I've decided to tell stories one at a time, and hopefully that will help me stop procrastinating. So, we're beginning with Tuesday morning.
A fine, soft day in the spring it was when my mom and I left to go snorkling. It was raining lightly, which was a pleasant change from the frightening monsoons. A cynical and hilarious guide picked us up and made jokes about tourists saying "Aloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooha." Our group of about 25 piled into the boat and found the crew: five half-naked Hawaiian men and three covered-up and shivering girls. Everyone but the captain (whose name was Drew and not Bob) popped open a Corona and started drinking. It was about 9:45 a.m. They gave us a quick lesson on a sandbar. By "us" I mean... I don't know. I didn't see them. Mom and I had started exploring the sandbar. There wasn't much there. Mom, who'd never snorkled before, did it like an old pro. I've been snorkling since my youth, so we just set off and came back when we got cold.
By the time we clambered onto the boat again, one of the girls on the crew was on her fourth beer of the morning. And she and her friend had taken our seats. Where our dry clothes, purses, and water bottles were. The only seats available were outside in the rain, which did not seem appealing as we were Very Wet and already shivering. They refused to move. So, that steamed us up a little, and we stewed in our irritation for a few minutes. I had to say, "I'm a Christian, be like Christ, I'm a Christian, be like Christ" over and over again.
BUT, as soon as we stopped at the reef in Kaneohe Bay and jumped into the water again, all was forgotten. The fish swam up around us in every color and shape imaginable. They came up and checked us out, swam away, came closer. We saw yellow tangs, iridescent sapphire and emerald hummingbird fish, striped convict tangs, silver, blue, yellow, pink, red, orange, black striped and spotted. And a sea turtle. It. was. incredible. We were out there for about an hour, until we were the last people left and so cold that mom's fingers were turning numb. It was so beautiful. And fun. I am considering moving to Fiji so I can do it every day. They need teachers over there, right?
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5 comments:
They need vets there, too. Right? Right?
I don't think I could handle snorkeling. The idea of fish swimming near me or touching me really creeps me out. Glad it was awesome though. Reply to the email I sent you 30 seconds ago :)
Irving Copi lives on a sailboat off the coast of Hawaii, which he bought from the earnings from "Introduction to Logic," the best-selling textbook of all time. I hope to duplicate this feat at some point and perhaps I, too could live the life of a philosopher in Hawaii.
and pastors right?
even though miranda commented first, i was the first to mention the occupation, so that's locks me in
Dude, we could all start a...um... like a teaching/vet/philosophy/missionary...uh, thing, you know, 'cause we are all going into professions that are underrepresented in Fiji. Yeah, that's what we could do. Mary, I vote you in charge of planning. I'll bake something.
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