When I was 7, to my glee, I opened my first set of snorkeling gear for Christmas. It was so awesome! I had my own snorkel, mask, and even fins! I was so excited I wore it for 2 days in the dead of winter.
Christmas in New York is not the best time to go snorkeling, but you can be sure that the first time the pool was open, I was in it and breathing underwater. How cool! There was this whole other world under me that I was previously only vaguely aware of. It may have been just blue tile and black lane stripes (at the local pool), but boy, was this was awesome! I could breathe and see underwater. It was the answer to my dreams.
Needless to say, I could only dive down to the bottom of the pool so many times before I wanted more. I just wanted to see more than the bottom of the pool and other people’s legs. So, a few years later, I took my life into my own hands and tried to snorkel in the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers. I had just turned 13 and thought I was ready for the big time. I snuck away one hot summer day and jumped in with the same snorkel, mask, and fins I had for the last 6 years.
Going Pro
Well, the mask leaked. It was obviously too small. So that week I took my lawn-mowing money and went to the SCUBA store. I talked to the clerk there and told him that I wanted to take up snorkeling as a hobby and wanted to buy a new, good, quality mask. He pointed me toward the top-of-the-line mask. It was very expensive, especially for a 13 year old, but boy, was it shiny! I tried it on maybe a dozen times before I used it. I wanted to be able to return it if it didn’t fit right. It fit perfectly. I biked right down to the Hudson, jumped in and put on my mask… Wow. What a disappointment. I couldn’t see anything! I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face.
My Coach and Mentor
I went back to the specialty store and talked to the clerk. He was one of those world-traveler SCUBA divers, and was a great inspiration to me to learn snorkeling and eventually SCUBA diving. He had pictures throughout his whole shop of him at these far-away exotic places that I could only dream of seeing. And boy what stories! I desparately wanted those stories to be my stories some day. Because of this, I trusted him for everything.
I described to him, in great detail, how desparately I wanted to see in the river, but I couldn’t. Everything was foggy. He recommended I buy a five dollar bottle of lens defogger. That was it! It was murkey because it was foggy! Right?
Well, needless to say, I jumped in the Hudson again, and sure enough, my mask didn’t fog up, but it sure was murkey.
Disillusioned, I went home and talked to my dad, someone who had a lot of experience with SCUBA diving in Vietnam a long time ago. He got very angry at the clerk for selling me that mask and defogger. He then explained that the only way that I could possibly see anything in the extremely polluted and muddy Hudson River was to buy an underwater light, and that would cost thousands of dollars… way more than a 13 year old could afford. The best mask in the world and gallons of defogger would not do anything. Not only that, but there was absolutely nothing to see in the Hudson River.
My heart was broken, and I put the mask away in my closet forever. Even though I loved it, I never snorkeled in the pool or the river again.
Finding the Right Water
When I joined the Navy, I had a chance to go to extremely remote parts of the world. I was stationed in Hawaii for about 3 years. The second week I was there, one of my buddies brought me out snorkeling. I was not excited at all. It had been 10 years since the Hudson River folly, and I hadn’t put a mask or fins on since.
My Place in the World
I reluctantly went out, and WOW! I had never seen so many colors in my life. I saw fish that belonged on the Discovery Channel. I snorkeled for hours. My mask, a $5 borrowed mask, which I borrowed, fogged up a bit. I didn’t even have fins. But my buddy showed me that if I spit in the mask and smear it around a little bit, then rinse it, it does the exact same thing a defogger does. And in waters like Hawaii, you don’t need a thousand dollar spotlight.
Needless to say, I had the time of my life. Then, the next day, I went out again. I went out almost every chance I got for the next 3 years. I found a new hobby I loved. I even started SCUBA diving. For the first 3 months, I borrowed my friend’s equipment. Then, I bought my own. Since then I have snorkeled and SCUBA dove in places like Guam, Cape Hatteras and the Keys. I now have pictures just like that store keeper. In fact, last summer, I even went back to the Hudson River and did a dive. I brought my thousand dollar light. It wasn’t impressive. Maybe some day I’ll open my own shop and tell 13 year olds the truth.
My True Mentor
I guess it just wasn’t time for me to learn to snorkel in the Hudson. Even professional divers have trouble seeing anything in the Hudson (maybe that’s why it’s the focus of so many mob movies). As I know now, as an adult, there really was nothing to see at the bottom, even if I could. All I could see was mud, logs, and pollution, but I didn’t know better. I didn’t realize that even the most expensive mask couldn’t help. Nievely, I assumed all water was like that, and gave up. Had I originally chosen a place like Hawaii, I wouldn’t need a thousand dollar light and a top-of-the line mask. Funny thing is, even though that store keeper had all of the awesome pictures of him SCUBA diving in the most awesome places in the world, he gave me bum advice because a) he didn’t really care all that much, and b) it was hard for him to pass up a sale, even if it was to a 13 year old who didn’t know better. I was impressed and mesmorized by all the pictures in the store, and I thought his advice and the most expensive equipment he recommended would make me as good as him. In truth, I should have gone to my father instead. Believe it or not, even though he doesn’t broadcast it to the rest of the world, he was a combat diver in Vietnam. He probably had more experience, skill, and better advice than that shopkeeper. But I didn’t care. I didn’t see the awesome pictures and didn’t hear the killer stories, so to me, the storekeeper knew more and had better advice. In addition, my father really does honestly care about my success. I’m his son.
Just make sure you’re diving in Hawaii, know who you’re taking advice from, think twice before buying that really shiny mask, and you’ll see the most beautiful fish you can possibly imagine.
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Thursday, 10 Apr 2008 Filed under: Leadership by Bryan
