Page 6
The Nebraskan
Tuesday, June 25, 1985
ri O
Aries
'
Lifeguards watch TV on their day o
ff
By Use Olscn
Senior Reporter
Perched high above the pool, with
bleached hair and a deep tan, the
stereotypical lifeguards twirl their
whistles. From behind those Foster
Grants, four UNL student lifeguards
provide an inside look at the poolside
panorama.
Sam McFarland, a senior secondary
educationmath major recalls her first
week at Eden Pool, 46th St. and Ante
lope Creek Road, as a childhood dream
come true, and a time of revelations.
On her first day on the job, a friend of
the pool manager's stripped down to
his birthday suit and began bouncing
on the board, McFarland said.
"I just kind of hid my head, "McFar
land said.
Peggy Hart, a junior math major has
also had some surprises in her two
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summers at Elks Club Pool, 1700 S.
70th St. Most swimmers have noticed
flies in the "chlorine soup", but recently
the Elk's staff rescued a large spider
and made it a pet. Other items that
have "drifted in" include a bicycle, a
bar of Ivory soap, along with less sani
tary buoyant objects, Hart said.
Last summer, dur
ing about with bore
dom, Hart learned
to swing her whis
tle from each of
her fingers and
'"Once "a brother and sister brought
in a whole roll of fishing line and unra
veled it underwater," Hart said. "You'd
swim and you wouldn't see it and get
caught. It was tangled all over the
place."
The occasional diversions can help
to alleviate the monotony, Hart said.
However, boredom is a job hazard, life
guards agree.
' When it gets dull at Arnold Heights
pool, 4000 N.W. 46th St., Adam Amland,
a sixth year undeclared senior, plays
Trivial Pursuit, listens to the radio and
plays practical jokes on co-workers.
Occasionally the antics are extreme.
Once Adam and some friends put a
dead frog in a fellow lifeguard's water
jug. She took a big thirsty swig before
noticing the amphibian, he said.
"She was kind of pissed off at us for
awhile," Amland said.
Last summer, during a bout with
boredom, Hart learned to swing her
whistle from each of her fingers and
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"It's not easy to do and get a good
rhythm going," Hart said.
Another job hazard is sunburn, es
pecially early in the season, McFarland
said.
"My nose has peeled already about
ten times," she said. .
Even in midsummer heat a guard
might sit in the sun for nine hours or
more. "You feel zapped of energy,"
McFarland said.
Despite the drawbacks, all the guards
said that job benefits outweigh the
burdens. "You can be outside and get a
tan, but you're actually getting paid for
it," McFarland said.
Hart, a former lifeguard, enjoys the
freedoms of being a pool manager even
more.
"Part of what I do for a job is what
people do on their days off," Hart said,
"On my day off I watch T.V. inside."
However, the fun is tempered by
responsibility. Hart, Mcfarland
and Amland have all been involved
in assisting "swimmers" to safety.
"It's good to know that you're need
ed," Hart said.
Enforcing rules, even rules they per
sonally disagree with is another part of
the lifeguard's duties.
"I get really sick of yelling 'walk,
don't run,' " Amland said.
Sometimes when they're really feel
ing like spoil sports, the Elk's life
guards will tease the kids. "Our big
thing now is 'No smiling!' or 'No having
fun!' " Hart said.
The most irritating part of Woods
Pool lifeguard Doris Spieker's job is
repeating rules over and over to kids
who know what they are supposed to be.
doing, she said. Because of the size of
the pool and crowded conditions, rules
L.
V
1
J",
US
if t
H 1
1
David BourkeThe Nebraskan
Angi Gonyea, a UNL sophomore accounting major, lifeguards at
Woods Pool on a hot day last week.
at Woods have to be more strictly
enforced, Spieker, a senior home eco
nomics major, said.
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Despite their position as "enforcers"
most guards find time to make friends
with their mostly youthful clientele.
"I've gotten a few proposals from
12-year-olds," McFarland said. "All life
guards have their groupies."
In her younger days, lifeguards were
her personal poolside gods, McFarland
said. After four years of chlorine bugs,
sunburn and nose cote, she no longer
sees her job through rose-colored glasses
(although she does have a neon pink
pair.) Yet, the veteran lifeguard plans
to return for a fifth summer before
looking for a job in the "real world." '.'I
wouldn't want to do anything else," she
said.
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