So there I was....

As I sat in my office at the "aquatic center" I manage, I heard the long, shrill whistle blast from the deep end of the activity pool signaling a save was underway. I sprinted out the door. One of the lifeguards was standing on her lifeguard stand pointing towards the area where the rescuer had jumped into the water.

I ran down to the side of the pool and helped the guest and the lifeguard get out of the water. The lifeguard adjusted his rescue tube and put on his visor while getting back on stand. I took the about twelve-year-old (non)swimmer around the shoulders and led him towards my office.

"Who are you here with today?" I asked.

"My uncle," he told me. "He's over there."

We tracked down his uncle and went to my office to fill out an accident report. I discovered the boy's name was Shon (yes, that is spelled correctly) and the reason his uncle hadn't been in the water with him was because he had just finished eating and didn't want to get stomach cramps.

What I then was an audience to was probably one of the most humorous tirades I've ever heard.

Shon's uncle did a great job of making Shon feel guilty for going swimming in an area that was too deep for him to touch. He told Shon how lucky it was that the lifeguard was there to help him out of the water...

"You need to thank this nice lady here, Shon," the uncle said, gesturing towards me. "And you need to thank that lifeguard that got you out of the water. Because, you know what, Shon? If that lifeguard wasn't there, Shon, then Shon'd be goin' to heaven!"

With tears in his eyes, Shon thanked me and humbly made his way towards the location of the lifeguard who had helped him out of the pool. I felt so bad for the poor kid who'd jumped into the pool and not realized how deep the water was.

Moral of the Story: Lifeguards are simply instruments of the Lord

(Getting a good tan is just one of the perks.)

Peace, love, and oreos,
Violet