Sinking to a New Level

I’ve always been a water person. I grew up in Minnesota, the Land of 10,000 lakes. I always had a river in my backyard. My brothers and sister and I were always swimming or fishing in the summer, running around barefoot. Until around my sixth-grade year, our place had a hill leading down to the Fish Hook River, which froze solidly enough to drive on every winter, which people did, to haul out their icehouses. Neighbors came from all around to sled our hill, making jumps off the docks onto the ice. Fun times!

When my parents had a new house built, three and a half miles out of town, we lived by The Straight River, which is anything but straight. It's named for the Straight Lake from which it flows. This river has a stronger current, so it doesn't freeze as solidly, and it is much shallower. There are also lots of trees along it. No more sledding or swimming, but then, we had a great opportunity for canoeing. We would have someone drive us a mile or two upstream and then paddle and float back home. The challenge was hauling the canoes back up the hill through the trees.

I was on the swim team starting in seventh grade and did well, especially as a long-distance swimmer. I still have some awards I earned. Later, I became a lifeguard.

When I moved to Arizona after college, I fortunately landed in a town with a swimming pool and The Verde River.

A close friend of mine, Madison, suggested that I try SCUBA. My first thought was, “Where does one SCUBA dive in Arizona?” His suggestion was to travel to Mexico. So, I made repeated two-hour trips down to Phoenix to become certified.

SCUBA, which stands for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, is not for everyone. Some people feel constricted with SCUBA gear. Some are afraid of an accident and running out of air. I took to this new water world like, well, um, a fish. What a rush! Before long, I was enjoying marine life in San Carlos, Mexico, both above and below the surface. I love the feeling of weightlessness under water. It’s a thrill to see new things while diving, sometimes staying put long enough to study creatures' features and habits. Madison and I always brought collection bags to clean up any garbage we found.

On one occasion, after we were done with our dive, I was snorkeling around the smaller bay in which we were anchored. I saw a black garbage bag on the bottom, about 40 feet down. I free dove to get it, but it was squishy and turned out to be a big, black sea slug, with eerie, beady eyes peering from appendages. Cool! I left him to go on his way, but it was a treat to follow his movements from above for a while.

Another time, we dove on a sunken ferry boat. It was a bit murky. Madison grabbed my fin to get my attention. When I turned, I thought I was looking at a shark, but it was a young whale shark, which is in the whale family, not a shark. It took my breath away.

Over the years, I have seen sharks, sea turtles, sea snakes, and all manner of fish, rays, and urchins. We even got in the middle of a pod of dolphins while boating around San Carlos Bay. There were hundreds- perhaps thousands of them! We cut the engine and watched them until they swam away.

[This isn’t my video, but it’s in the same area.]

During these trips, I often swam from the hotel to a small island a mile offshore. Madison would circle around with the boat to make sure I was safe. These fond memories remind me that life is precious.

One of my favorite sightings was not even in the ocean. I was snorkeling on Lake Mead and discovered a graceful, white freshwater jellyfish. I didn’t even know they existed. They’re very rare. My friend, Bob, who dove as a Park Ranger, was jealous. He never saw one in his decades of diving the many lakes where he was sent.

I have many great memories of being in and around water. Watching what happens under the water brought a new perspective to my life. It made me realize that there is so much more under the surface, not just in the water, but in life. Sink to another depth and you may be surprised what you find.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going swimming!

Dedicated to Madison and Bob, may they rest in peace.