Beach Ambassadors
Script error: No such module "AfC submission catcheck". The Brewster Beach Ambassadors are a branch of law encouragement, currently in reserve, only called upon in times of great need. They were founded in 2020 in Brewster, MA. by the Brewster Recreation Director, to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. Although, the group's origins have been disputed since the discovery of a training video potentially dating back to 1919.
2020 Campaign
As the COVID pandemic hit Cape Cod, Massachusetts in the Spring of 2020, it was clear that something needed to be done for the following summer. A small beach town with massive tourist populations, the beaches were sure to be surging with huge numbers of people. To encourage social distancing and other town and state mandates to combat the spread of the virus, the Beach Ambassadors (BAs) were formed. They were tasked with serving the town of Brewster and protecting its citizens from the deadly COVID virus. The Beach Ambassador program was sheathed for the 2021 summer, as the COVID pandemic was deemed manageable from a town perspective. No longer were the drastic means of Beach Ambassador beach safety encouragement deemed reasonable. The Beach Ambassadors will always be ready to encourage and protect at the next great beach emergency
Responsibilities and Duties
As COVID ravaged the quaint beach towns of Cape Cod, one town had the gusto to deploy the Beach Ambassadors. Official duties included "patrolling the beaches of Brewster and educating beachgoers on the current Town and State guidance for beaches, including minimum social distance requirements, proper use of access paths, and limitations on larger group gatherings or organized activities." [2] Of course, every ambassador is required to be well versed in "excellent customer service skills and the ability to deal with the public politely." [2] Of course, due to the nature of the job, driving between beaches and such, "driver’s license preferred" [2] for all ambassadors. While official duties are limitless, a beach ambassador's top priority is to protect the beach!
A Day in the Life
The BAs always began their day at the clubhouse. This, of course, was their dedicated headquarters in the embassy. Once the daily patrol assignments were handed out, the BAs left the clubhouse in teams of two (they were however required to drive separately due to COVID protocols). Once arriving at their beach of assignment, they would complete a general survey of the parking lot and inspect the designated entrance and exit lanes for the beaches. After asserting some dominance over residents who did not use correct lanes, the BAs would walk the extent of the public beaches. They would stop and talk to folks, sign autographs and encourage the enforcement of the beach protocols. After completing their designated routes, they would return to their vehicles and travel to the next beach where they would repeat the process once again. The beaches were officially protected by ambassadors everyday from 9AM-5PM, and every so often unsanctioned protection occurred over at least two separate graveyard shifts from 12AM to 2AM.
Equipment
Every beach ambassador was outfitted with a state of the art, untraceable Sonim flip phone for long range communication, a walkie talkie for short range communication and was required to carry their own personal cell phone for emergency use only. The flips were programmed with any relevant town, state and national numbers that a BA could need. BAs were also equipped with two white polos, sharp khaki shorts and were required to walk the beaches barefoot. They were each awarded a counterfeit-proof Identification to be displayed in their vehicle's window, permitting them to park anywhere in Brewster without penalty. This was a necessary degree of leniency for the BAs who often found themselves needing to park at beaches with stuffed parking lots. First aid equipment, mask (optional), hats (encouraged) short-shorts (required to be worn at least once a week), hydration paraphernalia, and of course a thick layer of sunscreen. Also to be carried on a Beach Ambassador's person at all times was an official binder containing unofficial tickets to be used for false intimidation tactics only, pens, beach ambassador propaganda pamphlets, beach wheelchair access forms and other loose odds and ends.
Natural Habitat
The Beach Ambassadors natural habitat ranged from all the public Brewster beaches. They patrolled Paine's Creek , Robin's Hill (which has been contentiously renamed Mant's Landing, but was not recognized as such by the BAs), Saint's Landing, Lil' Breakwater, Breakwater, Ellis Landing, Point of Rocks, Linnell Landing and Crosby. Although the Brewster ponds, Sheep's Pond and Long Pond were required destination on the Beach Ambassador protection route, certain BAs disputed the validity of ponds being in the category of beaches and thus should not be granted protection by the Beach Ambassadors.
Members
Officially there are nine official Beach Ambassadors who wore the sacred white polo. Roy Bowler was the first Beach Ambassador hired by the Brewster Recreation Department earning him the honorary title: "BA1". Soon after, four others were hired rounding out the "Original Unit".
Original Unit
Roy Bowler: a rugger, a nomad and high school English teacher took time off from his busy schedule to keep the beaches of Brewster safe and clean.
Max Christopher: a Harvard educated physicist, amateur unicyclist and proud owner of one career home run, joined the BA Crew with the sole purpose of establishing order and claiming absolute power.
The other three members of the original unit wished to remain anonymous.
As the COVID pandemic surged on, three more BA's were hired to help quell the increasing fear and panic among the locals and tourists alike. Reports suggested that these three BA's were less effective than the original unit in keeping order on the beaches.
At the end of the 2020 campaign rumors began circulating that Roy Bowler had perished after falling off a flimsy bridge connecting Mant's Beach and Paine's Creek. It is believed that Christopher and another member of the original unit dedicated the bridge to Bowler's honor. Before it was torn down two days later, the bridge was renamed, the "Roy Bowler Memorial Bridge".
Bowler was replaced by a new male BA. While it is unclear of what actually ended the 2020 BA campaign, it is common understanding that this new member drove the group to madness and tore them apart from the inside.
Legacy
The Beach Ambassadors quickly became local and international celebrities after their 2020 deployment. Crowds would normally assemble at local Brewster beaches and ponds between the hours of 9AM-5PM to get a chance to see the BAs on duty. There are multiple accounts of BA's being asked to sign autographs or play games for and with children and adults alike. Bowler and Christopher would normally accept, so long as there wasn't an active issue to attend to.
The BAs legacy reached it's peak, in a period that is now referred to as "Beach Ambassador Mania", after Christopher and Bowler saved and nursed a washed up mermaid back to health after it had been badly beaten by a sea witch. The BAs trained the helpless mermaid for 24 hours and the mermaid then defeated the same sea witch in a nationally televised battle the next day.
During this period it was common to see people playing with mermaid and BA action figures. Most of the action figures were modeled after Bowler and Christopher. People also began wearing white polos to dress like the BAs. Shadier characters, but BA fans nonetheless, attempted to counterfeit BA parking passes. The counterfeits were laminated pieces of paper in the same size and font as the real BA parking passes, but were easily distinguished as counterfeits by local town parking officials for looking far too realistic.
It is believed that the 2020 Brewster Beach Ambassadors were the inspiration for the Mermaid Quintology + Prequel. Joint Chiefs, authors, actors, and directors of the Quintology + Prequel, Roy Bowler and Max Christopher have never commented on the speculation.
Mythology & Lore
It is well documented that the Beach Ambassadors were heralded as town heroes during their days walking the sands. Just read this Cape Cod Times article praising their dedication and amazing work: Brewster Officials Pleased With Beach Ambassador Program. However, off the record and behind the scenes the BAs fought a silent army of insurgent sea witches decimating the tidal flats. Ambassadors found footprints of circles in the sand, no footprints in and no footprints out. They uncovered rocks laid out in perfect rectangles and strange discolorations in the sand. They had the training to understand that these were sea witch hatch sites and ritual grounds. They even discovered purple sand - a clear sign of an armed struggle between a powerful sea witch warrior and a lone mermaid protector.
Some of the valiant Beach Ambassadors, despite some internal pushback and cynicism, joined the mermaid protector in his battle against the sea witches. The Beach Ambassadors will always be remembered for their unwavering protection of the beaches against the invisible forces of COVID, but their legacy will be cemented by their victory in the war against the very real sea witches threatening utter annihilation.
References[edit]
[1] https://www.capecod.com/newscenter/brewster-officials-pleased-with-beach-ambassador-program/
[2] https://www.wayup.com/i-j-Town-of-Brewster-037697943032327/
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