Armand
Hey, I’m treading water here. Get it? No? Don’t worry. I’m at a wedding. I can’t rely on posting the next few days. I’m in the party…wedding…and told not to be a shooter…oh my! I’ll surely shoot my mouth off about Trump. The mother in law is a Fox news junkie.
I probably spelled his name wrong. If you just mumble it sounds good enough and he responds so we know to whom we are speaking. Did I tell you that I am terrible with names? I don’t really remember names that well. And people know me better. So they come up and say hi all the time. I do what my old medical partner taught me, I nod and smile. Only rarely occasionally someone will call me out and ask me to repeat their name. I met Armand during one Ramadan when I was desperate to find a dive buddy. Rule: you may not dive alone. It’s a rule. I’d prefer alone. I like to linger over subjects long and don’t like to be rushed. Fortunately, these days, there are some others who will tolerate my behavior, so, ok! Armand is a side tank diver. This is technical diving for things like wreck diving and cave diving where you don’t want the tank on your back to become ensnared. He was practicing alone. Bad! With five tanks on. That’s a hell of a load. Why? Mike Nelson – Sea Hunt – used to use three tanks every once in a while. I’m of the school – “more is better.” But now I know different. Too much of a good thing is too much. And the tanks are not light, and it is a pain to maneuver more than you can handle in the water. Yes, five tanks! I know, I know. You only see four. Armand says there was another underneath – and I believe him. Technical diving – you need to go deep? You have to take mixtures and air enough to come back. He was practicing. He came back. He’s still my friend. If he goes that deep that he needs five tanks, he will be my friend and I will pull him back by rope. I won’t go down that far – for sure…
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