Third in a series
Re “As Natatorium Shakes Off Dust and Emerges from History”
What keeps Robert Smith going?
[img]2206|right|Robert Smith||no_popup[/img]The Lone but Not Lonely Crusader, who has been verbally marching for seven years to pry open the Natatorium and restore it to swimmable condition, obviously is a better man than most because there still is room on his bicycle-built-for-two for new believers.
Each of the last three election cycles, Robert Zirgulis valiantly has carried the flag for the revival campaign.
Otherwise, the seats that would be occupied by passionate fellow advocates resemble wide-open spaces. They look like Europe after the Bubonic Plague struck almost 700 years ago.
A sound engineer who also is involved in facilities management for television, film and motion picture studios, Mr. Smith keeps climbing the hill to reach his goal, hoping for traffic but finding none.
“At times,” he said, “it has been extremely lonely.
“It’s been a roller-coaster ride, ups and downs. The ups usually are during election times, and the downs are during the off-cycles when there is no election.
“However, my research and what I do for the Natatorium is not based on the election cycle,” Mr. Smith said. “It is based on what happens with (the governing body) USA Swimming, different facilities I visit while I am out there with my kids doing swim events, when we go to different facilities in Arizona, Las Vegas, Riverside, Los Angeles, Ventura County, and the Greater Los Angeles/Orange County area. About 15 different swim facilities. I have talked to facilities managers, lifeguards and the people who run those pools. I take pictures.
“I have been to conferences about how to refurbish and build pools at USA Swimming.
“Since I became involved with the Natatorium, I have gathered a variety of documents to try and outline a perspective on how you can run the Natatorium and not lose money.”
Is Mr. Smith more or less optimistic about succeeding than he was seven years ago about restoring the Natatorium?
“Neither,” he said.
Which seemed like a good place to leave it.
