Foam of Unknown Origin

If you look behind M, and behind the boy, you can see a small bit of the brown foam....


Right where M is standing in the above picture is where the child fell in.


Can you see how black the water is??



This fountain is by the Ferry Building downtown SF. This weekend we walked by it on our way to the Ferry Building, and it was running. It is like a mix of a jigsaw puzzle and air conditioning ducts made into a fountain. There is a cement paver path crossing the water that was filled with kids. A park surrounds this sculpture and I noticed that it was definitely filled with quite a few homeless people. And, the water in the sculpture has a mysterious foul odor, and copious amounts of what my sister and I called "mysterious foam". Brown foam of unknown origin. But, M. could care less about any foam, she was delirious with anticipation from stumbling unknowingly onto a wonderful play sculpture she could conquer. Aunt wanted no part walking the path through the water. I said ok, and just held my mouth tightly closed so no splashing bits of water would get on my mouth. I wondered (while M. was squealing with delight) if that was perhaps a big bathtub for a large number of this city's homeless population, or even perhaps (due to the smell) a big toilet too. Looking down at the water it was pitch black. I could not see a thing peering down. It was a true abyss. I went across the sculpture 5 times. Our second to last run we turn around and a little boy (maybe 6 years old) who was with his dad, had fallen in. "Oh for the love of Pete! The kid fell into the sewage pit!!" I say. My sister comes over after hearing this unfortunate child screaming bloody hell and we just stare. Feeling helpless. A couple of minutes later his grandmother appears out of nowhere with dry clothes. I would have bathed him in rubbing alcohol if I had any on me.
And of course, my daughter completely unphased, wanted to go again. She ain't afraid of no stinkin brown foam sewage pit. Not at all.