Mom Made Me Go

Mom Made Me Go

By Charlie Ware

Written in 2004

Moving to Laguna Beach from Tustin in the mid '60's was a defining moment in my teen age life. At 14 years old, peer pressure and anyone older than me, could easily manipulate this skinny naive blonde hair blue eyed kid just off the inland bus, both to be good or bad. My mother knew this and when I spent my first summer in this paradise on the sand it was like the proverbial kid in the candy store. I couldn't get enough of the Laguna life style in those confusing and wild '60's. It was like the Amish boy moving to the city and proclaiming," Here I am, let me have it all." Not understanding the dangers that lay waiting with each new encounter. Also, I had very little ocean awareness and spending 12 to 15 hours a day at the beach unsupervised, was trouble just waiting to happen. I needed direction and mentoring, and quick. Within a few weeks into the summer of 1965, my mother enrolled me into the Laguna Beach Jr. Guard program. Little did I know how this beach safety program would change my life. I really didn't want to go at first because it would cut into my beach lounging and ocean fun as well as just hanging with my new friends, some of them the" wrong friends". I knew all about having fun at the beach and didn't need any beach baby sitting class to tell me how to behave. But, she dropped me off at Main Beach with a towel and a registration check and said," don't come home without learning about how to take care of yourself while at the beach". "I'm not going to worry about you our your brothers everyday anymore".( Subsequently, my three younger brothers all joined Jr. Guards too).Immediately, I could see that this was going to be great fun. So many new ways to enjoy the ocean and learn to respect this fantastic natural wonderland. But it wasn't just the great aquatic activities and beach safety that excited me. I had also found my first mentor in Dale Ghere, the program director for LBLG. His guidance and tutoring steered me clear of not only the hazards of the ocean environment, but the pitfalls of engaging the wrong life choices too. I had discovered a whole way of life with these larger than life watermen. I hung on to every story and ocean rescue technique they described so vividly. Always with a life learning point at the end. By summers end I had mastered most of the water and beach lessons and for the first time had a true sense of confidence and prowess. I now knew what I wanted to do each summer and two years later, that spring before my 16th birthday, I was asked to join the very first LBLG Rookie program. When I learned that I would wear the same uniform and train and perform just like the regular Lifeguards under Dale's direct supervision, you would have thought I had just discovered a bed of gold nuggets on the sand. And to hear Dale say we would be paid to do this for $1.75 hr., it was everything I could to do to contain myself in front of the other three rookie candidates (Bill Brown, Jeff Quam and John Enfield). I could see they were pretty stoked too. For 10 warm summers and a few off season cold days too, I passionately immersed myself into the world of Lifeguarding in Laguna Beach. Future LBLG mentors such as Jack Lincke, Dean Westgaard and others help me to grow and learn to appreciate our special ocean oriented way of living and build character with fantastic memories as well as make life long friends. And to think it all started with a mother’s great intuition and an excellent LBLG youth program. Every Laguna Beach mother should not deny their kids this excellent opportunity each summer, weather or not they may want to be a Lifeguard one day or not. They are guaranteed a lot of fun and a whole new way to look at the ocean and at life.

Charlie Ware