Prisoner of War

Yesterday was my second to last day at Disney's All-Star Resort.  (Which means today is my last.)  I was over at Movies at the Fantasia/Mighty Ducks pool.  The PM crew always bumps on at 3:45 so the AM crew can go do the changing of the guard dance at the Calypso pool at music.  I was standing on stand one at about 3:40 waiting to bump on when we go a radio call that said all the pools were closing to do electrical activity in the air.  So instead of bumping, we just closed the pools and the AM crew left.

Fantasia 1...

Fantasia 2...

Mighty Ducks...

Break...

Fantasia 1...

And we finally opened again at 7:00!  We were closed for 3 hours and 15 minutes!  Piece.  Of.  Cake.

At 7:15, the bump came and I moved over to Fantasia 2 where an older gentleman was watching a father and his two daughters.  At first I just thought he was his grandfather.  He was talking to the girls and encouraging their swimming, etc.  He came over to my guard stand and asked me a few questions about our training, then began telling me about his life.  He said he was in the Navy when he was younger.  He was telling me about the things that he would do--basically simulated water landings in air planes.  And then he said he used to be a POW instructor.  He said, "Senator John McCain was one of my students."  That's right, John McCain.  Look, I'll be straight up, I voted for Obama in 2008, but the man survived as a POW in Vietnam and I was talking to the man who taught him how to do it.  Incredible.  He was full of amazing stories, including working with the first US Soldier to escape from the Viet Cong--Dieter Dengler.  He was such an interesting man and I was so sad to get bumped over to Mighty for 45 minutes.

That's the thing I love about being down here.  You meet all kinds of people.  And even though life guarding doesn't have very much guest interaction other than "WALK PLEASE" or "OFF THE SHOULDERS, PLEASE", sometimes you get to talk to some really incredible people.  And sometimes you get to make a difference with a kid.

Twice since I've been over at All-Star have I talked to kids one day and remembered them by name and picked up the conversation another.  They love it!  They can't get enough of it.  Although usually you hear the parents, "Uh-oh, if the life guard knows you by name you must be in trouble."  Hey, I'm just friendly.  And I love hearing "I know!" when I say, "Hi, I'm Hannah".  Always forget about that name tag.