Local Color -- Polar Bears in the Poconos

Today was the day for a real Pocono treat. Before I had my coffee I could hear the chain saws humming in the mournful key that tells you someone is cutting ice. Since the top two or three feet of Henning Pond was frozen solid, the saws groaned for about an hour as they sliced out a slab big enough to let the Polar Bears jump into the water. This year the Polar Bears included about 30 crazy swimmers decked out in nutty costumes. The real festivities began at about 1 PM when the first candidates leaped into the water. There were lots of older guys who obviously spent the winter growing nice big beer bellies. Then there were some younger guys dressed as Blue Man Group and a few teenage girls in tutus and bikinis. A bunch of little kids in front of me kept yelling: "Do a belly flop, we want to see you throw up!" There were lots of bellies and a few belly flops. But the crowd did not get to see anyone throw up.