Do Not Touch The Water. Or Let It Touch You.

It is now illegal for people to cool off in the fountain on Public Square. City council passed an ordinance making it unlawful for anyone to have any physical contact with the water from the fountain. [Newspaper article]

Once again, a group of people passed an ordinance without really thinking it out. Makes you wonder exactly where their legal heads were; not out in the sunshine and fresh air, that’s for sure.

Unlawful for anyone to have any physical contact with the water from the fountain. Ok, they and we know what it means: Don’t bathe on Public Square, keep the diaper squad away from the spray. But that’s not what it says and when you make a law, you have to write it carefully, or some cop who is having a bad day and wants to get someone can wait until a strong breeze whips the wet stuff onto his target. Charge: Unlawful physical contact with water from the fountain.

Reminds me of the anti-hippie law some city in Florida passed. No more than “x” number of people unrelated by blood or marriage in one residence. So much for that crowd -- oh, and convents, as well. “We didn’t mean convents,” they said. But that’s what the law covers and a hippie with a ‘tude could bring it to court.

I know one nasty cop in the city (who I hope is retired now) and I’m sure he would be the first one to cite a person for getting sprayed in the wind. That's the law…