COOL

It's 90 degrees. Do you know where your children are?

If they're not outside in the water, they're probably inside near air conditioning. This summertime beat-the-heat cycle seems unbreakable.

Southeast Missouri offers a few wrinkles in this pattern to keep you cool.

Pools are everywhere. Big towns. Small towns. They all have them.

It's been a better-than-average year so far for Cape Girardeau's two city pools, Doug Gannon said.

"Since June and the first part of July, it has been warmer this year," said Gannon, supervisor for aquatic programs for the Parks and Recreations Department.

In June 1999, 9,664 swimmers had come to Capaha and Central pools. In June of this year, 12,130 have taken the plunge, he said. "A lack of any real storm weather is the reason for increased attendance this year," said Gannon.

This traditional cool-down method mostly attracts locals, Gannon said.

"A lot of smaller towns have pools, so they don't come here," he said.

But they don't have malls. This benefits the Westfield Shoppingtown-West Park, said Jim Govro, who manages the mall in Cape Girardeau.

"We'll see a slight increase in people from Sikeston, Millersville and other outlying communities," Govro said.

The group that comes to the mall less frequently when outside temperatures sizzle are nearby residents, he said. The drive in a super-heated car is too much to bear.

"If they can't get the car cooled down fast enough with the AC, many figure it's not worth the trip," Govro said.

Nevertheless, mall walkers, runners and those who move at other speeds all increase from the middle of July through the hot days of September. In fact, early September is a boom time, Govro said.

"The moms flood in here when it's hot and the kids go back to school," he said.

But while children still have what might seem like too much time on their hands, the region's only water slide has an answer.

Lickitysplit water slide in Jackson draws in the parched from as far away as Park Hills, Mo., the Bootheel and everywhere in between, said Bud Leuckel, who has owned the slide since 1987.

"This time of year, we're slammed with people," Leuckel said.

Over the years, Leuckel has seen children who grew up sliding bring their own children back for water fun.

Lickitysplit gives the option of a golf cart ride to the top of the slide hill for the disabled who want to cool off, Leuckel said.

The only thing Leuckel is more sorry to see than cool temperatures is the start of school. Starting classes in the third week of August is too soon, he said.

"When I went to school, we had until after Labor Day," he said.