Gripe : Lifeguards Don’t Do Day Care

Having worked as a Los Angeles city lifeguard at six urban parks between 1979 and 1990, I read with interest the articles about the severe beating of lifeguard Paul Alba and the attacks of other lifeguards at the Will Rogers pool in Watts. I am troubled now, as I was years ago, by the naive parents who drop their children off curbside and assume that lifeguards want to and are capable of providing day care.

When I was a lifeguard, the pool staff had essentially no backup other than park “locals,” often the bag people and drug dealers who are in the park everyday. These “park residents” really didn’t want to see the police cars come around and an agreement was reached between them and the lifeguards: Help keep the peace and the pool staff won’t have to call the police. If you were a parent, would you drop your kid off curbside if you knew the local drug dealer was your baby-sitter’s best back-up?

I have been fascinated by TV coverage of police, National Guard troops and others trying to deal with the exuberance of youth during the World Cup, the Cinco de Mayo carnival and the riots. They had flack jackets, helmets, rubber bullets, tear gas, shields and billy clubs. There were dozens of them, and their job of calming the masses still wasn’t easy. Yet a couple of half-naked, barefooted 17-year-old lifeguards are asked to deal with (tough situations). In all the articles about the incidents in Will Rogers Park, community members spoke of how essential public recreation is to keeping the peace and quality of life. Who pays for this type of service? The same funds that pay for increased police and other government departments. Other departments--police, fire, and utilities--have the option of creating public support from growing public fears while recreation is often seen as nonessential.

I am praying for Paul Alba, his wife and child. He went to work because he believed he was doing a good thing for his community and for his family. These are values we need desperately in our city. He has paid a very high price for this noble act and the price he has paid must weigh heavily on all our shoulders.