Cathy Rigby is my new hero. Our favorite Peter Pan is a 55-year-old woman who jumps, dances, flips and lands in splits. Listening to her belt out "I've Gotta Crow" at a June matinee CLO performance of "Peter Pan" left me thinking. As my 10-year-old daughter helpfully pointed out, I can't do any of her amazing physical feats. But I can croak out that song, and as my daughter and I rode the trolley back home to Dormont, I wondered what exactly I might have to crow about.

As soon as we arrived at our overheated house, my daughter begged to go the Dormont Pool.

I had spent the performance single-handedly downing an entire mega-pack of Twizzlers while my daughter ate her M&M's. Sugar coursing through my bloodstream, I welcomed the venture. Suits on, towels gathered, goggles located -- down we walked along leafy Memorial Drive to the sparkling blue waters of the pool.

It was a warm day. The pool deck was sprinkled with sunbathers -- families, teenagers, young adults, seniors. Some I know by name, many I simply recognize from repeated visits over the years:

There's "Perimeter Man," an amazing elderly gentleman who year after year comes to the pool alone and swims endless laps around the perimeter of the deep end. There's the inspiring older woman who swims many slow laps with a unique, one-arm stroke. There are the Scuba People, who show up later in the day and mystify the children as they bob in the water in all their gear.

There are the lifeguards who sit quietly at their perches, then tease and taunt each other during breaks. Big Len stands at his concession post, selling snacks to sun-kissed swimmers. The loudspeaker occasionally calls out helpful personal messages, such as, "Jimmy, it's time to go home!"

This giant pool in a well-developed area bordered by trees occasionally attracts wildlife, too. I watched one day as the pool manager slowly walked through crowds of kids carrying a bucket containing a turtle rescued from under the waterslide steps. Mother and father mallard again appeared this year, putting the lifeguards in high protective mode with periodic yells of, "Stay away from the ducks!"

As I sit and watch the scene, my daughter is in the water doing her best imitation of Cathy Rigby. She flips and dives and performs handstands for me. I gaze at the swimmers, the lifeguards, the sunbathers, and all I see is my community. Gathered, happy and healthy.

Two years ago, the Dormont Pool was in bad shape. After leaks and general disrepair brought the pool to the brink of closure, real estate developers began to eye the site for stores and housing. But citizens rallied, giving individual donations and raising grant funding in partnership with the borough to ensure that this invaluable community asset endured.

I sit quietly and hum, "I've gotta crow ..."