The Lakefront

The Lakefront: An Allegory for Racism

On a midsummer morning, before the heat reached its apex, a boy pedaled up one last hill to arrive at his final destination, the beach. He had finally convinced his parents to ride his bicycle to the lakefront. They weren’t able to drive him and didn’t feel comfortable with him biking on the roads, but for months, he had been persistent. Now that he was here, it had all been worth it. 

He locked up his bike on a nearby bicycle rack and walked towards the surf. His imagination had been insufficient, because the scene in front of him was magnificent. Throngs of people peppered the beach, some in bathing suits reclining in the sun. Others splashed and moved through the water with ease. He had never seen anything like it, literally. 

“Hey, are you gonna get in the water too?” A boy asked with a kind smile. He appeared to be a similar age and sported bright green shorts. “Also, cool swimming shorts?”

“Um, I don’t know and thanks.” He paused and fidgeted with his drawstring. “I’m Tim by the way.”

“Hi Tim, I’m Ben.” He extended his hand and the two boys shook. “But come on, let’s go!” He shouted and ran into the surf. 

Tim watched Ben in the water. He moved through the water with simplicity, everyone in there did, even kids who were smaller than him and people old enough to be his grandparents. Ben, realizing Tim had not followed, turned back towards the beach and waved for him to join him in the water. 

Seeing Ben wave gave Tim the courage necessary to enter the water. He entered tentatively, feeling the gentle ripple of the tide. Tim continued to step forward, the water cooled him instantly. This felt better than he imagined, how had it taken this long for him to come here? The further Tim walked the higher the water rose. He began jumping to try and keep his head above the increasing depths. However, he could see everyone around him still moving with ease. They didn’t seem to be jumping, their movements were different. On one jump, Tim tried to mimic the people around him; for a moment, he thought he had mastered the way to move in the water. Unlike everyone else, his moment of levity was momentary. His stomach dropped and so did the rest of Tim as he disappeared beneath the surface.

The lifeguard sat perched in his chair, scanning the surface of the water for any irregularities. In his periphery, he saw a hand stretched out of the water before disappearing. Kids played all the time, but he watched intently to see if a head would return to the surface. He counted to 3 and still nothing. He kept his eyes focused on that spot, blew his whistle and raced from his chair to rescue the person beneath the waves. Adrenaline pumping through his body, he swam with all of his might to the spot and surface dove to find the body! The murky water made it difficult to find the body. He groped around and brushed against flesh, he grabbed, and it was a wrist! He pulled the wrist and swam to the surface with the person in tow. He swam the person back to the shore, and dragged the body onto the beach. Immediately, the body coughed and sputtered. It was a boy. It was Tim.

The beach goers had quieted but upon the boys resuscitation, they all applauded. The lifeguard quickly returned to his post rejecting the praise.

Tim collected himself and looked around, stunned. What happened!? He did what everyone else was doing, so he thought. He heard footsteps and saw Ben running towards him from the left.

Out of breath Ben asked,“Tim, what happened!?” 

Tim shrugged, “I don’t really know. I was doing like everyone else,” he began to paddle with his arms, “I thought, and then I started sinking.”

“But don’t you know how to swim?” Ben demanded.

Tim scrunched his face and frowned. He turned to make eye contact with Ben, “What’s that?”

Ben’s head jerked back in disbelief, “What’s swimming? Swimming is how you stay afloat and move through the water? Hasn’t anyone taught you how to swim?”

Tim shook his head and softly responded, “No.”

Ben studied Tim, the friend he had just made. He turned to look back to the water and saw the rest of his friends having a great time. He looked back at Tim and sighed, “Well, once you learn how to swim, come play with us.” Ben turned and broke out into a sprint.

“Wait! Ben!”

Ben stopped and turned to face Tim again.

“How did you learn how to swim?” Tim asked earnestly.

“Hmm,” Ben paused and turned his head to the sky, “I guess, I don’t really know. I don’t remember, I guess I just always have?” Ben gave one final shrug towards Tim and ran off back into the water.

Butt in the sand, basketball shorts wet, Tim sat. He observed the beachgoers. No one checked on him, save for Ben a few moments ago. For them, it was as if nothing had happened at all. They all seemed to be having such an amazing time. Tim balled his fists up and pounded the sand. Why couldn’t he do that? He had ridden all of the way here, and just because he couldn’t swim meant that he couldn’t play with the other kids? No! He refused to accept it. He stood up, and brushed the sand off of his bottom and began walking around the beach. After almost dying, he had a new reservoir of courage. He began to approach groups of people with the same question, “Can you teach me how to swim?” 

No one agreed to teach him. They all had different answers. Some said they didn’t have time and others told him they weren’t swim teachers. A few other adults asked him where his parents were, ignoring his question completely. He  asked those people again. They told him, his parents should be the ones to teach him. Tim scowled. Tim with balled fists and tense shoulders distanced himself from the activity; he walked to a tide pool and plopped in it. He remembered how cool the water felt before and now he sat in this hot sandy mud hole. 

“Hey kid, I heard you were asking for someone to teach you how to swim?” A woman approached him and stood over him.

He turned his head and smiled wide, his excitement bubbled up. “Yes, I am! Can you teach me?”

“Of course I can!” The woman squinted and bent closer to him, “Oh wait, you’re the boy who almost drowned today?”

Immediately, Tim’s shoulders dropped. “Yea, I am.”

“Oh, yea, sorry kid, I definitely can’t teach you. What if something happened to you? I can’t have that on my conscience. Sorry.” She gave him a feeble smile, turned and walked back from wherever she came.

Tim returned to his thoughts. It had only been maybe an hour, he couldn’t go home yet, and he definitely couldn’t tell his parents what happened. They would never let him come back. 

“What were you thinking? Going out in the water not knowing how to swim?” 

Tim had had enough. Without looking up he yelled, “If you’re just going to make me feel bad then go away!” He smacked his hand in the sand again. He could still feel the presence of the person. Reluctantly, Tim made a visor for his eyes and looked up. The Lifeguard. “Oh, I’m sorry!” Tim grimaced and quickly formed a smile, “Thank-you!”

The lifeguard held up his hand and shook his head. “Just be careful, but I heard you asking everyone about swimming lessons. I’ll teach you.”

Tim barely flinched, “Really?” 

“Yea, really, just come back tomorrow as soon as the beach opens, we’ll have you swimming in no time.” 

“Seriously?” Tim inquired once more, “You’ll teach me?”

“I’ll see you tomorrow Tim, remember, as soon as the beach opens.” The lifeguard turned his back and waved, walking towards the parking lot.

It took a few weeks but Tim finally learned how to swim. Towards the close of the summer, Tim rode with parents and his little sister to the beach. He convinced them to come because now he could swim! They all piled into the family car for a beach day. 

Once his mother parked the car, Tim unbuckled his seatbelt and bolted from the car. 

    “Wait Tim,” His father called after him. He shook his head, Tim was out of earshot. 

    Tim sprinted down the beach looking for one boy in particular. Ben! Where was he? He could finally play, and everyone would see! 

    “Ben! Ben!” Tim bursting with excitement shouted.

    “Tim, hey! Haven’t seen you around, where’ve you been?” He asked.

    “I’ve been practicing, come on let’s play! Are those your friends?” Tim pointed to a group of kids splashing in the water. “Let’s go!” Tim grinned and sped to the water.

    Ben jogged behind Tim and waited to see if it was true. Sure enough, Tim entered the water without issue and actually swam towards the group of kids, but rather than stopping, Tim swam past. Wow, he could really fly. “Tim, come play with us, come on back.” Ben shouted.

    Tim popped up and reoriented himself in the water and swam back towards the group of children. Finally, Tim and Ben played together in the water that had formerly been so dangerous. 

    Tim relished the moment, he even saw his family on the shore waving at him. He waved back forcefully with a giant smile on his face. 

    “Tim! Look out!” Ben shouted and dove beneath the surface. 

    Tim turned and a wall of water crashed on top of him. The force of the wave slammed into Tim, and he plummeted beneath the water. 

    Although the lifeguard recovered Tim’s body, Tim’s smile and enthusiasm remained beneath the surface. Tim’s death was a devastating blow for everyone on the beach and the city at large. However, beneath the grief, in hair salons, break rooms, and cafeterias the townspeople questioned why Tim had been in that situation at all? Some folks said he wasn’t a strong enough swimmer, he should have known better than to swim that far. Others blamed the lifeguard for teaching someone who had almost drowned how to swim. Some people proclaimed that this scenario could have happened to anyone, Tim just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some citizens didn’t notice at all.Tim’s sister made a vow the day Tim drowned, she would never go near the water.

    A few weeks later, an investigation had been performed and they found that the wake of a large boat had caused the wave. At this point, most of the town had forgotten about Tim, especially since his family had never returned to the beach. Those who did remember talked to their children about the importance of being aware of your surroundings in the water. Others created programs to teach kids from Tim’s neighborhood how to swim. 

    Meanwhile, Tim’s parents and relatives swallowed their grief and sought action. They hired a lawyer, and the lawyer found that the lake itself wasn’t natural but man made. It had been created decades ago, before anyone could remember. Tim’s parents sought to close the lake down. The lake had a minor ecological impact, it supported no unique species, this lake was an option. They knew closing the lake would be a lofty endeavor so they were content to settle with at least eliminating boat traffic. Ultimately, the town council decided not to close the lake or minimize boat traffic. The entire city existed because of the lake. They did give their condolences and sympathies but the social value of the lake was too great to eliminate because of one unfortunate accident. No one would say it aloud but the lake was a huge source of money and fun, even if it wasn’t natural. Why should one mishap stop all of the good the lake produces?

Questions to Ponder:

• In your imagination what races were the characters?
• How did you imagine Tim’s neighborhood?
• The water and swimming are both metaphors. What do you think they represent?
• Which characters do you identify with? Why? 
• What do you think the Town Council should have done? Why?
• What action do you think Tim’s family should have taken? After the town’s decision, what do you think the family should do next?
• How would you encourage Tim’s sister? What about his parents?
• Is Ben a good friend to Tim? Why or Why not?
• Was the Lifeguard more helpful to Tim, or less helpful to Tim? Why?