Swim Lesson

My mother once told me: "If someone is willing to teach you something, go ahead and learn it. Especially if it's free. You never know when it might come in handy." When people learn something new, they often ask: "When in my life am I going to need this?" I heard it when I was going to school and many times as a GED tutor. What I tell them is: "You can't tell the future, You don't know what's going to happen the rest of your life. I don't know when you might need this and neither do you. Isn't it better to know than not? What does it hurt to learn?"

After my mom and dad divorced, my mom needed a job, and she got one at a place called the Jewish Community Center (JCC). The JCC is like a YMCA for Jewish people. Even though my family isn't Jewish, one of the perks of the job was free childcare. Everyday after school, I went to the JCC for daycare. Daycare offered specialized classes on different things. Mom signed me up for three: Gymnastics, piano, and swim lessons.

Gym was fun. We used some pretty cool equipment, and we learned how to do flips and tumbles. Piano was fine. I learned to play music, and the teacher was a music-loving hippy, so I had fun there. Swimming was the hardest. It was a lot of work learning the different strokes and practicing constantly. You even had to learn a special way to breathe. Mostly, I just didn't want to do it. I think my bad attitude about it made me hate it even more. I begged my mom to let me drop it. She explained to me that she had always wanted to learn to swim and regretted never having the opportunity, So, because I did (and it was free), I had to do it. I thought it was a worthless thing that was not going to help me. But she wanted me to do it, so I did.

Fast-forward five years to my Junior year of high school. The year was finishing up, and I needed to get some money for gas and girls and having fun. Some of my friends were getting jobs in retail and fast-food, but I didn't want to do that. I heard about this place that had a pool, some basketball courts, and a picnic area. They needed lifeguards for the summer, and I figured it would be pretty easy. I'd be hanging out in the sun, looking at cute girls, and making some money. The only problem was that I had to be lifeguard-certified by taking a ten week class, and I wasn't.

I told my mom what I wanted to do, and she told me that her work offered a certification class that was just starting, so I signed up. In this class, we learned things like CPR, and how to get someone out of the pool while protecting their neck. After ten weeks, I passed the class without a problem. I got the job, and was looking forward to summer in the sun.

The place where I worked hosted parties for businesses. For a fee, a company could rent the place for a get-together of its employees. They would hire a caterer, have food and drinks, and swim and play basketball. I got hired in May, and my first couple of days were training. Then, I had to lifeguard one of these parties.

It was a hot day in late May, and the party was a few hours in. There were a few people swimming, but most were eating, playing ball, and having a few drinks. The company had hired a beer truck, so the booze was flowing. It got hotter as the day went on, and more people were getting in the pool. The water was cold because it hadn't been hot for many days, so the pool hadn't warmed up.

A group of guys had been playing Basketball, and decided to cool off in the pool. This one fellow came into the pool area looking red as a tomato. He had been drinking beers and playing ball. He was going at it like he thought he was Michael Jordan, and he had overheated in the hot sun. He walked into the pool area, kicked off his shoes, stripped off his shirt, and jumped into the pool. He sank like a stone.

The water was so cold, and he was so overheated that when he jumped in, he went into shock and passed out. He had been loud coming into the pool, yelling and carrying on, so the other lifeguard and I were already watching him. He was closer to me, so I blew my whistle and dove in after him. The other guard cleared the pool out, called 911, and helped me get the guy out of the pool. He had to be taken out in a certain way, so, if he has spinal damage, you don't make it worse. It's easier with two people.

We got him out, and laid him down to check and see if he was still breathing. He wasn't, so we started CPR. About two breaths in, he started making a funny gurgling sound, and began throwing up beer and pool water. We turned his head, so he wouldn't choke. He started breathing on his own. The paramedics came and took him to the hospital, and the police came to fill out a report. The party was stopped, and we closed the pool, cleaned up, and went home. The next day, our boss told us the guy would be fine. The rest of the summer passed uneventfully.

Because I learned something I didn't want to, I ended up with a pretty fun summer job, and probably saved someone's life. Life takes us places we can't imagine. Learn all you can, especially if it's free. You could end up having fun with it, or doing something important.