Hi Jesse!

> Uncanny how much your words about the ocean
> resonated with me. The ocean is one of my
> true passions in this world...its
> majesty...its awesome combination of power
> and grace...and ability to literally take on
> human personas never cease to amaze and
> inspire me. Ever since my childhood, I have
> been inexplicably drawn to it, and it was a
> main catalyst in my moving across the
> country as I did.

Jesse, I also have this crazy attraction to the ocean.... I think in my case, I probably got it from my Dad. He seems to have it too.... :)

He grew up in a small town called Coldwater, Michigan, and I think when he was a kid, they used to sometimes go to the shores of Lake Michigan for their holidays. My Dad ended up doing some of his university studies at University of Hawaii! To make some extra cash there, he worked as a "diver" for the glass-bottomed boats....

I think the "story" for the tourists was they could "see a deep sea diver on an underwater hunt," watching him through the glass-bottomed boat! My Dad was one of those guys, wearing scuba gear, making sure he was always directly under the boat, while turning over interesting objects on the sea floor for the benefit of the tourists. :)

As I was growing up (wherever we were, as we moved around a little bit), my Dad would take us (my brother and I) skin-diving and body surfing too.... We always lived in a city by the ocean.... And I picked up this love of the ocean (both above and below) too! :)

Probably like you, Jesse, the ocean has long been my "getaway".... It's one of the main places I go when I feel a need to ponder life's mysteries, gazing out over the stunning scenery as far as the eye can see.... :)

Thanks Jesse, it's cool to meet a kindred spirit with a similar love for the ocean.... :)

By the way, did you see the movie "Perfect Storm"? Wow, there's another side of the ocean.... Full of beauty, power, and mystery....

- Dien