Four weeks in and a few shades darker the season has
officially begun. I expected a slow
start in spring. I imagined sitting with
the gulls enduring cold rain, fierce winds and 30 mph sand blasts. However, other than a few dull and dreary
days we’ve been granted ideal vacation weather. This past weekend could have
fooled you for the middle of July. Warm temps, hundreds of multi-colored umbrellas
stacked on one another, kids running in and out of the water and question after
question from beach goers on their daily stroll.
I’ve enjoyed cloudless skies and small talks
with locals, like Coach. Coach is an
older fellow who moved to the island in 2006. He coached basketball
professionally for 20+ years before retirement and now officiates baseball
recreationally. If the sun is out, Coach
is out. Sporting his vintage, yellow, 10-speed cycle with a green beach chair strapped to his back. He ALWAYS says hello, asks which way the tide
is moving and if I need anything. I’ve
come to appreciate people like Coach. So
willing to open up his life and share, and equally as interested in mine. He might be old but his mind is sharp and he
remembers every detail I highlight in my many stories. It’s fascinating to know a complete stranger
knows more about my life, goals and dreams than members of my own family. Why so? He asks. He listens. What a complicated concept, eh? But to think
so many people miss the opportunity to know the best about the people who are
closest to them because they don’t take the time.
I quickly brushed up on my first aid skills day one. A woman approached me with a nasty gash on
her arm unable to control the bleeding.
“What happened?” I
asked reaching for my first aid kit.
“Oh, A dog bit
me while I was walking over there.” She points behind her.
“What? Where is it? What
color? Do you know the breed?
Her response: “Oh. Well…(insert
long awkward pause) …it was MY
dog.”
My response: “Um.
Okay...(insert long awkward pause)...well let's get you cleaned up, shall we?
People’s natural reaction to “save face” is funny to
me.
Unimpressed by the way adults try to play it cool; I prefer
the unashamed reactions I get from kids when in need of help. The example I’ll use happened last week when
a sweet seven-year-old girl stepped on a stingray while boogie boarding. Luckily, the barb didn’t penetrate her foot
deep enough to release its painful (but not deadly) venom; however, due to her
reaction you would have thought otherwise. I’m talking THE death scream. The one I’d imagine a prehistoric pterodactyl
emitting while escaping the jaws of a dreaded T-Rex. I raced to her holding my first aid kit,
heart pounding, recalling stingray protocol I learned in orientation. Her mother was dancing around me in panic and
her dad sat there staring with his mouth wide-open catching sand drifts. Obviously, no help. I realized quickly she was unimpressed by my
medical terminology mumbo-jumbo. Plan B? What would I want someone helping me
to say? I quickly interjected between irrational screams, “YOU ARE THE BRAVEST LITTLE GIRL I’VE EVER SEEN!”
Silence.
Sniffles.
NAILED IT!
Now. You might be thinking, “Really? The bravest?” I might be a beach lifeguard, but the
thought of stepping on a bacteria infested stingray with a four inch serrated
barb loaded with potent venom capable of delivering very painful spasms up my
leg …frankly scares the hell out of me.
How would I react? Like a fleeing pterodactyl inches from the grip of a
hungry predator. I am unashamed to admit
that.
So yes, my response to you, “the bravest.” By this time
I had my gloves on, a gauze pad pressed to the wound and the bleeding
controlled. I wrapped her leg up,
carried her to her towel, and gave her parents instructions on how to care for
it once they left the beach, closed my first aid box and walked back to my
umbrella with post adrenaline jitters.
I understand with age comes responsibility for your actions,
or in this case re-actions, but it’s okay to let out a whimper and express you’re
in pain. That doesn’t mean you aren’t brave. It means you’re honest. I can respect that.
Moral of the story? Shuffle your feet when you are in warm
ocean waters to avoid stepping on a stingray.
;)
