November Captain's Chronicles

Thankful? / Fried / Weather Games

I do believe that the list of things that I’m thankful for is diminishing. It was really sad parting with hope and optimism, but I never thought that my thankfulness would be challenged.  My list is still considerable and it starts with family and friends, as I’m sure most of our lists do.  I used to be thankful that we lived in a society that, to a greater degree, valued honesty and integrity. Honesty doesn’t get the clicks and bring in revenue though.  Obviously, the amount of time I’m spending on and in the water is lacking. Diving is definitely a brief reprieve from reality. Nobody thinks about to-do lists or political discourse underwater. Well, perhaps a spear fisher might contemplate having to clean that grouper before having a delicious fresh fish meal that evening. Troubles and concerns magically evaporate as neutral buoyancy envelops us. I’m thankful that I chose to open up a scuba shop instead of climbing a corporate ladder. I’m also very thankful for all of you that have climbed that corporate ladder and visit our little dive shop! The world and humanity aren’t where I hoped we would be back in my youth. A sad reality and we don’t seem close to righting our ship, but we all still have plenty to be thankful for!

I’m thankful for fried turkey and football.  If you’re a Lions fan, you’re especially thankful this Thanksgiving.  Detroit has one of the best teams in all of the NFL! It just doesn’t seem right saying or reading that line. If you’ve never tried a fried turkey, you are missing out. I’ve fried a turkey the past several years. I inject it with marinade the evening before, and it always turns out juicy and moist. It was even delicious the first time I tried it and forgot to take the giblet package out the turkey! The theme of Thanksgiving seems to be drifting away from family and being thankful.  Lately, for too many of us, it seems more about the beginning of Christmas shopping. Thanksgiving is still my favorite holiday though. I tolerated black Friday, but when stores started opening at midnight on Thursday and people would cut their Thanksgiving gathering short in order to take a nap before hitting the stores, I lost my mind. Napping should be done just after eating to make room for seconds, not as a precursor to shopping! Like a lot of things nowadays, it is what it is... So be sure to hit Scuba Marco on Friday to take advantage of all of our killer Black Friday deals! We WILL NOT be opening at midnight however!

Hurricane-Hurricane-Hurricane, Cold Front-Cold Front. That’s the meteorological equivalent of Duck Duck Goose. Human driven or not (you already know how I feel about that), climate change flat out sucks! We have ran only three trips into the Gulf since the one-two punch of Helene and Milton dealt us blows. Our best visibility was 10 feet.  We still saw a lot of cool things and made people happy but most people frown at that lack of clarity. Attitude goes a long way, not only in life, but enjoying scuba diving also. Your disposition should be a reflection of what you are doing and who you are with, not how far you can see! I’m doing it again… It is what it is, so I’m selling it as it is! I’m pondering a thought that occurred to me while writing. If the weather that we have endured over the last five years was exactly the same during the first five years that I opened the shop, Scuba Marco would not have survived. Jessi and I worked second and third jobs and we put in very long days at the shop to get established.  Hmmm, I’m glad (and you probably are too) that we opened in 1998 instead of 2018. Is everything getting harder or am I just getting older? Combination?? Anyway, I’m still here and you’re still here, so we are here. Here we are, thankfully!

Live Love Dive & Eat Fried Turkey!  —Jeff