Ripples #48
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Compiled and Written by Lenny Giteck
Topless in Seattle: Female Cancer
Survivor Fights City Pool’s Dress Code
The last installment of Ripples included a heartwarming item about a group of 12 cancer survivors who went swimming with dolphins at the Miami Seaquarium to celebrate the fact that they’re still alive.
Now comes a case – related but a bit more complicated – of a Seattle woman who underwent a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer and wanted to swim topless at one of the city’s public pools.
When forty-five-year-old Jodie Jaecks asked the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department for permission, the initial response was negative. The department said it required the wearing of “gender-appropriate clothing.”
Jaecks wanted to swim because her post-operative condition prevented her from engaging in the fitness regimen she had followed in the past. But why swim topless? The Web site abcnews.go.com explains:
Jaecks went searching for bathing suits that would fit without hurting her scars. At one particular store Jaecks tried on every type of swimsuit from one-pieces to rash guards, and even men’s triathlon tops. But nothing felt right. “They felt absolutely horrible,” she said. That’s when she made the decision to swim topless. “At some point it changed from being a physical-comfort thing to why would I think of covering myself up,” Jaecks said.
The case garnered a great deal of attention and sparked considerable discussion in Seattle — generally regarded as a bastion of progressive attitudes — especially after a local weekly newspaper ran a topless photo of the woman.
Given the uproar, the Parks and Recreation Department had a change of heart, but only with regard to this particular case. Jaecks, for her part, then announced she would not swim until any woman in her situation had the same right.
ABC News quoted Jaecks as saying, “I didn’t want this to be personal. I thought it was a bigger political issue. It’s just all about trying to de-stigmatize cancer and cancer survivors, and make people aware of the reality of cancer and in a less abstract way.”
Video: To watch an ABC news report on Jodi Jaecks, click here. Please note: The video includes the still photo of Jaecks while topless.
Speedo’s Take Two: Will the Fastskin3
Racing Outfit Be Accepted by FINA?
At the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, Speedo’s then-new LZR Racer swimming outfit became highly controversial because it seemed to give the athletes who wore it an unfair competitive advantage. Indeed, following the conclusion of the Beijing Olympics, FINA — the international body that governs aquatic athletic competition — outlawed the outfit.
Now, with the 2012 Olympic Games about to begin in London, Speedo has introduced a new outfit called Fastskin3, which like its predecessor promises to reduce the impact of drag on competitive swimmers. The company hopes this outfit will be accepted by FINA.
The technology Web site gizmag.com describes the reported effect of Speedo’s new racing garb:
When worn as a complete system of suit, cap and goggles, passive drag, which impedes gliding while submerged, is reduced by up to 16.6 percent, and the amount of oxygen needed by the swimmer at a given speed is reduced by up to ten percent. Finally, active body drag, resulting from the waves that the swimmer creates, the swimmer’s constantly changing shape and the force of the water passing over the body’s surface, is reduced by as much as 5.2 percent.
Will the outfit have a long-term future in competitive swimming? Whether FINA ultimately approves it reportedly depends on how much it affects the competition results at the London Olympics.
Learn more: For additional information about how the Fastskin3 was developed and how it works, click here.
Michigan Family’s Devoted Dog
Saves Toddler in Backyard Pool
Not that we need more evidence of the mysterious, near-mystical bond between dogs and human beings…but an amazing rescue in the backyard pool of a family in Michigan does further substantiate the point.
Patricia Drauch went to her garage to find a gardening tool, when she noticed that her 14-month-old son, Stanley, was no longer by her side. Frantic, the mother found him in the pool, unconscious. The Web site dogsnpawz.com continues the story:
[S]he thought he was floating in the pool but she soon found out that he wasn’t floating at all…Bear [the family’s 4-year-old black Labrador retriever] was holding Stanley up, balancing him on his back. Stanley’s mother said that Bear wouldn’t bark or move. She said it was like Bear was afraid to move until she got Stanley out of the pool.
Happily, Stanley eventually turned out to be fine. Of course, although the incident ended well, it is yet another cautionary tale to adults about taking their eyes off kids near a swimming pool — even for just a few seconds.
Robotic ‘Lifeguard’ to Help
Rescue Swimmers in Distress
The British Web site bbc.co.uk reports that a radio-controlled flotation device — in essence, a robotic lifeguard — is now being tested at Zuma Beach outside of Los Angeles. The aquatic robot, named Emily (Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard), can zip out to swimmers in distress at a breathtaking 30 mph.
Some models are outfitted with a camera and speakers, so onshore lifesaving personnel can communicate with the individual in trouble. Once Emily reaches the swimmer, the device can either pull the person back to shore or wait for additional help from a human lifeguard. According to the Web site, Emily is especially useful when swimmers are pulled out to sea by rip currents.
Video: To see Emily in action, click here.
Lifeguard Canned for Rescuing
Swimmer Can Have His Job Back
Finally, we conclude with another rescue story, this one about a lifeguard neither canine nor robot. You may have heard about the case in South Florida in which a human lifeguard saved a swimmer from drowning and was fired for his efforts. Lifeguard Tomas Lopez, 21, was on duty at his station when a man 1,500 feet outside the area he was supposed to watch got into serious trouble. Without hesitating, Lopez went to the swimmer’s rescue.
Reports CNN.com, “Jeff Ellis Management, the company for which Lopez worked, had said lifeguards cannot go beyond the perimeter of the beach they are responsible for overseeing.” (Apparently, the rescue could have raised liability issues for the young man’s employer.) As a result, Lopez was fired, three lifeguards resigned in protest and two others were terminated for saying they would have done the same thing as Lopez.
Needless to say, this was something of a public relations debacle for the management company. After a public outcry ensued, company president Jeff Ellis announced publicly that Lopez should not have been let go. The young man was offered his job back but reportedly declined, preferring to move on with his life.
Given the management company’s initial robotic, idiotic response, Ripples thinks Emily in the previous story may have a bigger heart and possibly even more brains than the higher-ups at Jeff Ellis. Job or no job, Tomas Lopez is the clear winner here. Score one for humanity!
Video: To watch a CNN report on the bizarre story, click here.
And with that, Ripples once again says…
Until next time, happy watershaping to you!