SCUBA Diving is a Great Sport

SCUBA diving is a wonderful activity. It is like jumping into a whole new world. It is also a great non-competitive sport. Some of you may think that is a strange statement from a macho guy like me. However, in a high stress dog eat dog world there is no better way to unwind than to jump into the wonderful environment where one can achieve perfect buoyancy and experience the feeling of near weightlessness. In saltwater a diver can view some of the most unique and colorful creatures on earth. One other reason that SCUBA diving is a great activity is that nearly anyone can participate. Even the most awkward person you know can learn SCUBA diving, once they understand that the equipment will help him or her achieve a smooth effortless glide through the underwater world.


I was introduced to SCUBA diving at the age of thirteen. My cousins allowed me to try SCUBA diving one summer while camping with them at Center Hill Reservoir. At the time I loved the activity, but I thought that it was too expensive, and I would probably never be able to afford to participate. Though I really enjoyed my short-lived experience with SCUBA diving, I assumed that the sport was out of reach for me. After about ten years passed, the opportunity to learn SCUBA diving fell into my lap. I had volunteered to be an Explorer Scout leader and the kids wanted to take SCUBA lessons. At the time I was working at a large pharmaceutical company that paid very well. For the first time in my life, I felt I was making enough money that I could afford to take lessons and buy the necessary equipment.

In 1973 I took lessons to become a PADI basic SCUBA diver. There was a stone quarry about an hour drive from my house. Over the years I would get to know nearly every rock in the quarry. In 1974 the movie Jaws came out and I refused to watch it because I had made plans to meet my brother, Melvin, in the Florida Keys for our first saltwater dive. Though I knew in my mind that Jaws was total fiction, I didn’t want to let a silly movie scare me out of my plans to dive in the ocean. Of course this did it for me. I fell in love with saltwater diving immediately after I took my first giant stride off of the dive boat. I loved every minute of my dive. I watched the sea fans wave in the current, marveling at the intricate designs in the multitude of the many formations of coral. I also loved watching the multi-colored fish dart in and out of the beautiful coral walls.
From then on I couldn’t get enough SCUBA experiences. In 1975 my wife and I went to St. Croix in the Virgin Islands. More beautiful wow experiences, in more pristine waters! While in the Virgin Islands, a Divemaster embarrassed me in front of a boat load of divers. He caught me off guard and quizzed me with a question about coming to the surface too quickly. I thought the answer he wanted was “decompression sickness,” but he was really referring to “pneumothorax” (ruptured lung). He made it a point to make me look foolish in front of everyone. It was at that moment I decided: “I am going to learn everything I can about SCUBA diving.” I wanted to do this for two reasons: 1) so no one would embarrass me again like that, and 2) I wanted to know for my own safety. After getting my PADI Instructor certification, I went on to become certified to teach basic open water diving, advanced diving, rescue diving, shipwreck diving, night diving, deep diver equipment specialist, and underwater photography. After teaching hundreds of students I ended my teaching career as a PADI Master Diver Trainer.


Copyright by John W. Marks

So You Want to Buy Your Child a Bow

When picking out a child’s bow, or youth bow, the most important thing to remember is that that child will be growing up soon. Many fathers or mothers, whatever the case may be, sometimes get very excited thinking about the possibility of their little one following in their footsteps and becoming a great archer. Most children want to do what their parents are doing, and most children want their moms and dads to be right there with them when they’re participating in an activity or sport. Sometimes, however, a parent may misinterpret the enthusiasm of their child. A very small child’s attention span is more often than not very short. A parent should take this into consideration when purchasing a bow. My suggestion to them is to purchase a very simple fiberglass bow with string. I know when my first grandson was born I was excited to teach him how to shoot a bow. I started him out with a simple fiberglass bow and string, and that worked out well. He really enjoyed shooting at my 3D target. However, the low poundage bow, in combination with dull points found on youth arrows, would often times bounce off of the 3D target. This sometimes presented a safety problem because of the bounce back. This would also cause frustration for my grandson as he wanted to see his arrows stick into the 3D target. I then made up some arrows with a sharper point. Then I had to quickly teach my grandson not to run with the arrows and point them toward the ground when walking with them. As my grandson grew I was anxious to buy him a compound bow. This turned out to be a bad investment. I bought him what I considered to be the best youth bow on the market at that time, the Browning Micro Midas compound bow. The bow was very nice, and he loved it. The problem was my grandson didn’t live with me, and he was only able to shoot on occasion. In between those visits he would grow. This meant constant adjustments on the bow. My suggestion to parents is to let the child stay with the simple fiberglass bow until you see how excited the child is about the sport of archery. Let’s face it, in today’s world children have access to all types of entertainment. It may disappoint most parents to know that some children are content to shoot three or four arrows, and then go back in the house and grab a computer game or watch cartoons on television. This is perfectly normal. I suggest parents allow a child to be a child and do not push them into the sport of archery or bowhunting. Do not get discouraged. If you’re the type of family that goes to a lot of archery 3D shoots and events, there’s a good chance that your child will get the archery bug. Another consideration is that you may be having more children, and it may be necessary to purchase more archery equipment. Make it easy on yourself. You may be like me and have bows hanging all over the walls in your archery room that your children and grandchildren have outgrown. If you are nuts about archery, never fear there is a good chance your child will love archery also.


Copyright by John W. Marks