The Vessel Puffs Her Sails
The main 10 dive shops on the island put together a flotilla of 10 dive boats to do a group underwater trash pick up on the west end of the island near a town on a small key offshore.
Our boat of 2o divers collected over 1000 pounds of junk off the bottom.
The boat trip back was stinky and onloading off the boat was yucky, but it was rewarding.
I had the afternoon off yesterday and jotted down some thoughts.
Its now about 5 months since I left the bank, 3 since I left NY and I have been here 2 months tomorrow (roughly halfway through my time here).
My formal training is now completed and the remainder of my time will be doing as much teaching as possible. One exception is a 4 week boat handling course. I am very excited for this. I have always admired the boat skills of my friends John, Melissa, Peggy and Kemp in Wrightsville Beach.
The one intimidating factor is that our three boat captains all speak an island patois that, while fun to listen to, is hard for these ears to understand. We will see.
The new apartment is pretty nice. Haven’t needed the AC yet. The fans and breeze are sufficient. My roommate Chris is pretty cool. He has a constant stream of mostly 60-80s Album Oriented Rock out of a tiny set of speakers that reminds me of and old AM car radio. Not too loud. More of a soundtrack.
I watched him make mustard and pita bread. He has little side business selling cakes and pita bread to make him beer money. His rolling pin for the pitas was an empty wine bottle.
“Rappers Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang came on the radio. I have a vivid remembrance of when I heard that song for the first time. It was probably 1980 and my father had taken me to the Camp Butler Fieldhouse on Okinawa to watch a USMC boxing tournament. In between bouts, they played that song, and many of the Marines started doing an early form of breakdancing. I had just moved from Southern California and my ears had never heard Hip-Hop. I was used to Rock and Disco. Its such a vivid memory.
Speaking of my father, I reread an email that he had forwarded to me in which he was recounting some memories of his hometown. If this note finds him, I surely wish he would do more of that and about his years of service. I truly do. That goes for you too, Mom. I can think of at least a dozen stories you both have told that I wouldn’t mind hearing again or reading.
So, wow, 2 months. Someone asked “What do you miss?”
Of course, I miss all my family and friends! And my cool office mates back on 53rd Street. Hang in there at the Big Red Machine.
What Else?
-Water pressure. Yeah not much of that here in the sink, shower or toilet. No luxurious showers here.
-My cowboy boots and a pair of comfy jeans. I haven’t worn any shoes but flip flops for 2 months. I’m afraid my feet have swollen and will struggle to put shoes on when I am back. And I’m worried I have lost my tolerance for cold. November will be interesting.
-TV. This is a mixed bag. I miss being able to catch a few soccer games and a movie or two from my library. Then again, there is less downtime. I don’t miss the constant TV, especially news shows. I get enough of that on the internet.
-My Bike. I really miss riding. I get plenty of exercise though. I have thought about buying a decent hybrid or MTB and doing some fitness rides. How ridiculous would I look fully kitted out riding on the 5 miles of roads? Haha.
I just finished “shadowing” a course on Adaptive Techniques. Once my instructor paperwork is processed, I will be qualified to instruct this class. The class is quite gratifying and trains divers to assist other divers that have handicaps.
The training involves role playing as a paraplegic and a blind diver (yes there are some blind divers that seek the unique sensations of diving).
With webbed gloves, I can see how a paraplegic could easily be a fully functioning diver.
On a related note, there was a father and his 10yo son here this past week from Oregon. They were getting certified. It was fun to watch. The classes were about 4 hours a day. Most of the rest of the day, the young kid was snorkeling around constantly. Reminded me of my son Jordan doing his OW 15 years ago at that age. And the constant snorkeling reminded me of Jordan and his friend Connor as they used throw castnets all hours of the day on vacations.
A couple weeks ago, 2 sisters 10 & 12 yo, were here getting certified with their parents. As they headed out after successfully completing the class, they gave a hand made thank you note to their instructor. She cried.
I think teaching to kids and the handicapped would be especially gratifying.
That’s enough from me today. For those of you that don’t know, tomorrow is (Inter)National Iguana Day. There is a celebratory party later tonight and the lounge lizards of a different sort will be out.
Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, “Wow! What a Ride!”
– Hunter S. Thompson
I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself.
D. H. Lawrence
Wouldn’t have expected to see cicadas here.
“Local legend has it that the “real” island of Robinson Crusoe is Utila, in the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras. If you know the island, and read the book, the geography fits quite nicedly.
We know almost nothing about Defoe except what has come down through legend. In fact, there is a sixteenth century shipwreck (stack of ballast) in the main harbor of Utila. When the Captain was picked up, he made his way back to England and told his tale to Defoe. Allegedly.
When I was on the Utila, and heard the legend, I did not believe it. You can see the Omar (sp?) islands from Utila, and why didn’t Crusoe paddle there? But, reading the book, it does not say that he was out in the middle of the ocean and could not see land. And, besides, not only were there cannibals on the mainland then (Mesquite Indians (sp?)), but Crusoe was more likely to be picked up by a passing ship at sea on the island rather than on the uncharted and dangerous mainland.
Utila is a helluva fun place, BTW.”
From https://historum.com/threads/robinson-crusoe.19589/page-2
The larger sister island here, Roatan, has some history. There are stories that Captain Morgan’s lost booty are in Utila waters.
“In 1650, the Spanish attacked Old Port Royal, attempting to oust its British loggers-turned-pirates. After besieging the coastline for days, the English were finally defeated and forced out of Old Port Royal.
The Spanish, however, opted not to establish their own community there in place of the British, leaving Old Port Royal – and the rest of Roatan – open for other pirates to utilize as a safe harbor. And use the island they did. By the mid-1700s it was estimated that some 5,000 pirates were using Roatan, including famous pirates like Henry Morgan, John Coxen, Blackbeard, and Van Horn.This was the golden age of piracy in the Caribbean, short-lived though it was, as the end of the 1700s saw a major decline in piracy activities in the region. The majority of these pirates were English, Dutch, and French, and the Bay Islands became a favorite locale for seeking safe haven.”
http://www.go2roatan.com/bay-islands-pirates-history/
Studying for Gas Blending exam later today.
