In 1985 I was 33 and still working as a rather long-in-the-tooth beach lifeguard. I never had much ambition and most lifeguards my age had either moved on to real jobs or were in supervisory positions. I still enjoyed the red trunks, white towers, blue ocean, and looking at all the brown 'Beach Betties', aka hot chicks in bikinis. I had saved a few people in my time and had built up some job security, with my experience and reputation offsetting my age. At 33 I was not quite the chick magnet I was at 20, but I could still enjoy the view and the attention of the older 'Betties' on occasion. I swear I was exactly like Sam Elliott's character in that 1976 movie 'Lifeguard', an eternal Peter Pan that never grew up. At least I had a good tan though.
One of my jobs was to keep the kids from drinking beer and smoking pot on the beach. Actually, it made my job easier too in the long run, as alcohol, sun, and the ocean were not a good combo for many people. In June it got extra bad, as the graduating seniors from the local high schools had all kinds of beach parties to celebrate, and sneaking in beer and pot was always part of the tradition. For many it was really their first time partying hard and adding waves, heat, and rip tides to the equation was a real danger.
On this perfect June beach day, I smelled some pot smoke coming from the direction of a gaggle of Betties down the beach a bit. This was back in the day way before it was legal recreationally in California, and I was kind of obligated to check it out. I could not care less really, but you could be sure if I didn't some Karen would report me as not doing my job if I ignored it.
I climbed down the tower and walked over to the girls, who now I could see were a bevy of Latina beauties, my favorite flavor of Betty! Few things can top the skin tones of a sun kissed hot Mexican girl in a bikini. All the girls had their beer in koozies to look innocent, but I knew all the tricks of the trade after 15 years working the towers.
"Girls, girls, girls! Tsk, tsk, tsk! I am betting none of you is over 21 here. Let's just pour out the beers and put away the pot. That is all I ask. You aren't in any trouble."
Three of the girls acted a little scared, but the hottest one just laughed and reached in her beach bag and pulled out a horribly done fake ID, and I had seen my share. I laughed when I saw it.
"You're going to have to do better than that, let's see, Alejandra. I would return this to whoever made it and ask for my money back!"
She even laughed. They all poured their beers out and put away the pot. I wasn't a hard ass. Back when I was their age, I did my share of beer drinking and pot smoking on the beach too. I walked back to my tower.
About 20 minutes later the young ladies packed up and were leaving. Alejandra broke from the pack and walked over to my tower.
"Actually I'm 18, old enough to be your girlfriend."
