Some teens are damn idiots!
Imagine, if you will, the following dramatization. The sun shines through the wispy branches that overhang the golden sand and fragments of light bounce wildly off the ripples of the pond. Laughter and squeals of delight can be heard as children splash each other in waist-deep water. Some parents wade in up to their ankles and others sun themselves on beach towels and blankets. A butterfly floats overhead on the warm breeze.
Then, screams. A commotion. A half dozen parents scurry through the water to a woman who is crying. A motionless floating body is scooped out of the water and pulled to shore. Some people scream for help. Some people dial 911. Some people hurriedly look around for the lifeguard.
Two teenage girls in bright red one-piece bathing suits stand helpless off to one side. They are as frightened and confused as everyone else but are quite puzzled as to why parents keep staring at them and yelling to them to help. On their bright red bathing suits is the word LIFEGUARD emblazoned in white serif with a small coast guard logo. Finally, a frenzied Father runs over, grabs the two of them, and drags them over to the scene to help.
This did not happen. But it was exactly what ran through my mind this afternoon at Bear Brook State Park. A few friends got together for an outing and the first thing I noticed were the NO LIFEGUARD ON DUTY signs. Although there were two lifeguard stations, no one happened to be working that day.
And, because of the sign, I found it quite odd that I kept seeing a pair of teenage girls wandering around in lifeguard uniforms. They were in their early teens and perfectly capable of working a neighborhood pool, but way too young for the responsibilities of patrolling a state park. They walked up and down the beach with authority, chatting and laughing with each other. At no point did they actually look at the water.
Then they nonchalantly walked up the stone steps away from the beach, strolled across the park, and sat down…with their parents. I was dumbfounded. These two girls wearing lifeguard uniforms were there for a family picnic and had absolutely no authority to be representing themselves as park staff! Either that or lifeguard uniforms are the new trend to wear at the beach!
It’s now early evening and I’m still enraged by this. I’m a young very cynical person and it takes a lot to get me going. Some teens are complete idiots.
