lifeguard

In the deep end

In about my fourth lifeguarding shift at a new pool, I looked into the deepest end of the water, and I saw a person sunk deep, motionless with her arms and legs spread out. Just moments before, I was recalling in my head the story of a near-drowning that I had heard. This isn’t that ironic, though. It’s like when you think of a song and it comes on the radio at the same time. It’s serendipitous, but you probably forget all the times the song doesn’t come on. In retrospect, I anticipated swimmers drowning every guarding shift I worked,…

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