While in middle and high school I spent years swimming and doing triathlon, so while in college it was pretty easy for me to get work as a lifeguard. A new indoor water park opened up to a lot of press, and it was close to school, so it seemed like a perfect fit.
The first day on the job it was pretty clear that there were going to be some issues. Mandatory training was unpaid, breaks were short and unpaid, and the park itself was poorly designed. Rather than building the facilities so that a few central lifeguards could clearly see all open water, they filled the space with visual barriers. This meant that not only did it require an army of lifeguards to staff the park, but each lifeguard had to walk several miles a day on shift, pacing back and forth and moving around so that they could keep everything in view.
Of course being an indoor water park attached to a hotel and restaurant, it became a popular spot for families, both locals and those traveling through. But it also became a favorite of day-drinking parents who wanted to let their kids run wild hoping us lifeguards would keep an eye on them, despite numerous posted signs indicating that parental supervision was required.
One day, well into my shift, I walked around a corner and noticed a large orange bobber floating down the lazy river. It took me just a moment to realize it was an upside-down toddler in an orange swimsuit and I quickly jumped in.
Pulling the kid out of the water he (thankfully) started spitting and sputtering, meaning he was unconscious and trying to breathe on his own. I blew my whistle and the other lifeguards quickly assembled to pull everyone out of the water while handled the situation.
While I was still bending over the terrified toddler, who was sputtering and gasping for air, a mother showed up drawn by the commotion. Upon seeing me with her kid she started screaming and cussing me out for not properly babysitting her child, never mind that I had probably just saved his life.
The park being what it was, I got in trouble because a patron was upset, but the other lifeguards had my back. A few days later, on a busy Saturday in the middle of the summer, every one of us walked out forcing them to close the water park for nearly a week. The park went out of business a few years later - bad management, poor design, and extreme staffing requirements made it too expensive to operate safely and profitably.
