H2O / D.S.A. / G. of ?
Water is our natural state. We are 2/3 water. Our Earth is 2/3 water. We spend 9 months developing from an embryo in a sack of water. If someone is not comfortable being on, in or around the water, they likely had a traumatic experience (near drowning) and/or they were not introduced to it properly. My mother couldn’t swim and she made sure that would not be my case. My earliest childhood memory is from my first swim lesson at the Willard Ohio municipal pool. I was timid and scared at first (probably absorbing my mom’s displaced fear).
It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with that pool and the water in it. It was a big pool and the deep end had a low and a high diving board. Before being able to use those boards, a wanna be diver would have to swim a lap width-wise across the pool. I remember the exhilaration and excitement I felt after completing that lap under the lifeguards supervision. I also still remember the trepidation, anxiety, and fear I felt standing on that high diving board the first time. I wanted to crawl back down that ladder, but everybody was watching me so that wasn’t an option. I forced myself to leap, and it was pure magic! Lord only knows how many times I climbed up the ladder to that diving board the next three summers.
Cedar Point is the best amusement park in the world for roller coasters! It’s in Sandusky Ohio, an hour north of where I spent the first 8 years of my life. Some of my other earliest memories are from there. It was with great joy that Jessi and I got to visit the park last Friday with all 3 of our offspring. It was the only day we were in Ohio that the weather was sunny and gorgeous and it didn’t rain. I managed to stomach 11 of their coasters. Later that evening I was reflecting on the highlights of my day. It wasn’t the roller coaster rides as much as it was the original slow, clicking incline up to the apex. Cedar Point is jammed into a ‘point’ of land that is 80% surrounded by water. Lake Erie to the north and harbors on the south. With each ratchet of the coaster up into the sky, the view got more breath-taking. I was high in the sky and surrounded by water. It was a brief moment of bliss, abruptly replaced by a chorus of screams, fast dips, turns and loops accompanied by clinging onto the handles and fearing for my life. The next day was Rush in Rocket Arena with my sister (who is the only person I know that is a bigger fan than me). After 10 months of grinding hard to renovate space, move the shop and endure a busy dive season, it was monumental weekend spent with The Fam!
I guess the bottom line is that with determination and a proper attitude we can turn things that cause us fear into a source of joy. Whether you’re diving off of a high spring board or taking a giant stride off the back of a dive boat. We are water… embrace it!
Since changing the names of everything is suddenly in vogue, I propose we change the United States of America to the Divided States of America. Unfortunately, that feels like a more accurate description of our country currently. It’s incredibly sad to me. Crying doesn’t solve the issues (but if it makes you feel better, let the tears flow)! I used to feel great angst over our growing division. I've slowly learned how to cope with that over the last 20 or so years. I can’t stop caring, but I can stop letting the situation derail me from my own life‘s journey. I had always hoped that a superhero would rise up and wave their magic wand and make everything all right. Yes, they called me a dreamer…
For me now, I realize that I’m only responsible for myself. I embrace and hold dear and close to my heart the things that mean the most to me. Have you made your list of those things? I hadn’t either but as I’m writing, one is propagating in my brain right now:
The health and well-being of my family and friends.
The health and well-being of my fellow human beings.
The health and well-being of our earth and the beautiful wild places that still remain here.
Okay, I guess my list is short and sweet. It appears I’m trying to be a simple kind of man.
So, about this very large body of water I have lived adjacent to for 54 years… are we calling it the Gulf of Mexico or the Gulf of America? How about the Gulf of Amerixico? Does it really matter? No, it’s just semantics. I’m going to call it the Gulf of Jeff! Local diving has encountered its usual end of summer setbacks. The reasons remain the same, hot gulf water temperature and rainwater run off. Wonky strong tides recently are also a culprit. Visibility within 15 miles / 45 feet of depth has been between five and 15 feet. There’s good news though, we are poised for a clarity rebound (I’m talking about visibility, but then had the thought, wouldn’t it be great if humanity had a clarity rebound!) Anyway, if we continue to successfully play, ‘dodge the hurricanes’ and as water temp continues to drop, I’m hopeful that our local dive conditions will turn sweet in the very near future!
Sweet will be what it is when I’m able to see as many of you as possible this Friday at the new shop for our ‘monthly’ gathering. Don’t feel bad if you can’t make it… This months meeting is just a warm-up for our October extravaganza. I’m working on an extra special venue with visions of Curacao available. Stay tuned next month for details!!
Until then…
Live Love Dive —Jeff
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