Foster Avenue Beach and the weather was sizzling.
A group of five youngsters was playing in shallow water at lake’s edge, splashing one another under the watchful eyes of two young mothers.
“We come here almost every weekend,” said Sandra Holmgard, the mother of three of the children. “The kids love it and so do we. It’s a great thing to have this lake here.”
One of the kids ran over to Holmgard and grabbed a plastic pail.
“Having fun?” Holmgard asked. “How’s the water?”
“It’s big,” said the boy, a 6-year-old named Timmy. “What’s on the other side?”
“Michigan,” said Holmgard.
The boy looked confused.
“How old is the lake?” he asked, changing the subject.
“Gee,” said Holmgard. “I don’t know. It’s very old.”
(A person witnessing this conversation was intrigued by the question and a few days later learned that Lake Michigan is more than 10,300 years old. It is also 307 miles in length and 118 miles across at its widest point. Its average depth is 279 feet and its maximum depth is 923 feet. It contains, roughly of course, 1,350 trillion gallons of water and covers an area of 22,300 square miles, which is, roughly of course, 40 percent of the size of Illinois.)
“It’s cool,” said Timmy, running back to the water.
And on a hot summer day, that’s all that really matters.
