Delmarva Today 4-16-21
May is water safety month and Harold Wilson’s guest on Delmarva Today is Owen Long, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Sertified, LLC. Sertified is a training company specializing in American Red Cross Lifeguarding, CPR, First Aid, AED, Babysitting, Emergency Medical Response, Basic Life Support classes, or generally any Instructor Trainings.
One of the most celebrated scenes in Albert Camus’ novel The Plague is the passage in which Rieux and Tarrou swin in the sea to escape for a few moments the world, the city and the plague.
Tarrou was coming closer, one would soon hear his breathing. Rieux flipped back over, and swam with the same rhythm. Tarrou moved with more power than he, and he had to hurry his pace. For a few minutes, they advanced with the same cadence and vigor, alone, far from the world, finally released from the city and the plague.
In this classic novel, it’s the warm Mediterranean off the coast of Oran, a plague-ridden Algerian city locked in quarantine. The water surrounds the two swimmers, supports their bodies, offers freedom from the world, liberation from the city and from the plague. With such solace the water gives, it is little wonder that people have flocked to the beaches during our own pandemic.
As much pleasure and solace the water gives, however, it is also a lethal environment. It has no compassion. It doesn’t care, and its mood can change in unrecognized moments. Lifeguards mitigate the risk and enhance our pleasure and confidence in the water. In discussing the training of lifeguards, Owen Long impresses us with the fact that they are actually vigilant, highly trained professionals even if they only appear to be the eighteen-year-old kids you watched grow up next door. In our discussion, Owen Long talks about their training and the essential nature of their work. When there is a crisis in the water, they are truly the first responders.