Nekkid Doll Upsets UP Pool Patrons
There’s skinny dipping. And there are plastic-y babes unafraid to show some skin. But what about a buck naked, plastic baby? Allan Peck, a KSCS deejay who’s lived in University Park all of three weeks, says his wife had an odd encounter Friday when she brought the couple’s 2-year-old daughter and her naked baby doll, at left, to the Holmes Aquatic Center.
“The lifeguard had apparently gotten the doll out of the pool and set it in the chair next to her,” said Peck, who admits the doll — a parting gift to his daughter from a friend in Garland – “creeps me out.” A few minutes later, it was gone — positioned, at that point, atop the water slide. “So now this baby doll is peering down and staring at the entire University Park public pool,” he continued, chuckling.
When his wife (whose name I’ve omitted from this post at Peck’s request) inquired as to its whereabouts, said Peck, the lifeguard “copped an attitude, and said, ‘Yeah, is that your doll?’ ”
It was creeping her out, the girl supposedly explained. Other swimmers had complained. Final verdict?
‘This doll needs to have a swimsuit.”
All told, Peck finds the story “hilarious,” albeit an uneasy welcome to the neighborhood. “I don’t really think this is what life is like in the Park Cities,” he told me yesterday afternoon, breaking a moment later to go on air. As I sat on hold, I heard the twang of country music give way to a live caller — someone advising Peck to “have 1,000 people show up with naked dolls” next time. He’s not so inclined.
“Absurd as this is,” he said, “I don’t want to make anybody feel uncomfortable.”
UPDATE: Says UP parks director Gerry Bradley, after taking in “at least 20 versions” of this story:
“We feel like [the lifeguard, who’s 16] handled it well. As for whether [the doll] was wearing clothes or not, I don’t know if that was the total issue.” Bradley’s heard talk of the nakedness issue too, he said, “but the major concern is that it was very lifelike.”
To that, he added, “Even though you are in a public atmosphere, I think people should watch their children and what they’re doing — and what they’re leaving at the pool.”
This is silly. Silly enough to make it onto Drudge.
The doll itself is fine. However, because it looks so lifelike and because the incident was at a pool, I can see how people might think it was a child drowning. Maybe that’s what people found upsetting.
Silly is right! When my kids were younger, they liked to put diaper rash cream on their naked dolls, then carpet fuzz and dog hair would stick to it… now that is disturbing to run into when you wake up. A clean naked doll should be treated like any other pool toy.
@Sally-Page Stuck: You may be onto something; According to the CBS story linked below, the lifeguard’s saying people worried the doll looked “too real.”
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2011/07/27/realistic-doll-making-waves-at-university-park-pool/
But wouldn’t dressing it in a swimsuit make it look even more realistic?
The trivial, idiotic things that are passing as “news” these days is the most ridiculous thing. Last night on the local TV news they were covering the Cowboys showing up in San Antonio for training camp. There was really not even a tidbit of actual news to report other than, “they showed up today”. But they showed endless clips of players arriving by chauffered SUV’s, minivans, etc. to the hotel they stay at there. Most had cell phones planted on the sides of their heads and just abstractly nodded at the TV cameras, not stopping to speak or anything. Then came the big interview! Someone actually spoke to the reporter on camera! It was the woman who worked behind the counter in the hotel gift shop. “sometimes a players wife will come in and by a newspaper, or toothpaste or something”. Seriously? Now they’ve done a report on the fact that a 16 year old lifeguard at the public pool was “creeped out” by a baby doll. I expect them to interview someone about watching their grass grow any minute now.
And by the way, it’s hot. I know this because there are endless stories on the news, in the paper, etc. It’s been really hot. It’s hot today. Will be hot tomorrow. Stay tuned……….
@kmom: Guilty as I am, I have to fuel your fire, here; The doll story has now hit a British tabloid:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2019814/Lifeguard-tells-parents-creepy-doll-wear-swimming-suit-pool.html?ITO=1490
kmom is right. We were out of the country for a month a while back and when we came back we were up on the big news stories because they had been covered overseas, but all the filler was (blessedly) not on our radars. It is amazing how much stuff you don’t need to know.
Oh, and newsflash–it’s hot.
Weird story. Weird because it comes across as so trivial, yet it may have a serious core.
Give or take, allowing for personal taste, it would appear that the doll clearly falls into the so-called http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley, a concept becoming increasingly relevant as technology gets closer and closer to being able to replicate the appearance of “real” people. To wit: “[W]hen human replicas look and act almost, but not perfectly, like actual human beings, it causes a response of revulsion among human observers.”
The point is, anyone might very well be creeped out by such a realistic doll. It looks sort of “undead.” As such, I would think someone on the lookout for drowning humans, or humans in other states of trauma, might indeed be even more highly “creeped out” by the doll in question under the circumstances.
Whoops. Wouldn’t take my link to “Uncanny Valley” (or I mistyped it).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley
@george gobel: Interesting! Meanwhile, I can’t resist the chance – thread derailing as it may be – to brag on my sweet cousin David Hanson (an HP grad, for the record), who’s in that Wikipedia article.
OK. Back to undead naked baby dolls.
why is this dude going on a publicity tour? needs a ratings boost?
Anything that would distract a lifeguard from his or her job is not a joke. One of our lifeguards saved a child from drowning earlier this summer.
You want creepy? Here’s your creepy. This hit the bottom of the uncanny valley and started digging.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bht96voReEo
And another:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD_NdnYrDzY
I’d swear this was a story from TheOnion.com.
Riculous story. I’m in complete support of the lifeguard and UP pool management and think they made the right call and have handled this ridiculous situation with class.
AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! Blech. THAT’S creepy @Neal.
If we get a 4 minute rain in the next two days I bet the TV stations devote no less than 3 full hours to reporting on it.