes, because "Mummy, I can run fast and it's not that hot!"

I've heard some kids do that. Hell, even I've done it when I was a kid.

This kid however, was screaming and jumping up and down while they were going to the carpark.

I also see no problem in walking around in wet thongs. Hell, even I've done it getting to the carpark sometimes. Once inside, I'll take them off for a bit and change into some shoes I've left in the car. If/when I have kids, I am going to do the same thing. (rubber thongs down here go for quite cheap-$1-$2 in some cases)

Thankfully the sightings were otherwise minimal. Basically, if you're under 12, the pool runs a "watch around water" program. If your kidlets are under 5, you need to get in and be within arms reach at all times. If your kid is between 5 and 12, you need to be watching them at all times. If your kid is in trouble for whatever reason, they get removed from the water. You also can't just use the lifeguards as babysitters and kids under 12 have a wristband that designates them as such. (it also prevents kids trying to sneak into the sauna/spa area because 1) you need to be sixteen or older and 2) you are given a wristband.

[rapana1]

Silly Australians, they are called JANDALS.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Silly Australians, they are called JANDALS.

As one of my classmates way back in 9th grade French class called them "Des Flipflops."

[Seshat]

In August, Brisbane gets dust storms.

Not as severe or anywhere near as dramatic as the Onslow one the photo showed - but nasty enough that you're walking around in a red haze, and if you wear a breathing mask (smart to do so), the outside is red by the end of the day.