Before the Mast

"There is witchery in the sea,

its songs and stories,

and in the mere sight of a ship,

and the sailors dress,

espesially to a young mind,

which has done more to man navies,

and fill merchant men,

then all the pressgangs of Europe."

*******

Richard Henry Dana Jr.

two years before the mast:

a salors lfe at sea.

Waitting to Exhale...!?!?

"S.C.U.B.A. Diving is sensual.

To breathe underwater is one of the most fascinating and peculiar sensations imaginable.

Breathing becomes a rythmic melody

of inhalations and exhalations.

The crack and pops of fish and crustaceans harmonize with the rythmic chimming

of the bubbles as you exhale.

Soon, lungs act as bellows, controlling your bouyancy as you achieve weightlessness.

And, as in your dreams,

you are flying.

Combine these otherworldly stimuli

and you surrender completley

to the sanctuary

of the underwater world.

****

Tec Clark, forward, Karen Bergers SCUBA Diving

Born of Two Countries, Loved as One

"If a man should importune me

to give a reason why I loved him,

I find it could no otherwise be expressed,

then by making answer:

because it was He,

because it was I."

****

Michel de Montaigne

Forefathers

"Let us make

future generations

remember us

as proud ancestors

just as, today,

we remember

our forefathers."

****

Moo-Hyum-Roh

Self Portrait of a Cowboy

There are 3 kinds of men in the world.

The ones that learn by readin',

The few that learn by observation,

And the rest of them

thats got to pee on that electric fence.

****

old cowboy saying