To Our Readers
There are few places as lovely to live as The Two River Area and the rivers and ocean are the primary reason why. Year round, we enjoy the water and all it has to offer but summer obviously is the time to spend the day at the beach and this month has proved to be a dangerous one. Sea Bright was forced to fly double red flags this week to keep bathers out of the rough surf for their own safety. One flag means you’re usually allowed in up to your ankles; two means don’t even venture in. That’s how powerful the surf can be. Combine that rough surf with the worst rip currents in 20 years being caused by offshore storms and you can be swept away quickly. Unfortunately the two deaths that occurred this week both had one thing in common – swimming in unprotected waters. We highly train our lifeguards at the Jersey Shore for a reason. The ocean can take an unsuspecting swimmer and toss them around like a shell. It’s so important to tell our children, particularly as they reach their teenage years, how important it is to know the rules of safety. The No 1 rule – never swim in unprotected waters. I know teens particularly feel there is safety in numbers but the poor 18-year-old boy that drowned was with a pack of friends who enthusiastically jumped into the ocean without a lifeguard in sight. The results, of course, were tragic and that tragedy could have been avoided. Valiant efforts were made to save him – efforts that put lifeguards in jeopardy as they employed a rope technique feeling for bodies with their feet in rough seas. We often tease lifeguards about having the cushiest job of the season but that couldn’t be further from the truth. When my sons were young, I never took my eyes off them in the ocean but still, I parked the blanket, umbrella and cooler right next to the lifeguard stand. Because although I watched like a mother hawk, if something went wrong, I wanted their professional expertise, their bravery and their dedication ready to save my children. They train so hard and have to keep practicing to hone their skills and in my mind are true heroes. Many, many people have been successfully pulled from the ocean in time, given CPR and sent on their way because of the men and women lifeguards parked in those rather uncomfortable wooden stands. So let’s make their job a little easier and spend some time talking to our kids. Not texting or emailing but sitting them down and making the point that Mother Nature will win if she wants. But not as often if everyone plays by the rules.
Let’s have coffee!
Jody Calendar
Executive Editor/Co-Publisher editor@tworivertimes.com
