​Ivan the Terrible
Here are a couple of “Ivan the Terrible” cartoons that I am posting mainly on Instagram. I created this comic prior to “Suits and Guarders”  as an exercise to develop my drawing style. It has served me well in the long run, and is a great way for me to create a gag in very little time. (It appears that Ivan ran off with the "L" in the word Terrible. That little rascal is into everything.)

​When lifeguarding during recreational swim, it’s easy to feel too forceful, too stern and sometimes bossy when enforcing rules. The ultimate question is, “At what point does the activity becomes unsafe?”
 
Since my people skills are strong, some kids will ask me the reason for the rule that I am enforcing. Generally, I have the patience and the time to briefly describe why.
 
Young children are the best students because they will always ask questions. For some, simply telling them it’s wrong isn’t enough for them to stop, especially if they don’t understand why the activity is unsafe. Communication is often the key to keeping safety a priority.   

Take the time to tell young people the why for the rules.

​In my experience as a lifeguard, the place where kids slip and fall most often is around a zero entry ramp. Because water is tracked in and out of the pool frequently, it makes the surface very slick. One summer, two kids during recreational swim wanted to test limits by running down the ramp into the water. They stopped when I said, “Don’t try it!” Actually, it’s not only kids that have fallen on the ramp; I’ve witnessed adults falling also. In every case, the rail wasn’t being held and patrons were either running or walking swiftly into the pool.
 
Speed and water don’t mix; same is true for driving a car in the rain. Logically, the only time zero entry ramps should be used is when used properly, holding the rail while walking into the pool. 

​The cartoon above is not exaggerated. Back when lifeguards got certified old school style, if an active drowning victim attacked you, the procedure was that you punched them in the gut to make them back off. Now this of course is not done anymore and I don’t think the American Red Cross plans on reviving this anytime soon. However, it does give older lifeguards an opportunity to scare the new ones who are fresh from training and green on experience.
 
Gerardo, a friend of mine told me a hilarious story of re-certifying years later to become a beach lifeguard. During an in-service training session, he was paired up with his friend for “escapes.” Though it was the 21st century, he went by the original training. His friend replied, “That’s not how you do it anymore!”  Whether he wasn’t updated on the new material, or if it was mischief amongst friends, I may never know.
 
The procedure that is used now is the “Suck, tuck and duck” method which is explained below.

​As you can see, the new method is more efficient but not as entertaining. But of course, someone has to write about it. So remember, if you find yourself at a pool with well seasoned lifeguards, don’t try any tricks. Old lifeguards know all of them!

​As if working as a lifeguard wasn’t enough, my supervisors recently asked me to get training and experience working the front desk. Now whenever a regular lap swimmer I know comes in, they say something along the lines of, “Aren’t you usually guarding?” Or, “Ahh, being promoted to the front desk, are we?” (Yeah, it’s amazing how many lap swimmers speak like Yoda!)  The front desk isn’t too terrible. Since there isn’t a down rotation, it gives me the ability to practice my skill at multi-tasking.
 
It can be a little more frantic at times and there’s less time to sing which is the way I entertain myself when I am guarding. But I can always manage to draw a little bit between customers, and that’s what I love to do most. The chair is much more comfortable than the guard stand and when there is a lull in traffic, I enjoy spinning the chair around in circles. I figure they’re alright with me doing this, unless I break it.

​I am repeating this strip from Christmas just to give you an update. This cartoon strip wasn’t based on a true story until this past week. I was asked by one of my supervisors to cut out paper snowflakes for the bulletin board! I didn’t make a fuss like Kurt did, but I did wonder if she had seen the comic before asking me! Life imitating art, don’t you think?

Comics Sherpa this week:
 
This week I hit a mile marker of 200 comics. I thank everyone for their support and encouragement. I truly enjoy doing this! It’s great to have this many comics to my name and now I’m pushing for mile marker 300.
 
On the pool deck, Arnold is in a heated discussion with Kurt on how to be a proper lifeguard. Kurt’s not listening as he has more years on the job. Is Arnold high strung? Is Kurt slacking off? Or is there just bad blood between them? Perhaps they should both read the lifeguard manual.
 
And in the guard room, Bernard is trying to get Jonathan out of the 70s and 80s music, but he doesn’t have a fax machine. Perhaps “Doc” can give him some assistance.
 
Tapastic
 
I just rolled out my cartoon on Tapastic.com. I am starting from the beginning and hoping to gain some new followers there. I will post these a little faster until they catch up with the Go Comics platform. Hopefully by that time, Go Comics will have the Sherpa cartoonists back on the Go Comics site. Hopefully. If you want to follow me on Tapastic, I’m here:
 
https://tapastic.com/series/Suits-and-Guarders
 

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​Humor in a cartoon is everything! Cartoon soaps are fun to imitate, especially for their over dramatic reactions. However, I really admire how they are drawn. Back in the late 80s and early 90s, Bill Watterson made some spoofs on comic soaps. They showed the audience that he could be versatile. Hopefully, some editor out there sees the same thing in me, and I will be more than happy to give him or her full credit for noticing.