Southern Man Saves A Life

So Southern Man and Teen Daughter (henceforth refered to as the Little Mermaid) and Southern Son all wander down to the local water park for a morning of fun and sun. And eventually Southern Man found himself on the big rental tube out in the deep end of the Wave Pool while Little Mermaid frolicked nearby. It wasn't too crowded nor too loud. In fact it was rather calm and peaceful and Southern Man was half watching Little Mermaid and half dozing off. And then Southern Man heard a faint voice.

"Help..."

Southern Man glaced around and spied a young man nearby. He didn't seem to be panicking or kicking or thrashing about. In fact he wasn't moving at all. His face was barely above water and his eyes were as wide as saucers. And again...

"Help..."

A couple of quick strokes put Southern Man in reach and he grabbed the young man's hand and got him to the tube and Little Mermaid towed us to the shallow end. And the young man said "thanks" and rejoined his friends who laughed at him and probably had no idea that he had been in as much trouble as he was.

This web page at LifeHacker.com describes what a drowning victim looks like:

• Head low in the water, mouth at water level
• Head tilted back with mouth open
• Eyes glassy and empty, unable to focus
• Eyes closed
• Hair over forehead or eyes
• Not using legs
• Hyperventilating or gasping
• Trying to swim in a particular direction but not making headway
• Trying to roll over on the back
• Appear to be climbing an invisible ladder

OK, perhaps it was nothing. Perhaps the young man wasn't really in all that much trouble at all. And there were a couple of water park lifeguards nearby. But Southern Man was still a bit pleased that he was able to render aid when needed and he askes his readers to be safe when they're on the water this summer and keep an eye out for others.

It's been forty years since Southern Lad put this one on his Boy Scout sash. Good times, those were...