The viral video of an ocean rescue
You may already have seen this; it’s really quite impressive:
And here’s the father of the 10-year-old who was saved:
When you think about it, the difference between 10 years old and 16 years old isn’t really so great – not in years, anyway. But it can make all the difference in the world.
The lifeguard was very very determined:
A 16-year-old rookie lifeguard hailed by President Trump after a dramatic California beach rescue says he made one decision as towering waves crashed around him: “I wasn’t going to let go of that kid.”
“He was going to drown, and I wasn’t going to let that happen,” Ryder Williams later told his father, retired firefighter Shane Williams, after rescuing 10-year-old Nathaniel Rai from violent surf at Seabright State Beach in Santa Cruz on Saturday. …
“I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to return the child to his family safely,” Williams said. “This is my job and I love what I do.”
This is my job and I love what I do. As I said, impressive.
What a humble young man, exhibiting virtue and grace beyond his years. How proud his parents must be.
I caught this on my Facebook feed yesterday. People getting swept off of the shores by “sneaker waves” in my area and Santa Cruz happens a lot.
Santa Cruz has more sandy beaches, and we have some in the Monterey and south area, but there is much more of our shoreline covered with big, jagged rocks. This means that once a person is swept off, they run a strong probability of being knocked unconscious.
California State Parks lifeguard candidates take an intensive swimming and running test (which only about a third of candidates pass) just to be considered. If accepted, they get 80 hours of training in rescue and first-aid techniques, then have additional on-the-job training, rescue practices, and regular conditioning workouts. It’s a hard job that’s taken very seriously.
When you think about it, the difference between 10 years old and 16 years old isn’t really so great – not in years, anyway. But it can make all the difference in the world.
When you consider physical size, the difference is rather great. At age 16, I was about a foot taller than I was at age 10. (all I remember is my recorded height at end of 6th grade, and my final height, around age 16.) And about twice as much in weight at age 16 compared to age 10. I imagine those differences are around the average.
Which reminds me of taking swimming lessons at age 8. During the time I was taking swimming lessons, I went to a pond with family friends. When I overestimated my swimming ability, a teenager rescued me. Fortunately, a placid pond had no wicked tides to overcome.
Tommy Jay–we will be moving to our home in Carmel at the end of the year. Our time at the beach will take on a different dimension. One week ago our son and a couple of our grands came down for one last hurrah at our favorite public beach in Laguna. We had a 5-star day. The family was in the water 10-3:30. (Angel game that evening). Starting the next day, swimming would have been hazardous. Weather and all, we could not have asked for better.