Rec center almost opened again

#Middlebury #Seniors

My local recreation center almost opened again. A month ago, the center opened for indoor walking with strict rules. One week later, during a heated board meeting, mostly about masks versus no masks, the rec center supervisor said he was shutting it down for the foreseeable future.

Since then there’s been a hue and cry, mostly between the pro-mask and the anti-mask folks. The center supervisor, ever accommodating but safety minded, declared that there would be certain days for people who wanted masks and days for those who didn’t want to wear masks. Walking on the track, he said, would be the only center activity.

“Not fair,” cried those (mostly teen boys) who also wanted basketball, and no, they didn’t want to wear masks. Fine, he replied, there could be one-on-one basketball in three of the center’s courts.

But, said others, if teen basketball was allowed, why couldn’t there be adult classes as well? So, the supervisor adjusted the schedule, did measurements on the floor, and outlined space on a basketball court where a no-mask yoga class could be held in the mornings with participants 8 feet apart.

You know what happened next, right? The aerobics people wanted a class as well. The spin class wanted space and time (and the bikes). Then those from the still-closed senior center line-dance group wanted to use rec center space.

It was right about that time that the supervisor quietly quit. I wasn’t there, but I have it on good authority that he handed the center’s keys to the loudest anti-mask person, saying, “You’re in charge. When the COVID rates go higher in this town, it’s all on you.”

The next day, the town changed the locks on the rec center doors. The supervisor, as I heard it, packed a bag and retreated to his cabin in the woods, where he plans to stay until everyone comes to their senses.

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