DEAR ABBY: "Hurting Heart" said she was upset that her husband told her he would evaluate the situation before committing to jump into the ocean to save her from drowning. Well, I agree with her husband.
I was trained as a lifeguard, and the husband's response made a great deal of sense to me. One of the key points stressed in lifesaving is the importance of evaluating the situation carefully before attempting a rescue.
A drowning person becomes a very different and dangerous individual. While in a state of panic and confusion, people have been known to drown the lifesaver! It is dangerous for even a well-trained lifeguard to attempt a rescue, which is why the training course is so rigorous.
Should the wife drown her rescuing husband, their four children would be orphaned -- which would truly be a senseless tragedy. That wife should borrow a little of her husband's common sense, instead of thinking only of herself. -- S.J.B. IN TORONTO
DEAR S.J.B.: The wife should have exercised some common sense and not asked the "what if" question -- and the husband should have used common sense by softening his honest, but tactless, answer. In the interest of water safety, whenever families are playing near water, there should always be a life preserver to toss for just such emergencies.