Work Hard, Play Hard
After last week’s heatwave, things have slowed down a little bit over the past few days.
Some cloudy and rainy days have given lifeguards a much-needed break from the sweltering heat and packed beaches.
While the beach has been calmer, the ocean certainly hasn’t. I can’t speak for every beach, but the rip currents on Beach 97th Street seem to get worse every day. You pick up your feet for a moment and the next thing you know, you’re getting sucked out to sea. We try to direct people out of the rip currents, but some days it’s hard to tell where they start and end, and people are confused because they don’t understand why we’re moving them. And then, of course, some people just don’t care. Maybe we should start using pool lane lines to keep everyone in safe swimming areas.
On Tuesday night, city lifeguards beat the Riis Park federal lifeguards in an all-star softball game. It was the best softball turnout of the season, and the city guards were happy to win. With fewer lifeguards in recent years, it’s become rare to have big turnouts for off the clock events, so it was nice to see so many people make it there.
Last year, the Shack Olympics were held right around this time, but it doesn’t look like a second annual will be held. Unfortunately, it wasn’t very easy to organize last year and it’s a lot for lifeguards to run it without a lot of help. Summer’s not over yet though, so maybe there’s still a chance.
