Spa dunking

For the past 25 years we have enjoyed a spa in our backyard. It is a truly marvelous invention providing enjoyment and solace in equal measure. Getting in and out of the spa was another one of those non-thinking habits that just happened. Once your mobility starts being compromised, these kinds of activities force you to think about safety like never before.


Fortunately for me, I have some clever brothers-in-law who love nothing better than working out some engineering project over a beer or three. These guys came up with a way to make an inexpensive body hoist. Some pipe, a small electric lift motor, and a nylon sling from a medical supply, and voila! No more worries about climbing in or out of the spa. But (there’s always one of those) we now have some new opportunities for levity and harassment.


Seems that when this hoist swivels from the pick-up point over to the spa, it must traverse closely to some plants, one of which being a rose bush. This is one of those times when you don’t want to stop and smell the roses. My wife thought it was rather funny watching the look on my face as I closed in on this rose bush with visions of thorns attacking me. She of course grabbed me at the last moment preventing any contact. She still had that mischievious twinkle in her eye (payback?). Once you have cleared the potential rose bush hazard, you have a clear shot for the spa.


It’s really rather pleasant being slowly lowered into the spa sitting in a sling. But my loving wife, ever on the alert, thought it would be a hoot to turn the sling into a carnival dunking game. So there I was trapped, going up and down, and up and down. This is a good time to bite your tongue and just smile.