Swimming at the Venetian Club Pool

from The Last Night of Ballyhoo

by Alfred Uhry

Sunny remembers her first taste of bigotry.

Sunny Frietag:   Everyone I know has a Christmas tree. It doesn’t mean we’re not Jewish. Look, I could call myself Sunny O’Houlihan and everyone around here would still know exactly what I am.

Listen, the summer between sixth and seventh grade my best friend was Vennie Alice Sizemore. And one day she took me swimming at the Venetian Club Pool. Her parents were members. So we were with a whole bunch of kids from our class and the boys were splashing us and we were all shrieking, you know, and pretending we hated it, when this man in a shirt and tie came over and squatted down by the side of the pool and he said "Which one is Sunny Frietag?" and I said I was, and he said I had to get out of the water. And Vennie Alice asked him why and he said Jews weren’t allowed to swim in the Venetian pool. And all the kids got very quiet, and none of them would look at me.

So, I got out of the pool and phoned Daddy at his office. When he came to get me all the color was drained out of his lips.