Hot Tub Life Articles

Summer vs. Winter Spa Use
"Point - Counterpoint"
(from Hot Tub Newsletter 1995)

Warning: This article contains material that may be offensive to some readers.  If you are offended easily, please do not continue reading.

The following is an email that we received from a reader.  They found the article below highly offensive.

Here is the email:

I think you better read this article you have on your web site.. I was going to place
an order until I read this..It is inconceivable that you would allow this type
of vulgarity to be allowed (SLUT) on your web site . I will never order from you and
I will tell everyone that I know that uses a hot tub to never order from you..
I think you better clean up your act.

Here is our response to the reader:

Thank you very much for sending us your comments about our web site.

The article you mentioned was written in 1995 by two folks that work here. It is meant to be a comic satire - a take-off of the old Saturday Night Live skit where Dan Ackroyd and Jane Curtin play the folks from the 60 Minutes show's "Point - Counterpoint" segment.

During that skit, one of the classic funnier moments occurred when Dan Ackroyd says "Jane, you ignorant slut" in response to her making fun of him.

Our staff members, Jeff & Jane, were writing their views on Winter vs. Summer Hot Tub Use. When they were writing the piece, it was actually Jane who suggested to use the line "Jane you ignorant slut" because she thought it was funny and she was a big fan of Saturday Night Live as well as Jane Curtin.

You can rest assured that no offense was meant towards our Jane or women in general.

We appreciate the fact that you may have not understood the history of this article, and you may have possibly misunderstood the fun-loving intent of Jane & Jeff's article. Jeff and Jane have worked together for years and are very good friends.

I do feel that your comment is a bit harsh.
>>>>> I will never order from you and I will tell everyone that I know that uses a hot tub to never order from you.<<<<<

As you probably know, the Internet is filled with pornography, cursing, hate pages, sodomy, child molestation, racial slurs - all of which we abhor.

We try to make our web site as family oriented and fun as possible. That article has been on the Internet for 5 years and has been read by thousands of people. Most people find it fun. We have never received an email like yours in response to it. But that does not mean that other people may have felt the same way - and not sent us an email.

However, please be assured that I will personally pass your comments along to the proper people at our company and that they will review the text of that article and take the appropriate actions.

We hope that this one misunderstanding will not keep you from using or ordering from our company in the future.

Thank you !

Now, here is the actual article:

Summer vs. Winter Spa Use
"Point - Counterpoint"

I Like Summer Use:

My name is Jane Friedman and I work in the Shipping Department of Poolandspa.com. I was asked to write this essay because everyone here knows how much I love to use my hot tub spa in the summer time.

They all think I am crazy ! Most of the people that work here are the "winter kind" of hot tub people, so they always make fun of me for enjoying my spa when it is warm out. But I am here, publicly, to tell all of them that they are the crazy ones. I know that many of you reading this will agree !

I like to open up my hot tub in May, once it starts to get warm out here on Long Island. I normally like my tub to be ready for the Memorial Day Weekend when my family has a big party. Our hot tub is always a centerpiece at the party. This year, we stuffed 10 people in the little thing at one point! It was a lot of fun.

I especially like to use my tub alone with my husband on summer nights. We like to put the kids to bed and take long soaks while looking up at the stars. It is very romantic.

The best part about using a spa in the summer is that you do not have to get out and face the freezing cold wind. I don’t understand how people could possibly want to freeze their butts off when they get in or out of the spa. Don’t they keep getting colds ? Don’t their little toes freeze when running in or out of the spa ? Don’t they hate having icicles form in their hair as the wind whistles through their ears ? Are these people nuts, or what ?

I much prefer it when the weather is warm and I don’t have to worry about all of those "cold" inconveniences. I enjoy reading a good book on a warm August afternoon in my spa. I like to play with my kids in the tub and not have to worry that they will catch their death of cold.

Come the end of September, we drain out the tub, winterize the pipes and equipment and cover it up. Over the winter we look at it occasionally and wait for the time when the warm wind of spring blows again.

I Like Winter Use:

Jane, you ignorant slut ! My name is Jeff Baxter and I am a Senior Customer Service Representative for Long Island Hot Tubs. I cannot believe that you, or anyone else with an IQ above room temperature would use a hot tub when it is hot out. Get it ? Hot tub....hot weather....it just is not natural, I tell you !

When it is cold outside, you want to get warm. When it is hot out, you want to get colder. That is why they invented air conditioning, Jane. They invented hot tubs so that you can get a nice hot soak when it is otherwise cold outside.

I am a skier, and I just love going up to Vermont in the winter, skiing all day, then taking a nice hot soak in the spa afterwards. It feels so good on all my muscles after a tough day of skiing. I love how the cold air feels on your face while you are outside soaking in 103 degree water and the snow is falling around you. There is nothing quite like it !

With my hot tub on Long Island, we generally open it up in the middle of September and use it straight through the winter until about the beginning of May. We then drain it out and cover it until it starts to get cold again in the fall.

I can think of no worse feeling than getting into a boiling hot tub when it is humid and 95 degrees out. How can anyone possibly enjoy this ?

We also have a big problem with mosquitoes in the summer. Once 6 PM comes around, those little guys come out in force. I remember last year going over to a friend’s house in July. We had a nice dinner and then he invited me into his spa. It was about 8 PM, and we were almost totally eaten up by mosquitoes and gnats ! Is that true hot tub pleasure ?

I absolutely love using the hot tub around the Holidays. After Thanksgiving dinner, it is a family tradition to all go out and take a long soak in the spa. Last year, my whole family got in the tub on Christmas morning. It was great !

I feel truly sorry for those who do not know the pleasure of winter hot tubbing. I think that this winter, I will drag you into a bubbly hot tub, Jane. I am sure that you will have the time of your life and forget about summer tubbing !