two kids drowned in my pool, after the dog fell in I thought it best to get a fence.
Experience is the best teacher. The trick is to
benefit from the experience of others and not learn bad lessons the hard way.
A couple months ago I was watching one of those house-hunting real estate shows. A young couple had moved to FL from up north and looked at several houses. They had a modest budget and the houses they looked at were mostly fixer uppers. One of the houses had a pool with screen cage that was damaged/neglected and in need of repair. The couple commented to each other that they didn’t like the cage and would rip it out and discard it if they bought the house. I remember thinking… “these fools didn’t stop to think that the cage is there for
a reason.” They had obviously never owned a pool home before and didn’t notice the many trees nearby that would shed into their pool and create a huge and ongoing mess. No one installs a screen because they are bored. They do it because experience taught them that having one on that property is necessary.
Installing and fixing screen cages is a huge and profitable business in Florida—especially after a storm or hurricane. Whenever a storm comes my first thought is not “will the power go out?” Instead, I’m hoping that my screen makes it through the storm intact. Like a weak link in a chain… if one panel is ripped open by a tree branch or other debris then the whole thing is compromised.
