HER WATERLOO

I, like writer Leonce Gaiter, have a pond (“On Plastic Pond,” Style, July 31). But I’ve had mine--a disgusting oil slick that smells like a sewage-treatment plant--more than four years now and still cannot keep it clear.

Over the years I have been told many things by the “experts”: I had too many fish in the pond. I scooped them out and transported them to the cemetery’s pond, where I hope they’re having a happy life. Then I was told the pond got too much sun, so I hung tarps over it. Now I have nice blue tarps flapping in the breeze. I removed the plants and treated the water with Algi-Gon. I hung buckets filled with cotton under the water to act as a homemade filter. Every two days I scooped out the slimy green cotton. Then I broke down and bought the expensive air filter. Do you think that did the trick?

One year I changed the water every month for four months. All for the pleasant sound of trickling water and the sight of happy goldfish. Just like Gaiter. Only I have the suspicion that he filled in his pond weeks ago and wrote a fantasy article. My husband’s ready to divorce me because I refuse to give up. I hate that pond!

SUSAN B. CHICK

Los Angeles