some people shouldn't be allowed to breed

So, another story from France - one that horrified me and made my entire trip worthwhile on my first weekend on the beach in the Riviera.

Mind you, my time at the beach was a complete and utter treat to myself. I spent my days relaxing in the sun on a beach chair with an adjustable umbrella and my book or floating out in the Mediterranean where my feet couldn't touch the bottom. Nothing harsh. Just that, a huge salad with a glass of vin rose for every lunch, a glace on the walk back to my hotel in the late afternoon, and a nice dinner with a glass of vin rouge for dinner and possibly a crepe for dessert. It wasn't meant to be eventful, and my previous entry written while at the beach should've been the highlight of my relaxing time there. I had intended to summarize it in a few sentences about nearly naked people and seeing too many thongs, plus playing with children and enjoying the absolutely perfect weather that held out my entire time there.

However, that's not the case.

In the middle of the afternoon I was out floating on my back in the water having just reapplied my SPF 50 (mmmm - unburnt Yvette for once!). I was all happy in the sun with the absolutely perfectly refreshing water rising and falling with the wake from various boats passing beyond the line of bouys that indicated the boundary of the swimming area to separate it from the boating area. This should've been perfectly reasonable - most people were in near the shore where their feet could touch ground, but I've always loved floating or treading water - I guess it's my buoyancy.

However, on this fateful day, a little girl was out floating on a raft - just your basic flat lie on your back sort of deal that so many people have. Her parents were relatively nearby - perhaps they could touch the ground (I could see it through the clear sea water, I'm just short) but their daughter most definitely could not have. I'd have guessed she was in the 4-5 year old age range.

This little cutie had no buoyancy devices at all. She fell off her raft. I was scarily closer than her parents when this happened and made it to her first, dragging her up as she sank to the bottom. Her little self didn't struggle thankfully, and my lifeguard skills kicked right in. It was very very easy to keep her afloat as she choked and sputtered and vomited sea water all over my arms (these are the sorts of things you don't notice until the hecticness of the rescue is over - it was sort of surreal to walk onto the beach and realize I was absolutely nasty and in need of a shower). I can't believe that I remembered my skills from 10 years ago when I got my life guarding certificate. I'm definitely not certified now, so I'm glad everything went ok - and I'm very thankful that she came up breathing so I didn't have to drag her into shore at a rapid pace. Plus, the lifeguards on the beach met us when I got to the point where I was able to touch bottom and hold her up with her parents following behind me. So they took over the care of her from there while the parents babbled at me incoherently.

I cannot believe parents could do such a thing. I'm torn between being insanely grateful for my swimming abilities and lifeguard training versus being horrified and outraged at the girl's parents. You do not do that with a small child.... NO MATTER WHAT! This is why some people shouldn't be allowed to breed.

But now, everything's safe and sound. There's no harm done to anyone involved. I managed to go in and get cleaned up in the employee restroom of the nice little place I was sitting at - and they didn't charge me for my chair or lunch at that place either. So it worked out in the end for the best - fairy tale ending.

If I never have to do that again, I will be beyond happy. Once is far more than enough. Good luck lil' cutiepie I dragged out of the Med.