COMMUNITY COMMENTARY -- David Groverman

David Groverman

I was running on the beach in Newport Beach during my lunch hour

recently when a lifeguard ran by.

I looked ahead and saw that he was going toward a very visible rip

current that had four people in the midst of it.

The surf wasn’t all that big and I didn’t see any obvious distress so

I concluded that perhaps he was being a bit overzealous.

By the time the guard entered the water, however, things were

beginning to look a lot worse.

The four swimmers consisted of three little girls, all about 10 years

old, and a dad, who had apparently gone out to shepherd his wards back to

shore and was now having increasing difficulty with the task.

The guard swam out and when he reached the group, one little girl had

sunk lower and lower, and her head was arched back to keep her mouth

above water.

She was in trouble and the lifeguard arrived in perfect time. He

quickly wrapped his flotation device around her and was pulling her to

shore while simultaneously directing and guiding the other two girls

diagonally toward the beach.

They all arrived safely except for the dad, who was still stuck in the

rip current. The father kept swimming straight for shore in short

explosive bursts. He’d make a little progress, then have to rest a bit

and he would be pulled right back out.

The lifeguard went back and got him, which was good because the guy

was becoming exhausted. That dad was so tired, in fact, that when he

finally landed in shallow water, he couldn’t stay on his feet and kept

falling over.

The seriousness of the situation had increased remarkably quickly and

I salute the perceptive eye and calm, efficient demeanor of that 10th

Street guard, later identified as P.J. O’Brien.

He made it all look easy.

* DAVID GROVERMAN is a Newport Beach resident.