A long time ago, when Sears was supposedly going to end their catalog sales department, they put a lot of stuff on sale. Rachel and I decided to buy an above-ground pool. We didn't have any immediate plans to install it, but the price was ridiculously low, and we knew it would be good for the kids. It sat for a few years in its box taking up room in our garage.

One summer, when the boys were about 9 and 4, we decided the time had come to install the pool. I cleared a large circle in the backyard. That involved digging up all the grass and leveling the remaining dirt. Then I soaked the area with a poison that was guaranteed to prevent any vegetation growing back.

After a few days had passed, we put a bunch of that black landscaping fabric down that is supposed to prevent plant life from growing back. That was topped with a truck-load of sand, just like the directions told us to do. We followed everything to a T.

The following weekend, we started the installation. We invited my daddy and our two neighbors, Billy and Phillip over to help. I put a brisket on the grill, and promised to reward them with a brisket dinner when we were finished.

We spent the day arguing and building the pool. The instructions were nothing less than ridiculous. Nothing made sense, which caused us to rely on guessing for most of the build. That's why we argued. Four men all interpreting the instructions their own way, and positive their interpretations were right.

After dinner, and when everyone was gone, Rachel, the boys, and I all went into the pool for a test swim. It was wonderful. The Baker's had a small, but fun to use above-ground-pool in their backyard.

The next day, we got in the minivan and headed for our annual vacation in St. Louis at Grandma Jane's house. We were gone for about a week. Although St.Louis is the hottest and most humid place I have ever been, it is still lush and green in the summer. We knew we would return to a dried out San Antonio, but would at least have a pool to take refuge in.

The day we got home, I went out to take the cover off the pool so the boys could swim. I saw that all the grass around the pool was an amazing healthy green color. It looked like a green island sitting in the middle of a golden wheat field. I understood why, once the cover came off.

Inside the pool, there was about six inches of warm water. Some kind of grass had grown up through the liner of the pool causing most of the water to drain. Then the hot and wet conditions inside the covered pool allowed the grass to grow as long runners that grew in a circle against the walls on the floor of the pool.

We couldn't afford a new liner for the pool. It would have had to be custom-made, because we couldn't order one from Sears anymore. I gradually disassembled the whole damned thing, and the city took it all away on one of those brush and large trash pick up days.

The round circle of sand stayed for years, gradually getting smaller as the yard reclaimed it. Now, about seventeen years later, all that remains is a dip in the yard that I only notice when I trip into it while mowing. Our big dog, Nicky, is strangely attracted to the spot, and has dug a small little portion of the sand out to lay in on hot days.

That is the story of The Pool from Hell. I hope you enjoyed it.