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CHARLES-RYAN BARBER
ALETHEA CHIAPPONE. STUDENT/LIFEGUARD
Born in Missouri and raised in Marietta, 20-year-old Alethea
Chiappone is an outdoor kind of girl. She enjoys camping and
mountain biking, and makes-a point of competing in a triath
lon every year. In addition to that, for the last two years she
has earned her livelihood by sitting under the sun for hours
at at time as a pool lifeguard. This summer—her first spent in
Athens—she managed the Rocksprings Park pool and also put
in some time at Bishop Park.
A rising junior at UGA, Alethea is studying public health
with an interest in drug rehabilitation. And if you're wonder
ing, her name is indeed Italian and includes lots of silent let
ters. Accompanied by photographer Charles-Ryan Barber—who
just happens to have five years of lifeguarding experience
under his belt—I spoke with Alethea at a cafe along a
deserted downtown street, in the calm just before the storm of
the new school year.
Flagpole: So, how was it working at the Rocksprings pool?
Alethea Chiappone: It was hard the first week. None of
us worked at a city pool before... it was difficult at first just
because of the behavior—you hardly see any parents, you
know... We've had a 20-person fight outside our pool...there
was a police officer at our pool for like 20 days [after that].
10-minute break. Here [in Athens-Clarke County] depending
on how many people we have, you'll do 15 minute rotations...
they rotate you so you can keep a better watch on the area,
so you don't get bored. 'Cause one station, they have like 50
screaming little girls and the other station may have like a
bunch of 13-year-olds jumping off a diving board, and they can
all swim.
FP: What's with the kids wearing two, even three pairs of
shorts coming off the diving board?
AC: They do it so they can "pop," which makes a huge
splash. When you "pop" your butt and thighs hit first, and
it hurts like hell if you're not wearing like five layers... it's a
huge thing out here. I'd never heard of it before I came here.
FP: When it's slow, when there's only one kid in the pool, I
imagine it's easy to zone out What do you think about during
the down time?
AC: I plan my day out. My grocery list, you know... little
mental notes.
FP [Charles-Ryan]: Have you ever been really terrified in the
stand—like, afraid that someone's going to die?
AC: I've been kind of
scared at the numbers of
people before, the num
bers of little kids that
don't know how to swim...
it was more the first week
that I was kinda [nervous],
because there were so
many kids the first week.
FP: Who would you say
has been a large influence
on your life up to this
point?
AC: My grandfather's
pretty cool. He taught me
how to windsurf. He did
like this 500-mile bike ride
across North Carolina... My
family's from upstate New
York, so every Christmas
Day him and my father
used to go windsurfing out
in Canandaigua Lake.
...We've had a one-legged drunk man jump off the diving
board one day at our pool... he basically announced that he
was going to jump off—I guess he thought he could swim but
someone had to go in and save him.
FP: Aside from the occasional one-legged drunk man, how is
it dealing with your main clientele—the kids?
AC: There's some really good kids and there's some kids that
just hate your guts, and I was known as the mean lifeguard.
I got cussjed out this year; I've kicked out a couple people for
the whole entire year.
FP: Would you mind sharing some of the curse words that
came your way?
AC: One kid called me... [laughs]... he goes: "White bitch!"
FP: Well, I guess being strict is better than being a doormat
I can imagine the nightmare scenario of the kids not even taking
you seriously anymore if you were too soft at the outset Then
you're practically useless.
AC: Yeah, like if you threaten to kick them out then you
gotta kick them out. Or if you threaten to call 911 on them,
you dial the number and hope they leave.
FP: So, when I went to the Bishop pool the other day, I
noticed there were about three lifeguards on duty and eight
just chillin' in the clubhouse, hanging out Is the job kind of
like that of a firefighter, where most of the time on the clock is
spent sitting around?
AC: I mean, at the neighborhood pool where I worked—it
was a one-guard pool—I'd lifeguard for 50 minutes, then a
FP: Windsurfing in upstate New York, in the winter?
AC: Yeah, on Christmas Day. They wore wetsuits... it was
like a little tradition.
FP: How did your grandfather become such a badass?
AC: He's just a cool person. I think he used to be like a drill
instructor for the Air Force, but he's completely not the strict
type; he's like the joking type, you know, always playing tricks
on you. [He] told me that toilet water was cleaner than sink
water and I believed it until like fifth grade.
FP: Are you a religious person?
AC: No. Wasn't raised that way.
FP: Would you say you're not a spiritual person either?
AC: Honestly, I don't really know. My dad was Catholic, my
mom was Protestant...
FP: What kind of music are you into?
AC: I like all types except for country, but I love '90s
music... Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox 20, Third Eye Blind.
FP: How devastated were you by Michael Jackson's death?
AC: Not too big a Michael Jackson fan.
FP: Why not? He was still putting decent stuff out during the
'90s, after all.
AC: Just him in general. He made a lot of good music, but
just him, you know... he seems like a creepy old dude to me.
Jeff Gore
Classic City Kings
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Live music on the 200 person deck from 5pm-11 pm
Classic City Kings
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706-353-0500
163 n. jacKsen si. athens, ga
AUGUST 19, 2009 • FLAGPOLE.COM 43
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