"ALWAYS A LIFEGUARD", by Cal Porter

ALWAYS A LIFEGUARD

The Premise

I’m not sure how long it takes, how many years are involved, but it happens to almost all of us.  And it’s this:  If we work a lengthy period of time lifeguarding on the beach, spending those countless hours concentrating, with eyes fixed on watching the water and making numerous rescues, something is etched into our minds that we have no control over, something indelible, and here’s what it amounts to: We have now been hooked and reeled in, we have been brainwashed, we are lifeguards forever.  Oh, you can leave beach lifeguarding, go on to other jobs, other pursuits, but it’s always there if you lifeguarded long enough, it’s not going to leave you.  From now on whenever you find yourself around a body of water, be it a lake, a river or stream, a pool, or the ocean up and down any coast, and there are swimmers out there, it will kick in, it’s automatic, you’re right back to “watching the water”.  You can be somewhere by the water just having a fine old time, but then wait a minute, is that kid over there too far out, is that lady okay?  You know that feeling, you’re always on duty.  And you can even be sitting on a well-guarded beach minding your own business when suddenly, whoa!! That guy needs help, he’s caught in a rip, where’s my rescue can; again it’s an automatic reflex.  Ah, but relax , there he goes, the nearby lifeguard is on it, he’s out of his tower and running full speed for the water, stop worrying. 

Off for a nice rip rescue. Photo by and Copyright Nick Steers. Used here with permission.

                    
                                
The Examples

I’m sure these experiences of mine are no more significant or different from those of other present or former lifeguards who have spent a lot of time watching the water.   I am eighty-eight years old now and I retired from the L.A. County Lifeguards in 1976, thirty-six years ago after guarding for thirty-seven years; and also after a long stretch of being a public school principal.  So here are just a couple of experiences happening when I was not on duty as a guard; there are plenty more, and I’m sure others can come up with more exciting ones.

1.  Steve Morgan and I were sitting on the private beach near where I live in Malibu after a surfing session on some pretty sizable stuff.  Steve is seventy, an L.A. County Guard for over fifty years and still doing it.  This was a few years back on a day of big surf with a strong lateral current running.  Three young ladies of very poor swimming ability were out over their heads and suddenly were being pulled relentlessly toward disaster and the finger reef that angles out from the beach.  Not a word was spoken as Steve and I just took one look at each other and then jumped to our feet on a dead run.  Steve swam and I grabbed and paddled my board since there were three of them and we had no rescue equipment.   We reached them after bucking some pretty good whitewater and they grabbed the board for dear life and we managed to get them out beyond and past the reef and then eventually back to the beach some distance down the shore.  They were shaken but okay.  No one on the beach saw or was aware that anything had happened.

Triple Rescue Site. Photo by & Copyright Cal Porter. Used here with permission.

                                                        

2.  Crystal Lake is high in the San Gabriel Mountains , about 7000 feet, a beautiful spot.  I took my family up for the day.  There were a number of kids in the lake, no lifeguards, and of course, as usual, you can’t help it, you’re “watching the water”.  After a while a little girl got out too far, was over her head, and started the familiar non swimmer, straight up and down dog paddle, with face and mouth barely above water.  I took off, swam to her, and with the famous cross chest carry, side stroked her back to the beach.  She was shook up, about to cry, and I asked the whereabouts of her parents.  There they were, nearby, eating lunch and playing cards with another couple, backs to the water.  They looked up as we approached and said what happened?  I said oh your daughter got out a little too far, I’ll let her tell you about it, and left.  A thank you was not forthcoming.

Crystal Lake. Photo by & Copyright Cal Porter. All Rights Reserved.

                        
                                                 
3.  I’m not sure Jan had ever been on a surfboard before, but what a day she picked to take a paddle.  Double overhead stuff had been pushing through all morning and she arrives during a lull, dead calm and peaceful looking.  I’m out alone in the lineup; the other two surfers had caught waves and were on the beach ready to paddle back out.  Jan starts out toward me, all set for a leisurely paddle and maybe a two foot wave to practice on.  As she approaches I see the set of the day far, far outside on the horizon.  We’re both going to get caught inside.  I holler at her, “Jan, paddle for your life straight out as fast as you can”.  And then, almost, but we didn’t make it over the oncoming crusher.  Up the crest and back over the falls for the long drop.  She came up sputtering and panicky, not even close to ever being in a situation like this before.  I told her I would stay with her and we would make it in but we were going to be hit with a whole series of these fast following waves, maybe bigger.  Each time she came up she had that look like this is it, but I would push her board to her to hang on and then stay with her until we were hit again.  There must have been a dozen waves in that set but we finally washed onto shore far down the beach.  Jan lay there on the sand for a long time trying to get her breath but she was going to be okay.  In the distance I  saw her boyfriend coming down the trail to the beach so I left her there for him and went back up the beach to go back in the water.  Later when I was on the beach the boyfriend paddled out to where the two surfers were.  He said to them that Jan was beat and tired, but it was very lucky that guy on the beach was there to rescue her and get her safely to the beach.  The two surfers took one look at each other and said, “That guy on the beach is over eighty years old.  ("Once a lifeguard, always a lifeguard.")

-----

*** Thanks Cal !  Words cannot express how grateful we are for your continuing contributions to our tribe of ocean lifeguards.  And we again ask our alumni and active lifeguards to help us post content for our collective to read and enjoy.  There are many stories and lessons to be told and if you receive and enjoy the stories posted on this blog and have not contributed yet, please consider doing so.  And lest you were not paying attention, you've been challenged by Cal himself when he said above, "...and I’m sure others can come up with more exciting ones."   So bring it on, and put pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard.  It's time to share a story.  Thanks for your consideration.

("Always A Lifeguard", story by and Copyright 2012 Cal Porter. All Rights Reserved. Used here with permission.)

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That's why they call it Equinox...

Wow!  Check out this photo from earlier this evening (Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012) from the beach in Santa Monica by local photographer, Fabian Lewkowicz.  Spectacular!

Per Fabian:  "The sun set at 6:45PM. It rose at 6:45AM. That's why they call it Equinox. (Santa Monica Beach - September 25, 2012)."

Photo by FabianLewkowicz.com / SantaMonicaCloseup.com

 

 

 

*** Thanks very much for allowing us to share your great photo, Fabian!  ***

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Until next time.....



"County Recurrent" News
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"1964: An Imperial Rip at Dockweiler", by L.A. City OL Richard Fletcher

Image source:  insidesocal.com

Image source: L.A. County

Dockweiler South (DWS) at the Fire Pits, Memorial Day 2012. Photo by & Copyright Eric Liberty. Used here with permission.  Thanks E !

As our readers will recall, we recently blogged about a blitz rescue along Santa Monica South just past 5 pm on Labor Day 2012 (x-ref:  "It's A Wrap!...").  One of our alumni, L.A. City Ocean Lifeguard Richard Fletcher (Dockweiler 1963 - 1966) read this blog post with interest and it conjured up a vivid memory from his own experiences at Dockweiler "back in the day" in the Summer of 1964.  We are posting hereinafter Richard's remarks and our Q&A that followed.

Richard:  "Your mass rescue reminded me of the only one I was involved in. Second year, 1964, I believe it was. Late summer, otherwise quiet day. Mid afternoon, small surf, receding tide and big crowd. The you-know-what hit the fan when a rip started boiling between my tower and the next one southeast. I and that guard, veteran Dwayne Draves if I recall rightly, flipped our phones and got feet wet. Before even clearing the foam, I could see it was going to be big. I passed two adult male patrons on the way out. They inquired about my mission. I told them about the rip and asked if they were okay. Affirmative. I resumed swimming out and heard both of them yelling for help behind me. You rarely hear someone calling for help in a surf rescue, or that was my experience, but to hear someone behind you doing it is a little nerve-wracking. I went back to get them. They weren't panicked, so I told them to hang on to my float and kick their feet, and continued out to the head of the rip where there was a regular crowd of beach patrons. At one point I had three people hanging on to my float and was talking to the free swimmers to assess their situations and, in effect, do triage while the rest of the guards and the boat arrived. Afterwards, we wrote cards on 27 people.

As Archie and Edith Bunker used to sing, "Those Were The Days."

Best regards, and keep up the good work,"

Richard Fletcher
LA City, Dockweiler
'63-'66

---

County Recurrent:  "Hi Richard,  I really enjoyed reading about your mass rescue story.  That is a story that should be told!  Which beach was that at?   I could post it as a blog post of its own or you can add it as a 'comment' to the September 2012 Swell blog post that rekindled this great memory!  You were using a rescue tube, right?  The Pete Peterson tube, as I recall.   Multiple victims with a tube is a real test of strength since they do not float as well as our hard plastic rescue cans with the handles that facilitate multiple victims, though not as practical if you have a victim that is in real trouble and unable to swim on their own or even hold on."

---

Richard:  "It was at Dockweiler fire ring section. Not sure that exists anymore. Right at end of Imperial Blvd.

My tower was Kilgore II, if memory serves. It was my first "permanent" summer tower. Dwayne was working the next tower southeast, Kilgore I. Those towers were named after the residential streets that used to lie up on the palisades. A bunch of B movie schtarkers & extras lived up there, but that's a Cal Porter kind of story. In fact, I think he's already touched on that subject.

Peterson all foam float tube with orange plastic covering. Fortunately, the two guys I picked up on the way out were competent swimmers, but had a brief moment of panic when they couldn't swim against the rip current, which was strong. I was using its energy to get outside, although the surrounding seas were smooth and there was no danger of cleanup sets. It was a royal PIA to go back for those guys, but once under control, they weren't a problem.

There was quite a crowd out at the rip's head but most of them were relatively competent swimmers. It was a situation where some encouraging words went a long way and I had them hang on to the float rather than trying to climb up on it or my having to strap it around a single swimmer. I swam in with my three principal "victims" and a small group of swimmers followed me. While the rip really boiled with lots of dirty, sandy water at the head, it burnt itself out fairly fast. The boat took a group of swimmers who didn't want to swim back to the beach up to Ballona Creek and let them off in shallow water where they climbed out and were driven back to their "spots" on the beach in the trucks. I wasn't alone out there by any means. Dwayne was there and the other tower guards came out and the boat, which was moored at the Palace Street floating moor line in front of the big concrete HQ building, was quickly on scene.

Go ahead and print it if you want. It's a recall situation, which is going on fifty years now. But, in a way, I can close my eyes and see it as if it were yesterday. I believe it was a combination of sea conditions, bottom contours and the massive crowd we had that day. We'd had some big surf the previous week or two and there were some formidable inshore holes. You get a lateral current feeding a rip, if the crowds are there, it will sweep them up."

---

Richard:  "I got to thinking about the relative merits of cans & tubes. One clear advantage to the later foam tubes is that they're extremely light & much easier to haul seaward through winter or Baja surf. Another is that if you have a victim who can't hang on that you need to get ashore as fast as possible, you can wrap the thing around him/her (most of them anyway) and they'll float high with their heads out of the water.

We had a couple of the old yellow aluminum County cans that we used around piers & rock jetties & groins. I used them occasionally and I liked their compact profile and with their great buoyancy and high flotation were pretty comfortable going out. I recall that the worst thrashing I took going out was on my first Baja-surf rescue where we didn't have the advantage of riding the rip because a series of close-out walls came through and the only option was to go to the bottom and hang on until the freight train passed overhead. I was using the old yellow inflatable Peterson tube and I was glad it wasn't a can because it whacked me pretty good. Naturally, I didn't have fins. They weren't commonly in use. It was obvious to me that with fins you can keep moving when you dive to avoid going over the falls, so I requisitioned some divers fins from Lost & Found and kept them in my gear bag until Jerry's Sleeko Churchills appeared. And, what a difference they made!

I really like the Imperial angle in the title. "Imperial" Boulevard had tons of symbolic meaning for us at Dockweiler. What that day illustrated for me was the volatile mix of sea conditions and crowd dynamics. The last thing on my mind when I opened my tower was a mass rescue. We had discussed the possibility at one time or another, but we had no protocol for dealing with it, which I suspect you have in place today. One retrospective thought is that one trained lifeguard could haul two Peterson-type tubes out to a situation where the more flotation, the better, rules. Or, even jury-rig two tubes on a single shoulder line. Three guards out, and you've got six flotation devices to deploy. They really calm people down, making a world of difference.

A last thought: even on the most tranquil of days, things can go sideways in a heartbeat.

Thanks again for the great blog."

Regards,

Richard

-----

*** Many Thanks to Richard for sharing his remarks and commentary.  We really appreciate it and know that our readership does too!  ***

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Until next time.....


"County Recurrent" News
http://CountyRecurrent.blogspot.com

"Sunday Evening Sunset" over Dockweiler, Labor Day Weekend 2012. Photo by & Copyright Eric Liberty 2012.

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Lt. Richard "Dick" Heineman: R.I.P.

The Memorial Service for Dick Heinman has just been announced, as follows:

Just in from Section Chief JD "Jon" Moryl (Ret.); Re: Lt. Dick Heineman Memorial Service:

    From:     Jon Moryl     Subject:     Richard Heineman Memorial
    Date:     September 23, 2012 9:17:18 PM PDT

Hi Will,

Here's the dope.... 

Saturday, 29 September at 0900 hrs., Ave 23 in Venice.

Thanks,

jd

*** note: adjacent parking lot at end of Venice Blvd. Ave-23 Tower out front of Venice Lifeguard HQ.
-------------------

Link to Article regarding Dick Heineman in Culver City Patch:

http://culvercity.patch.com/articles/culver-city-resident-richard-dick-heineman-dies-at-75


Link to Article about Dick Heineman in Santa Monica Mirror:

http://www.smmirror.com/articles/Obituary/Obituary-Long-Time-Santa-Monica-Lifeguard-Richard-Dick-Heineman-Passes-Away/35571

------------------

Sept. 17, 2012

Another Passing...

We received notice (below) this morning from (Ret.) Section Chief, Jon Moryl, of the passing of Dick Heineman.

Lt. Dick Heineman, at center; and flanked by OL Darell Willey, at left; and Section Chief (Ret.) Jon Moryl, at right

"It is with much regret and sadness that I inform you of the passing of Lt. Richard "Dick" Heineman.  He passed away Saturday evening; he had been hospitalized for awhile.  He will missed by all who worked with him.  Dick was the long time Ops lieutenant at SMHQ and retired just prior to the LACOFD merger in 1994.

I will give you more details as they come..."

Jon Moryl

-----

We located two more photographs from the recent past of Dick at Lifeguard Functions and with lifeguard pals.

"Heineman & Overmire, LLP".  L2R, Dick Heineman and Tom Overmire. 

"Rogue's Gallery".  L2R:  Tom Overmire, Greg Bonann, Jimmy Doman, Adrian Crook, Bill Powers and Dick Heineman.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends and loved ones of Dick Heineman.

Many thanks as well to Jon Moryl for posting us and keeping us advised so that we can convey our condolences and keep our lifeguard family in the loop.  Details as to the memorial service will be forthcoming as we hear of them.

Respectfully,


"County Recurrent" News
http://CountyRecurrent.blogspot.com

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*** Keeping the County Recurrent "in the loop"..... whether he/she likes it or NOT ! ***

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note:  All photos by & Copyright Will Maguire.

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Ion Hartunian, R.I.P.

We've just been informed that Veteran LACo OL, Ion Hartunian, passed peacefully in his sleep at home this week.

Close up: Ion Hatunian, top row, center. Venice Lifeguards Summer 1988. Photo source info below.

Ion Hartunian, Los Angeles County Ocean Lifeguard:  June 29, 1979 - January 9, 2012.

LACo OL, Ion Hartunian (R.I.P.), top row, second from left; from Summer 1988. Photo courtesy of Nathalie Locas Brouwer.

In addition to his thirty plus years of lifeguarding, Ion was a very talented and accomplished commercial photographer. Here is the link to his website and a photo of Ion.

http://www.ionhartunian.com/about.html

Photo source:  www.IonHartunian.com

Last but certainly not least, Ion was also a JJ/SMC Alumni Swimmer.  As indicated and confirmed by Dave Kastigar, Ion swam for JJ on the 1978 and 1979 SMC Swim Team.  Ion knew and was friends with many generations of SMC Swimmers from his 30 plus years as an L.A. County Ocean Lifeguard (1979 - 2012).

Ian Hartunian, R.I.P.:  November 10, 1959 - September 11, 2012 

Rest In Peace, brother.

Respectfully,

"County Recurrent" News

Summer Crowds Continue...

With continuing warm air and water temps in Southern California, citizens are still flocking to the beaches...  Have a look at the crowds this past weekend along the shores of Santa Monica and Venice. Plenty of work for LACo OL's with rescues and preventions, with every tower opened on Santa Monica South this past Sunday, 9th, 2012.

And triple digit air temps are expected again this coming weekend with 90's in the valleys by Friday, Sept. 14th.  So the crowds will likely be back and OL's are advised to make themselves available asap!

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Until next time.....


"County Recurrent" News
http://CountyRecurrent.blogspot.com

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Forget the tea leaves, just have a look at the clouds...

 Summer 2012 is done. Get over it!  The times they are a changin'...  For clues, look up and check out the clouds.  Who needs tea leaves when you've got the Big Kahuna's brushwork?!... just sayin'...  Well, see for yourself!

 

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(All photos by & Copyright Will Maguire 2012.  All Rights Reserved).

Until next time.....


"County Recurrent" News
http://CountyRecurrent.blogspot.com

Service • Training • Commitment

*** Keeping the County Recurrent "in the loop"..... whether he/she likes it or NOT ! ***

DISCLAIMER: County Recurrent is not affiliated with nor sponsored by LACOLA or LACoFD.

*** PLEASE forward to other Recurrents, past and present, so that we can add them to our mailing list. ***

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"It's A Wrap!"...

End of shift at approx. 1930 hrs at SMS Tower #22, Labor Day 2012 (Sept. 3rd).  Photo by & Copyright Will Maguire 2012.  All Rights Reserved.  Used here with permission.

Summer 2012 ended with a four day set of aquatic fireworks in Central and Northern Section, as previously discussed in the preceding blog post on the Southern Swell that began this past Friday, August 31st and was still grinding its way on shore on Labor Day.  One blitz rip erupted Labor Day evening at approx. 1700 hrs just south of SMS Tower #20 with 7 guards in the water retrieving up to 12 victims... on a one foot tide with sets still breaking in the 3' - 5' (wave face) range ... and not leaving any of us alot of room to duck and hide either.  As I mentioned to another guard last nite, there were 3 body boarders and the balance were swimmers caught up in this hoover vacuum cleaner sucking people toward Catalina feet first in 6 - 8 feet of water.  The guards in the water were as follows:

Kevin Williamson and Cadet Toby Contarsy from T-20 hit the water first, followed by Elle Quane and myself as we saw the rip the same time as the T-20 guards and we just took off running.  Next came Kevin Maxwell from T-24, then Lacie Beattie from T-25, followed by Cooper from T-18 and Brandon Snell from T-17!!! Fantastic instincts on the part of both Brandon and Lacie to evaluate the number of guards in the water vs. the number of victims and to make the correct decision to haul a** to the rip and swim out and help out.  At one point I looked around and saw each of these guards and our cadet in the water and I was so impressed and knew instinctively that we had some exceptional lifeguards working yesterday.  Brandon and I locked eyes at one point and grinned at each other.  Meanwhile, Baywatch Santa Monica rolled up and the deck hand was getting ready to help Elle out with her two victims (one body boarder and one swimmer) and she tells them, "I've got it!, and then proceeded to swim both of her victims into shore by herself. You can do that when you are an All American Water Polo Player and four year Varsity Water Polo Player at UCSB!  (Go Gauchos!... just sayin'.) 

On a personal note, it was a real blast working yesterday at SMS Tower 22 with OL Elle Quane, just graduated from UCSB with a degree in Sociology. Her family was on the beach and got to witness her make a great rescue out front of T-22 around 1 pm.  Elle was in the water multiple times during the day and ended up working a 10 hour shift!  Also helping out yesterday was LACo Cadet JG, Toby Contarsy, who is such a fun kid and very, very fast in the water and so very keen to the currents in the ocean.  At one point I used my binoculars to see who was on the deck in the light blue t-shirt and navy blue shorts and the large brimmed LACo hat but no red rescue can hanging.  Then this described person put up his hands mimicking binoculars and looking straight at me.  Then I noticed the yellow can and I put it together and raised both my arms!  The kid is sharp!  Hilarious moment during a day of much action.

So much to say about this past Summer 2012, now officially over with the passing of the annual rites of Labor Day nationwide.  What A Summer!  We will recount its highlights at a later point when we can walk without the aches and pains brought on by multiple incursions into the ocean during the past 3 days...   :-)

And here are few more from Labor Day Evening's developing sunset as we closed the tower along Santa Monica South at the end of shift.

 (All photos above by & Copyright Will Maguire 2012.  All Rights Reserved.)

Last but not least, and this is a Very Special Treat!... we say goodbye to Summer 2012 and leave you with four Spectacular photos from Zuma during the sunset last nite, also on Labor Day, by OLS, Bob Janis (Ret.), including his remarks...

"Beautiful Zuma sunset, capping an awesome 3 day holiday weekend of big surf, rescues, prevents, etc.

"

"More sunset beauty at Zuma beach, wow what a way to end Summer 2012."

"The reward for an awesome summer 2012."

"How about the verga showers and lighting.
That's Leo Carrillo to the west."

 (The four (4) preceding Sunset Photos from Zuma are photos by & Copyright Bob Janis 2012. All Rights Reserved. Used here with permission.)

*** Thanks BJ!  ***

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Until next time.....


Will Maguire, Editor
"County Recurrent" News
http://CountyRecurrent.blogspot.com

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September's Southern Swell 2012!

Wow!  It's been Extreme. It's been Exciting!  It's Been Profound!...

Zuma has seen some truly Awesome surf, with Rips, Blitz Rescues and Baywatch Zuma hauling in stranded and panicked swimmers delivered by Zuma OL's.  Bravo to our Zuma guards!

Zuma OL, Lance Keene, said this about the surf and the conditions yesterday, Sat., Sept. 1, 2012:

"So, on a typical day at Zuma (there's never a "typical day"), you plan on "pounding the berm" for at least half of your shift, but yesterday was different. Large surf, monster rips, wind chop and large crowds kept most of the Guards on the beach doing a yeoman's job making prevents--trying to keep swimmers close and out of harm's way. There were many heroic rescues that showed the professionalism and fitness of LA County's best, usually on young studs that failed to respect the force of the ocean and wanting to prove their mettle. Fortunately, we were there to give them back to their mommy's and, like I said before, "All went home alive". As Bone said, the Zuma Guards were, indeed "pulling people out of rips like tuna" and Baywatch was constantly a critical part of the team. Two of my adventures ended with swimming a victim out to the Boat due to the size and power of the rips. One victim said he'd swam at Zuma all his life (32 Male) and never felt something this powerful. He was so shaken up, he needed extra time on Baywatch to gather his courage to jump in and let me swim him to shore. A couple of hours later there was a dramatic blitz rescue that filled Baywatch with guards and victims. Upon swimming to shore we were met with standing applause, something so surreal and unexpected, we just looked at each other and grinned sheepishly. However, as we were heading back to our towers, one of the guards said out loud, "there's nothing like a blitz to clear the beach". We all looked around and no one was in the water. Surreal for sure, but a great day to be a Zuma Guard."

*** Thanks Lance !

OLS Bob Janis (Ret.) sent us some photos and commentary of the surf at Zuma today, as follows:

"This is PDC-5 ( House Tower ) with big southern hemisphere set of waves.  It is 1600 hrs, low tide and he guards are busy with maximum holiday crowds, monster rips and overhead waves, making many prevents and rescues."

Photo by & Copyright Bob Janis 2012.

Digital shot (below) from cliff above Zuma 1 looking west.  The Zuma operation included guards on the beach making rescues and prevents, maximum crowds, Baywatch Malibu, Zuma 341, A34 and PWC dispatched to assist the beach guards.

The swell really came on strong Sunday afternoon.

Photo by & Copyright Bob Janis 2012.

"Sunday @ 1600 hrs. The Southern Hemisphere is pumping @ PDC-5. ( House Tower )"

Photo by & Copyright Bob Janis 2012.

*** Thanks BJ! 


In Central Section, Venice has seen Epic Surf, with blitz rescues along the Avenues and at the Venice Pier.   Santa Monica South has gone off... with rips, rescues, prevents and today a wet c-spine injury at Tower 25, with four guards assisting the victim into shore, followed by the area unit and the call car.  OL Justin Kirby remarked that OL/EMT Ian Christensen impressively marshaled the resources and saw to the care of the victim and his transport to the waiting SMFD Paramedics. 

The Southern Swell was still bringing in large waves today. Check out this next photo taken at approx. 9:30 a.m. at SMS Tower #26.

SMS Tower #26, Sept. 2, 2012 at Tower #26. Photo by & Copyright Will Maguire 2012.

L2R, OL Justin Kirby and OLS Rick Solomon on the berm at SMS Tower #24,  Sunday, Sept. 2, 2012 in the early afternoon standing of a recurring rip. Photo by & Copyright Will Maguire 2012.

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Until next time.....


"County Recurrent" News
http://CountyRecurrent.blogspot.com

Service • Training • Commitment

*** Keeping the County Recurrent "in the loop"..... whether he/she likes it or NOT ! ***

DISCLAIMER: County Recurrent is not affiliated with nor sponsored by LACOLA or LACoFD.

*** PLEASE forward to other Recurrents, past and present, so that we can add them to our mailing list. ***

*****   *****   *****   *****   *****

September 1st: "It's A Whole New Rating Year!"

Santa Monica South.  Photo by & Copyright Will Maguire 2012.

 Have you got your days in yet?  Don't wait until Spring!  Get started early.  Should we get the warm days of September and October that we usually do, get some days in this Fall.

Zuma Beach.  Photo by & Copyright Will Maguire 2012.

FYI:

Steps 4 and 5 (seniority) need only 4 days in a tower.

All the rest of you younger guys and gals need to get 10 days per year in the tower.

If you are a recurrent (aka, OL) and don't take a summer schedule, then we recommend that you get some days in this Fall if you can.

Manhattan Beach. Photo by & Copyright Will Maguire 2012.

10-4

Until next time.....


"County Recurrent" News
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