Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
We went to the only dive shop in California at the time, the French-
run U.S. Divers Company in Westwood Village. We bought one tank,
one regulator, a pair of fins, a Squale mask, and a little instruction pam-
phlet that came with the French-manufactured Cousteau-Gagnan
Aqua Lung regulator, serial number 106. Not having access to a pool
to try it out, the two of us putted out in my little ten-foot ski¤ to the
Long Beach breakwater in search of some reasonably clear water. Ner-
vously, I put on the tank, fins, and mask and slipped into the water. It
was incredible! I was actually breathing underwater, and all around me
and all over the rocky bottom were wonderful undersea creatures. I
was truly in their world.
The Los Angeles Harbor is far from the most scenic dive spot in the
world, but to me it was thrilling. After using up what I guessed was
half the tank of air, I surfaced and clambered out on the breakwater
rocks. Norman went next but was not nearly as impressed. He never
did take to the underwater world like I did; eventually, in fact, he be-
came a land-based geophysicist rather than a marine biologist. To each
his own.
For the next year or so I went diving every chance I had. Most of
my diving was done solo because I knew few other divers then. One
year I was fortunate enough to get a part-time job collecting specimens
for the invertebrate zoology classes at UCLA. This gave me a chance
to dive and actually call it work, although the pay was very low. With
my background in biology, I was fascinated with the life I saw beneath
the surface, but I was equally excited by the very act of diving itself.
However, just being able to breathe underwater in this new world and
to stay submerged for relatively long periods of time didn't quench my
thirst. I was eager to learn the secrets of the lives of each creature I saw—
and for many years almost every dive I made revealed something new
to me.
Although I was only one of the millions of people living in the vast,
asphalt-covered city of Los Angeles, I knew I was one of the privileged
few. I was able to enter an ocean full of strange, alien beings that ex-
ists right at our doorstep. Meanwhile, those millions went about their
daily lives totally unaware of this fascinating world just beyond the shore.
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