fandomhigh | Things to Do at the Beach, Friday Morning, Galactica Point

"Good morning, everyone," Jarod said, smiling at the group. "Today isn't so much about things to do at the beach as things to do when something happens at the beach. It's a great place and lots of fun, but please never forget that it's deserving of respect."

"So, today is about beach first aid--let's start simply. Now, you've been out in the sun too long and forgotten to wear a hat and reapply your sunscreen after you've come out of the water. So now you're burnt. The treatment for that is fairly simple: Water, ibuprofen or naproxen, cold compresses, lotions with aloe, and cool baths. But what about if you get something more significant?"

"For instance, you've been walking along the beach, minding your own business, or staring at someone in a bathing suit," he smirked, "you suddenly have a red, itchy rash on your foot because you've stepped on a jellyfish. Contrary to anything you may have seen on television, the cure is not to urinate on each other. Rinse the area with salt water, not fresh," he emphasized, "remove any tentacles using a pair of tweezers, and apply white vinegar. Then give the person ibuprofen or acetaminophen and watch them carefully--if they get any worse, call an ambulance."

"Now, this next thing is very worst case scenario, but if you need to know it, you really need to know it. Learn the difference between heat stroke and heat exhaustion, because the treatment is different."

"Finally, I've got some basic lifesaving strokes for you to practice today, so please partner up and try not to drown each other while you're practicing. Have fun, and be careful."

[ooc: I won't have interaction access at all tomorrow, so please play amongst yourselves and try not to do anything Jarod would have to react to. Also, for the lifeguarding strokes, the Wiki section you're looking for is the section on manipulating objects. Have fun!]

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"I can swim pretty far." she mused. "How far out have you been?"

Parker considered. "I've been out a mile, but half a mile towing someone would be equally hard. That work for you?"

Pippi looked out and nodded.

"Okay." she grinned. "After you!"

Parker dived into the surf, and swam straight out about half a mile, making sure Pippi was nearby, then stopped at about half a mile. She tread water for a while, then called, "Ready? Going under!"

"Aye aye!" she calls back and dives herself, already making her way out to Parker.

"Help, help, help--" Parker thrashed a bit, took a deep breath, then let herself sing a good three feet below the surface, looking upward to the water light filtering from above.

Pippi is confident in the amount of time she is able to hold her breath while swimming hard... Though it's easier and more fun with gillyweed.

She dives a bit early to start looking for Parker underwater and makes a mental note to see if the stuff keeps it's most interesting properties if preserved in some way.

She sees a shape not far off that's probably Parker and puts some extra oomph in her kick.

Parker's starting to wish she'd taken a deeper breath, when a hand grabs her wrist. She goes limp, trying to act unconscious, as they start to rise toward the surface.

Pippi pulls Parker up to the surface and maneuvers her around for a Lifesaving Sidestroke.

"Yay. You're saved." she says monotone as she starts back to shore.

"Do I get a lollipop?" Parker asks, keeping her eyes closed and just letting herself float.

"No." she said. "Fresh outta lollies. But you get to live."

"The greatest gift of all. You want to die now?"

"I thought you'd never ask!"

Parker snickered, treading water, then turning back to swim for the higher water mark. "Whenever you're ready!"

"Okay!"

She swam out a little bit more and then started thrashing about.

"Help help! I'm totally irresponsible and stupid and no good in a crisis! It's probably best just to let me go for the good of the species! But I'd appreciate it if you'd SAVE ME!"

Parker almost choked on a mouthful of water, giggling, then swam forward. "Calm down! Or try, irresponsible swimmer!" She grabbed one of Pippi's arms, and pulled it behind her back, tilting her backward into the water, but keeping her head above the surface.

Pippi wriggled, gently, against Parker's efforts to "rescue" her.

Grinning like a loon she said, "Nope! To late! I'm totally panicking. I'm probably screaming incoherently or spouting obscenities or possibly just trying to take you down with me like a useless lump of vacuous nerd!"

Parker cracked up, and almost lost her grip on Pippi's arm. "I can see that, obnoxious waterlogged victim! Which is why I am doing *this*!" She wrapped her other arm under Pippi's chin, keeping her head out of the water and from flailing quite so much, then pulled Pippi's arm even tighter. "Yell if I'm hurting you," she said in a normal tone of voice. "Okay, twerpy drowner! Now we're going back to shore!"

"Nah," she said in a normal voice. "You're fine."

Then...

"You're hurting me! You're hurting me! It's unconstitutional! Or other stuff that Americans say when they want to sound important! um... oh yeah. I'LL SUE! YOU HEAR ME? I'LL SUE!"

"I'll sue you back! I have better lawyers! And I'm a Good Samaritan! So ha! Ha! You must LIVE!" Parker's trying very, very hard not to giggle. Slow incremental progress is being made toward shore, though. Kicking with her legs, and floating half the time, they make it past the first sandbar. "Don't make me give you CPR after all this! Someone else will have to do the other half of the life-saving!"

"You are so mean!" she retorted. "I don't want CPR from you! Do you have any suggestions on some hunky fella to help me with that?"

"Not the instructor," Parker said in her normal voice. "Although, we can probably talk-- Jack! you must come save this girl I saved from drowning! He's got great breath control."

"Oh and I've spent so much energy being uncooperative that I'm all tired now, because I'm not in good shape and shouldn't have been out here in the first place! Blaaaah."

Pippi let herself float.

Parker snickered, and finally managed to just tow Pippi the rest of the way to shore. "Medic! Hot doctor type! Possibly someone named Jack! We have an almost-drowning victim here!"

Pippi is playing possum...

Or maybe she's dozed off...

Whichever.

Re: Practice your strokes

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