When I lived in St. Louis in 1981, I took a local Scuba class for fun. It turned out to be mediocre or I was a slow learner. Probably both. When I had a chance to do the required Open Water certification a couple years later in the Florida Keys, I failed miserably with the sensory overload. I still wanted to explore the oceans, so I tried again with Berry Scuba in Lombard this year. It was much better experience. In particular I had to practice swimming without a face mask to learn it was not necessary for underwater survival.
I still needed to demonstrate I could do it in the wild to get my Open Water certification. I signed up for it this weekend just over the border at Pearl Lake in S. Beloit, WI with Gary Bonner. Pearl Lake is a scuba lake that has all kinds of weird things sunken in it, including a bus, airplane and submarine. Despite the summer heat, a full wet suit was required. I had to demonstrate to Gary I would not panic after losing my face mask, all while shivering in cold water sitting atop a sunken yellow school bus. I passed! I celebrated the success with my new girlfriend Aimee.
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