The Famed Bob Burnside Rescue Can, below
The Pete Peterson Rescue Tube vs. The Bob Burnside Rescue Can
That's right, we're talkin' mano y mano, a real-life cage fight between Two Champion Rescue Devices that have collectively saved certainly tens of thousands of lives, if not more. Perhaps this debate will never be fully resolved and certainly this article does not pretend to even shed any new light on this issue.
Today's article, instead, will devote it attention to the heretofore "Untold Story" of the Tube vs. the Can. In a Dateline, I mean, County Recurrent, Exclusive, the following Untold Story was recently forwarded anonymously to our Editor's Desk. And so without further adieu, we begin:
"1935: Santa Monica, California, lifeguard Pete Peterson builds an inflatable yellow rescue tube with a snap hook at one end and a 14 inch strap, line and harness at the other end." (Source: Excerpted from: http://faculty.deanza.edu/donahuemary/Historyoflifesaving)
"1974: Santa Monica, California, rookie Santa Monica City Ocean Lifeguard Arthur Verge trains with the now standard and current color Red version of the Pete Peterson rescue tube during the rookie school sessions held in May and June.
"June 1974: Santa Monica, Calif., rookie Arthur Verge observed just off duty at nearby Hot Dog On A Stick (hereinafter, HDOAS) on his way home, in uniform, carrying his personal rescue tube..., chatting up one of the HDOAS Girls that he knows from high school at St. Monica's.
(Logo source: HDOAS)
Hot Dog On A Stick (Present Day)
"July 1974: Santa Monica, Calif, SM City merges with L.A. County and all towers are provided with the LACo Red plastic rescue cans and the Peterson tubes are relegated to secondary rescue status. Rookie Verge finds Rescue Can unsuitable as a prop for chatting up the girls at Hot Dog On A Stick and abandons his immediate after hours HDOAS runs, thus cementing his 'bachelor' status for many years to come...
........... the passage of time (omitted are the following, including but not limited to: the WW Bun Woman, the Fugawi Tribe, Streaking at SMC, Baby Huey Appearance at UCSB, multiple sorority girlfriends, USC for Masters and Ph.d, Intl. Travel, More girlfriends, El Terasco runs (multiple), home purchase, tenure, more dating, more days on the beach; Film Projects with co-producer Samet, with actors Topar, the Topar children (x-ref: child labor laws unobserved), Makuta, etc.; First Class Lufthansa seating to Austria on school boondoggles, with same wink wink arrangements with Quantas for later New Zealand and Aussie school trips, with pay...; Eric Shargo, Ph.d gets married sometime in the '90's causing tremblors and undersea magma shifts in the earth's crust, etc., et al).
"May 2008: Santa Monica, Calif., Arthur Verge, Ph.d gets married to his lovely and beautiful bride, Mary Anne, at St. Monica's with a reception following at the Beach Club on Santa Monica North. Even the Parish Priest has to be given oxygen such is the shock.
(Photo by Will Maguire. Used here with permission. Copyright 2008.)
(out-take: June 2008, El Segundo, Calif., newly minted Mrs. Arthur Verge enrolls husband and Prof. Arthur Verge of El Camino College, and their now family dog in the City of El Segundo K-9 Training Academy's night school. Lessons immediately pay dividends with husband and dog religiously practicing their a.m. and p.m. around the block walks with poop scooping duties).
"Dec. 2008: Venice, Calif., AV, Phd presents a tribute to George Freeth on the 100th Anniversary of Freeth's famed multi rescue off the Venice Breakwater and a rare never before seen photo/slide is revealed showing Freeth with two young junior lifeguards, circa 1908, with the two young lads bearing a remarkable resemblance to Arthur Verge and Mark Samet. The audience wonders if Arthur is immortal...
"Jan. 2009: Santa Monica, Calif., Pete Peterson display plans announced for SM Museum on end of SM Pier.
End note: Prof. Arthur Verge, Ph.d could not be reached for comment as he is currently in New Zealand on yet another College Credit Overseas Trip...
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