I wasn’t very happy at the end of my sophomore year in college when the only job I could get for the summer was the night supervisor job at the local recreation park and swim club. After all, $7.00 per hour is not exactly big money when you have a lot of tuition to pay, but after two weeks on the job I found out that money isn’t everything!
My job was to “supervise” the two lifeguards who were on duty from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. when we closed the pool. After we closed the pool, I was responsible for making sure everyone left the park by 11 p.m. so I could lock the big gates on my way out. The park was about seven secluded acres of land tucked in the middle of some tall trees about a quarter a mile back from the road. Besides the pool there were several ballfields, a kid’s playground, and a picnic area. It wasn’t much money, but it was easy, even if it was kind of spooky late at night with only the security lights dimly shining as I made my last rounds before locking up for the night.
I was lucky that the two lifeguards, both girls, were good at their job. Ann had just completed high school, while Vicki had just finished her first year of college. They kept everyone in the pool under control, and they didn’t fool around on the job. They were always attentive and alert, and it was a pleasure to work with them. It was also a REAL pleasure to look at them. Ann was very cute, but Vicki was a real knockout! A great swimmer, Vicki looked more like a bathing suit model than a lifeguard, and she could have gotten a job just about anywhere she applied, but she swam on the college swim team and enjoyed being around the pool.