One of the worst experiences of my life

It may even rival March 26, 2002, the day of the fateful blood test which led to my diagnosis of MCL.

Not only was it one of the hottest days of the year, maybe even one of the hottest since I've been in California, but my check out dive, for our upcoming trip to Grand Turk, went horribly.

This probably wasn't the best day to be donning a 7 mm wetsuit, strapping 60 pounds of weights and tank to my back and then traipsing 100 yards to the ocean, but I needed to check out my gear, to make sure everything was working properly, before going on vacation.

So my buddy drove down from Glendora to pick me up first thing in the morning, and we headed out to Corona Del Mar. We decided against Shaw's Cove in Laguna Beach, our first choice, because the thought of adding 100 stairs (50 down and 50 back up), was going to be more than we wanted to endure, considering the hot weather, simply to go for a check out dive.

Things didn't start out badly either. We didn't have to pay for parking, I remembered all my gear, and I was able to get my wet suit on with little effort, but after walking the hundred yards through the sand to the shore [with the 60 pounds of weight on my back], as I was putting on my fins, one of the buckles broke.

I just can't describe the feeling when that happened. It was utter disappointment. I was sure I had checked the fins before the dive, but some how, the buckle broke, and I didn't have an extra buckle with me.

But after all that effort, I was not about to abort the dive, so I decided I would try to dive with just one fin.

Well it turns out that wasn't the best idea. After all the extra effort I needed, to first walk back to the car to drop off the one fin, and then swim out to a point where it was deep enough to start the dive with only one fin, I was so worn out, I could not relax enough, and get enough air out of my lungs to submerge.

So after about 15 minutes of floundering around in the water, I decided it wasn't worth any more effort, and I called it a day. I'll just do my check out dive in Grand Turk. My regulator works fine, the BC holds air, and my mask didn't leak. So with the exception of the fins, which I do have an extra buckle for, everything seems to be a go.

It's ironic too, that the last time I did a cold water dive with my buddy, about 6 years ago, he lost one of his fins (the same kind) in the surf, and we aborted the dive then. So I am taking that as a double omen, not to take those fins on vacation (I do have another set, which I have an extra buckle for), and don't do any more cold water dives.

It's easier riding with Group 1, on Saturdays Hammer Zone ride, than doing a beach dive in California.

Vaccine Mandates, what are they good for?

Not much, that's for sure! Simply showing evidence of receiving a Covid-19 vaccine (whether fake or not), does not mean you are protected from getting Covid-19, nor spreading it, if infected. We are all different, and too many of us, i.e. people who are immunocompromised/ immunosupressed, the elderly, or others for various reasons, do not [cannot] mount an immune response as good as younger and healthier individuals. What is evidence of immunity is a quantitative antibody test showing you have developed antibodies, and to what degree, either from natural immunity or the vaccine. That is what we should be testing for. That is what is important. But for too long, many, i.e. the FDA, doctors, and other health experts discouraged people (and still are) from getting antibody tests, because there was little knowledge about what level of antibodies are needed to impart immunity to the virus. That of course is true, to some extent, but how can we ever find out [learn] the answer to that q

History IS repeating itself

I didn't grow up during the rise and fall of Hitler and Nazi Germany, so for me to claim it feels like those are the times we are living in now, must be taken with a grain of salt. But I have seen enough movies, and read enough history to know, if the times we're living in now are not akin to the rise of a Nazism and Facism in Europe in the 1930's and 1940's, then we're not far off. If you can't see the parallels with Nazi Germany, then you must be living in a different country than me. Republicans and other right wing extremists will stop at nothing to subvert the will of the majority, forcing their beliefs, that they are the superior race and have been appointed by God, to impose their will on America, while they blame all our problems on immigrants, blacks and Jews. As I speak, Mitch McConnell, and his minions are raising roadblocks to all legislation designed to help average Americans under the guise of fiscal responsibility. They condone violent and verba

Open letter to all Democrats

Stop the nonsense! Continuing to go after Trump, without any hope of getting a conviction, does nothing more than provide Republicans with an obstructionist dialogue (now that they have come up with the unconstitutional talking point) in addition to giving Trump much needed publicity, when we should be ignoring him. It's the pure definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result! Instead Democrats need to be laser focused on what is important to all Americans, i.e. healthcare, Social Security and Medicare, infrastructure reform, the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, to name just a few. And when you do talk about Trump, simply steer the conversation as to how the Trump administration botched everything, how Trump is responsible for the deaths of 400,000+ Americans, due to his inaction and the down playing of the pandemic, plus the deaths of 2 Capitol policeman during the insurrection Trump provoked and incited on January 6, 2021.

LIVING WITH MCL

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