Being accepted as a Lifeguard was an honor, being accepted among your peers was priceless.

Competitive as Young Lions

By John Slowsky

2004

Story Author: John Slowsky
Lifeguard from 1969 – 1973
Notable achievements:
Member of 1st Rookie Team
National Champion in Lifeguard Competition
Brother of the first Female Beach Lifeguard in Modern Era

Wow, many stories, many experiences and all of them were molding a young man into adulthood with responsibilities beyond his age. Being accepted as a Lifeguard was an honor, being accepted among your peers was priceless.
My simple joyous story begins on Bluebird Beach in the middle of the summer when the water is warm and beautiful. Bluebird was an easy beach to guard, mostly because it was so small and with the locals to your left (playing volleyball) and the numerous rocks straight out in front, the only real area to keep your eye for danger was to the north in front of the Surf and Sand Hotel. Charlie Ware, my best friend and fellow Lifeguard was guarding at Mountain Road to the North, with the Surf and Sand sandwiched between us in equal distance. Although we were the best of friends, we were also as competitive as young lions. Charlie could swim circles around me, but I could do the same to him on foot. Charlie was easily the fastest in the water on the force, and I the quickest on foot. (That's how I won the Nationals).
I remember always having a fancy for Fudgesicle, the ice cream. I still have a problem with ice cream and my body shows it. But on this particular day there was no fear in the tower, beautiful summer day, sparkling water with an occasional set of substantial size waves, but really no rips or cares. From training with Dale Ghere and Jack Lincke, we were taught as guards that if a rescue was questionable, hit the water anyway and check it out before it became an issue. Anticipate the problem when it was still in doubt and resolve it before it became an emergency. The worst thing that could happen was that you took a swim in the element that you loved so much anyway.
So there I am with a Fudgesicle in my mouth when I see a little girl in front of the Surf and Sand beyond the shore breakers on one of those suicidal, flimsy, blow-up rafts. The little girl was about 10 years of age and obviously unfamiliar with the water by the way she struggled on her little raft. From my vantage point I could see a set coming in its slow march towards shore. I could also see that this little girl appeared to be in the perfect spot to catch the impact zone when this wave finally made it to shore. So I hit it, jumping out of my tower to take an easy jog down the beach without my fins and still with my almost consumed Fudgesicle in my mouth. Don’t ask me why I remember the ice cream but it’s true. Well as soon as I started making my move down the incline of the beach I looked way up North and saw Charlie Ware in the same action and motivation from Mountain Road. We must have both saw it at the same time and at the same time looked for each other in the distance.
Then the testosterone kicked in and it was off to the races! Damn, no way I’m going to let Charlie beat me to that little girl, no way! I suck down the last of the Fudgesicle and toss the stick out of the way as I’m bolting at full speed. Charlie fired into high gear exactly the same time I did and the both of us are completely oblivious to anybody else on the beach. I'm grinning just telling this story all over again. I know I have an advantage over Charlie while we’re still on land, but I know he’ll surely catch me and possibly pass me in the water unless I keep a spark of a lead.
I always try to imagine what this might have looked like if you were staying at the Surf and Sand Hotel from your balcony. Two, young, blond stallions charging down the beach in their sunbathed red trunks carrying their bright red emergency tubes; I mean the contrast to everyone else slowly moving on this beautiful day compared to two red blurs descending on one obvious location. Where are they going? Where's the emergency?
Sure enough that lumbering wave finally made it to the shelf right in front of that little girl on her suicide raft. It must have looked huge to her and even more impressive to the people on the beach that never even saw it forming. This next part, try to read it really fast :) Wham! I pop my tube and in one motion I have it across my body while I’m still in midair before making my first plunge. Wham! Charlie hits the water next to me in almost the exact same time which alarms me so I have to sprint like there's no tomorrow. The wave has reached its peak and is cresting to break; the little girl is sideways and at the bottom of the impact zone. You could see her little eyes the size of saucers. Stroke, stroke, stroke goes the two sprinters with their trailing red tubes. I’m not gonna give Charlie the satisfaction of getting to her first... Crash goes the wave onto the little girl and almost instantaneously two lifeguards have dove below the crashing wave, caught the little girl under that lip, pulled her through the other side and lift her out of the water. She is both stunned and relieved as she becomes aware that she is suspended by a lifeguard on either arm.
It was a tie; both Charlie and I are staring at each other as this little girl is raised over our heads. We both have grins surrounding our faces and the satisfaction that this race was so much fun. We both make the short swim in with this little girl and are greeted by her parents that are too grateful for what they just saw. Charlie and I wrap our tubes before setting off in opposite directions back to our separate towers. With a wave and a smile I bid my friend farewell knowing I’ll probably see him later after work as we spent many a summer evening together. On the walk back to Bluebird I find my stick from my Fudgesicle (no kidding, I really did) and make my way back to my tower thinking to myself, “That was so much fun”.
The next morning was one of those days where the entire Lifeguard Squad met at Main Beach for training and briefing from Dino Westgaard (you remember those?). Well, while sitting there with the rest of the guys in the sand as Dino standing on the deck of the main tower, began to make an announcement that yesterday the Headquarters received more phone calls from citizen’s praising how good their Lifeguards were than any other time in recent history and that it was on a Green Flag day. On top of that, all of the phone calls came from visitors staying at the Surf and Sand Hotel. I remember it was bothering him to know what happened. He points to the both of us sitting in the sand with the other 50 guards and asks if we could illuminate. I remember the both of us staring at each other with this dumb look on our faces because to the both of us, we didn’t have a clue. There was nothing special yesterday… then we both flash on the little girl at the same time “Ah… it was this rescue of that little girl” and I remember the both of us feeling almost embarrassed. We had accidentally made a small thing a big thing and we were just having fun. I know we didn't tell the whole story and Dino was suspicious. We figured it best we keep it to ourselves. Lifeguarding was a lot of fun and I'm a better person because of it.