The Throne in the Sunlight

     Becoming a lifeguard is not easy. You must be physically fit. You must have a command of the water environs and be skilled in swimming.  All of these things came easily to me when I was 17 years old.  I had the fastest time for the 25 yd freestyle in New Orleans at that time, a short lived fame.             Completing the mile swim was only the beginning.  Then comes the Red Cross training as well as finding the right fit for a job. 

       It was very competitive. Without the certification card you can't work.  I finally settled on the YMCA that recently opened in New Orleans East.  The main tank was a full 50 meters.  It had a deep end with the three meter board and the one meter in good condition.  

     Each day began with classes for young kids. In the heat of the summer drive the parents to the pool for cooling off.  The powerful showers were well used for those dirty butts.  I must have taught thousands of kids how to swim over the years.  I also taught spring board diving fundamentals.

     Pool maintenance is one of the many jobs of the lifeguards. The correct Ph is essential so that kids can open their eyes underwater and not feel the sting.  It is the pH balance that causes the eye pain not too acidic not too alkaline----just right. Sometimes this is hard to achieve if you are not a swimmer.  I knew muriatic acid and chlorine up close and personal. The filters had to be back washed daily which clears them of all the hair, dead skin, band aids and the odd bikini top that no one will claim.  

      The girls used to sneak back with us to get a little more experience being around hot males. We were working and it would mean our jobs if we were caught screwing around. You can read the menu without eating.
  The heat of the day is when the pool fills up. Lifeguards take up their seat ten feet above the water under the huge umbrella. Your shift can last a full 8 hours on the golden throne.  Your skin becomes so burned it can crust and crack. You slather on sun screen.   I was too poor to buy sunscreen and made use of the old zinc oxide trick on my nose which looks oddly professional. The look is completed with dark sunglasses preferably ray bans that polarize light so you can see beneath the surface.  

     The police whistle is essential.  You must look high and low to find the correct whistle which is stainless steel with the tiny cork rattler inside. Sport shops are the places to start looking.  Nowadays, you might come across one at an outfitter or online. Nothing else will do. The sharp report of the whistle is the only way to control kid activity such as running or diving from the side of the pool.           Everything is regulated.  It must be.  Injuries happen anyway so being skilled in first aid is also essential.
       Mickey would set the example of what it means to be a lifeguard by swimming a mile each day before work. Benton would end his shift by performing a triple somersault from the 3 meter board effortlessly and in perfect form. 

     I was the instructor.  I had two German sisters who were Olympic swimmers.  Their father thought they needed something special to keep them interested in swimming. He enrolled them in my diving class.  It was what I did best. Motivating kids to have confidence to win and perfect their skills with discipline and guidance.
      Everyday when we closed the pool in the dark, I would climb the 3 meter ladder to do the final check.  I'd look in all the corners at the bottom of the pool just to make sure we left no bodies. It would be curtains, if someone else found a body we overlooked.  At the end of the season we all looked fit and trim.       

        There was no where to go but back to school.  This was Louisiana in the late '60's without much opportunity.  When I say opportunity I mean NO OPPORTUNITY.  You might be able to pick up the trash at a job site for a few bucks but you can only do that a few times before the issue of transportation raises its ugly head.      

       Unless you know someone who will help find employment your fate is sealed.  No wonder the kids are crazy in inner cities.  Life is hard and then you die.
      The unemployment office is a scam that only gets you day work and no more. You must work at least, a quarter year to derive benefits. The summer work season is less than three months long which makes it a month short of a quarter year.

      Employers know this and use it to manipulate the worker, You will spend your life waiting in the queue.  My brother had the unique ability to keep a job just long enough to be eligible for unemployment benefits.           It was never enough to live on. It was enough to buy alcohol. During these times he stayed drunk most of the time, dropping out of high school to join the navy and ship out to Vietnam on a battleship named New Jersey. He looked good on the day he flew to San Diego to meet his ship. 

     He is now the pump master at one of seven pumping stations in New Orleans. I haven't seen him since those days. I heard he has a family with a bunch of kids.  We were never really close. The one time my Mother arranged a meeting on one of my trips home...he failed to show up.
    I got another job for the summer working for Kingsley House which is an extension of the Catholic outreach for inner city youth. This year they were opening their summer camp to unprivileged inner city black youth. These were the years of integration and acceptance.  I just wanted a job.  I was hired as a camp counselor, lifeguard, swimming instructor and leader of youth.  I excelled in the role.

      The camp is no more. The beautiful Gulf Coast has been ravaged by hurricanes that swept ships onto the beaches.   The great oaks that kept us shaded are gone.        The old refuge has long since vanished. Swept away by the forces of nature that have been shaping the coast line before the time of man. 

   We camped near the Jefferson Davis Mansion.  There is a bog nearby that had never been explored.  I found insect eating plants like the pitcher plant and the sunstar that were endlessly fascinating next door to his Mansion.