valhalla, i have arrived

cleaning out my photos and found this lil bit from reggie jones’s obituary, “Reggie Jones, Jones Beach’s Longest-Serving Lifeguard, Dies at 93”:

Albert Reginald Jones was born in Manhattan on April 8, 1927, to Mary Kate and Adam Jones, Irish immigrants, and grew up on Long Island. As a wrestler at Baldwin High School, he won a Long Island championship in 1944.

That same year, his son said, he began lifeguarding at Jones Beach to escape working at his father’s gas station.

“He never had a formal swimming lesson, but he was so strong he could have passed any test,” the younger Mr. Jones said. “Once he got the job, he said, ‘Valhalla, I have arrived.’”