I have written about the Sacramento State University’s Aquatic Center before. Here is a new twist on the writing 101 prompt. I am combining Day 14 and 15.

Dear Dock,

The Sacramento community is surrounded by lakes and two major rivers. It gets very hot here in the summertime, some days reaching up to 110 degrees, with a summer average of 90 degrees. Your docks are needed with all of their potential for recreational and competitive water sports. Very few universities have their own Aquatic Center, so you are unique.

You provide endless amounts of recreation and leisure activities to college students, high school students and to the public.

Your director, Brian, has been dedicated to you for over 25 years, raising you from just a little one-ramp dock flanked by a metal shed. You have grown up into a gorgeous facility that inspires people to learn new water sports such as wakeboarding, canoeing, kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, and even windsurfing. In fact, Brian, was named California State Boating Educator of the Year in 2013.

But what if you did not exist? What if the grant Brian wrote all those years ago was not awarded? What would have become of you?

In the spirit of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” if your docks did not exist on the lovely banks of Lake Natoma, this would be your story.

Your beautiful docks that could have been the centerpiece of the Sacramento area would have never existed. There would be no inland Aquatic Center to attract university students from around the country and beyond.

The annual events such as the NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships, the Pac 12 Rowing Championships and various regattas and triathlons would not happen.

The university students that would have come from all over the country to represent their schools with pride would not be able to experience Northern California. The economic impact from the sizable tourist industry to Sacramento would never be realized.

The jobs that you would have provided to teens and young adults would cease to exist, as well as the valuable internship opportunities for college students. Local folks in the Sacramento community would not be able to rent your classrooms for events. The thousands of children that would have registered annually for your day camps would not learn valuable water skills. Without your presence on Lake Natoma, a child never learns to swim and drowns.

Generations of people looking for leisure activities would never experience the hot trend of stand-up paddling, nor be able to spend an idyllic, fall Saturday morning kayaking near your peaceful shore.

But…
Because of the vision of the university, the state of California, the counties of Sacramento and El Dorado, and the local water district, your docks will remain pristine and available to all. Your expressive dock eagerly awaits visitors!

Thank you, dock, for being you. Sacramento is blessed to have you!

Sincerely yours,

An Avid Water Enthusiast

Writing 101 Day Fifteen: Your Voice Will Find You
Today’s Prompt: Think about an event you’ve attended and loved. Your hometown’s annual fair. That life-changing music festival. A conference that shifted your worldview. Imagine you’re told it will be cancelled forever or taken over by an evil corporate force. How does that make you feel?

Day Fourteen: To Whom It May Concern
Today’s Prompt: Pick up the nearest book and flip to page 29. What’s the first word that jumps off the page? Use this word as your springboard for inspiration. If you need a boost, Google the word and see what images appear, and then go from there. My word was “dock.” Today’s twist: write the post in the form of a letter. You have a number of options: you can write a letter to the word or an image, or an open letter to the world inspired by the word.