High tea
Who thought of this? I was along for the photo-op – the only guy at the party. High tea! – the way it oughta be. Hats! Dress-up. Tea. Tea sandwiches and little desserts. There was even a tiered arrangement stacked with goodies to eat. I wonder whether the guest of honor will remember this high tea in her honor? A good time was had by all.
Diving
The first new thing I learned upon arrival in Jeddah was to learn to scuba dive. Yes! Mike Neslon – Lloyd Bridges – Sea Hunt! – my childhood – a fantasy in reach of fulfillment. The process is like anything else. They teach you the basics. A dive in the pool. And then the Red Sea.
Then it’s mileage – time in the water. The more time, the more experience, and thusly the more fun follows. It’s easy! Not so! As I have learned, things that I believe are simple are a bit more complex. I have seen so many others take lessons and then fall off. They don’t dive much anymore. I’ve found lots of people who are afraid of night diving – afraid of the dark. I am too, to the degree that I faced my fear and got past it. It was exhilarating. And itis something I look forward to doing.
The knife and BCD are new in these pictures. No longer. I think I passed 350 dives a while ago. The knife is lost at the bottom of the sea. It pulled free. I tend to scrape the coral a bit when I dive chasing the fishies. The knife is not to fight underwater. It is hardly enough to defend yourself. And sharks move way faster than I could ever. No! It’s for cutting yourself free. Right, you knew that? The hat is old. It’s my daughter’s college. I don’t have a college hat. But I paid for this one, so it’s mine – if you understand my drift. Someone else recently has tried to co-opt it. It’s old and been through lots of sweat at college rugby matches. But….well… I guess it’s time to break in a new one….
photobackstory 