Unfiltered Story #93713

(It’s nearing the end of summer and before we all head off to our first year of college, my friends and I decide to get together one last time and go to a rather well known amusement park. Despite the last few days of storming and flooding within the city, this day goes off fairly well with only a few minor weather hiccups. Near the end of the park’s closing we decide to hit one last water ride and are waiting in line behind a woman and around eight kids, one who is exceedingly young and tiny, which catches the attention of the lifeguard. While the first four kids ride down without a problem, he stops the rest of the group from getting out he next raft.)
Lifeguard #1: “Ma’am, could you please check and see if your daughter is tall enough to ride?”
Lady: “She’s already been on here three times! She can sit with me.”
Lifeguard #1: “I’m sorry ma’am, but if she’s too small to ride I can’t let her on the raft.”
Lady: “But she’s already been on this three times! This is ridiculous, I have kids waiting for me down there. She can just sit with me, so do your job!”
(Again the lifeguard refuses, and uses his whistle to call up a second life guard for assistance as the woman starts getting irate and yells obscenities, repeatedly calling him stupid and saying “This is b*******!” over and over again. Meanwhile she’s let go of her youngest kid who’s splashing around in the little pool just at the top, which puts me on edge since several times she gets dangerously close to the slide’s edge, and focus on her just in case I need to catch her. As this is going on, my friends have to explain to the growing and agitated line what’s happening as we have front row seats.)
Lifeguard #2: *Just arriving, and easily seeing the kid is far too short.* “I’m sorry ma’am, we can’t let her on this ride.”
Lady: “This is stupid! She’s already been on here three times, earlier today and yesterday!”
(Immediately this is a red flag, since the park was shut down for the majority of yesterday due to flooding. Lifeguard #2 offers to directly measure her child and finds that she is indeed at least three inches below the green line.)
Lady: “She’s only a little shorter!”
Lifeguard #2: “She’s a lot shorter, ma’am.”
Lady: “You’re all being stupid! She’s already been let on yesterday!”
Lifeguard #2: “The park was closed yesterday, ma’am.”
Lady: “B******* it was!” *After one of her other children corrects her.* “Well, maybe it was the day before yesterday, but we were here earlier today! I’m not going back down these stairs and I have kids waiting for me down there! The only way I’m going down is on a raft, so let us on!”
Lifeguard #2: *Smirking and gesturing to Lifeguard #1, who adamantly refuses on not seeing this woman before.* “He’s been on duty here all day, ma’am.”
(By this time, everyone in line was watching and saying passive aggressive words about the woman including us in hopes she would get a clue as a THIRD lifeguard comes up the steps. This tirade repeats itself with the third lifeguard until finally defeated but calling the lifeguards names, she takes the walk of shame back down the steps where she is mocked by nearly everyone who’s heard the story. Our group takes the last of the two rafts and enjoy our trip down, where we see another woman waiting for someone below. I don’t think of it at the time as we finish our trip and express regret for the people who had waited patiently behind us who no longer can’t ride thanks to the closing park, and go to retrieve our things from the locker. As we do so we pass the same two ladies from both the top and bottom of the slide with all the kids. So much for not having anyone to watch over your kids as you risk their own safety for your amusement!)