It was just another day at the beach. Off-duty Hot Springs Village firefighter Gary Crain had taken his daughter and her friend to Lake Balboa to spend a few hours in the sun and water.
"We usually go once or twice a week during the summer months," Crain said. "This was the first time we had gone this year."
The day had been like most others in the past. After a little too much sun for Crain but never enough time in the water for his daughter, it was time to go home.
"We were packing up when I heard a scream," Crain said. "It wasn?t a scream like kids do when they?re playing. Somebody was in trouble."
A quick glance made it possible for Crain to see a boy who had gone too far from the beach. "He had gone under once. I could tell by the look on his face that he wasn?t playing. He was scared."
Crain said all afternoon the child?s mother had been keeping a close watch on the boy.
"I wasn?t being nosey, but I did hear her call the boy back to her a few times. She was keeping up with him. Some parents will let their kids run loose while they sit in the sun and read. She wasn?t like that."
But somehow the boy had strayed too far out. When Crain saw the boy start to go under the second time, he reacted.
"I ran to the water and dove in. I tried not to lose sight of where the boy had gone under so I wouldn?t miss him."
As the boy began to go under again, Crain got to him. "It wasn?t like you see on television. I didn?t have to grab him. He threw both arms around my neck and held on tight. I asked if he was all right. He didn?t say anything. He just nodded."
Crain swam toward the beach where the boy?s mother was beginning to wade to him. "She kept thanking me. I was just glad the boy was okay."
The identities of the mother and her child were never learned by Crain. "After I knew the boy was okay we left the beach."
When referred to as a hero, Crain was quick to respond. "Don?t call me a hero. I didn?t do anything that anyone else wouldn?t have done. I can?t think of a single person that wouldn?t lend a hand when someone needs help."
Crain said it is never good that something like this happens to a child, but it is important to learn from it.
"The summer is just getting started and more and more people are going to the beach. No matter what you do, you need to remember this. Kids don?t always think for themselves, especially when they are having fun. As parents, our job is to think for them."
This story was re-printed with permission of The Hot Springs Village Voice
