If possible, I would think he would be happy he spent so much time
diving. He got got into dry caving because of a messy divorce and he
wanted to get his mind off of it. When he learned about cave mapping,
he returned to his former interest in scuba and applied this mapping
skill to cave diving. When he made the first good map of spring called
McBride Slough, it was a first in underwater cave mapping in being so
accurate and detailed and got a lot of attention.
Although his death was nearly 20 years ago, I can still see his
enthusiasm and the far-away look in his eyes as he described swimming
through vast hallways with drowned columnar formations stretching off
into the distance out of reach of his light(You have to realize that
these caves where formed when the water level was a couple hundred feet
lower, the Gulf of Mexico shoreline was 50 miles furhter out 10,000 yrs
ago). Being a dry caver, I could picture this but with the added
experience of floating through it instead of climbing through it.
The exploration-discovery obsession really had hold of him and I can
see why. It is a nearly religious experience that makes people take
risks that may seem extreme but it is not for macho reasons.

Padeen wrote:
Remarkable story, dbohara. Do you think your friend regretted his
decision
spend his life diving?



Padeen

I can understand that far-away look. I've often pushed my boundaries for
what I consider something worth dying for, and have lived with the premise
that any death doing something I love, active and engaged, would be
worthwhile, compared to dying in an auto accident, or a cancer ward.
Thanks for your description of your friend's passion.
Padeen


wrote in message
oups.com...
If possible, I would think he would be happy he spent so much time
diving. He got got into dry caving because of a messy divorce and he
wanted to get his mind off of it. When he learned about cave mapping,
he returned to his former interest in scuba and applied this mapping
skill to cave diving. When he made the first good map of spring called
McBride Slough, it was a first in underwater cave mapping in being so
accurate and detailed and got a lot of attention.
Although his death was nearly 20 years ago, I can still see his
enthusiasm and the far-away look in his eyes as he described swimming
through vast hallways with drowned columnar formations stretching off
into the distance out of reach of his light(You have to realize that
these caves where formed when the water level was a couple hundred feet
lower, the Gulf of Mexico shoreline was 50 miles furhter out 10,000 yrs
ago). Being a dry caver, I could picture this but with the added
experience of floating through it instead of climbing through it.
The exploration-discovery obsession really had hold of him and I can
see why. It is a nearly religious experience that makes people take
risks that may seem extreme but it is not for macho reasons.

Padeen wrote:
Remarkable story, dbohara. Do you think your friend regretted his
decision
spend his life diving?



Padeen