Goodbye My Dear Henry: Five Minute Stream of Consciousness

What struck me instantly were his gorgeous eyes. I am a complete and utter sucker for blue eyes, and I fell in love quick and hard. You know how girls sometimes do when a new boy shows up at school, mysterious and all.

He was the new kid in the place, and he had a way about him. He was light and funny and fluttery. His vivacious personality was hard to miss.

One thing we did not have in common is he liked peas and I do not.

He was my Henry, a pet name I gave him, and he came to the aquarium the same winter week I did. That was more than three years ago.

It wasn’t until I couldn’t find him in his usual spot to hand feed him his peas yesterday, I shouted over the microphone, "Has anyone seen my Henry?" that I learned he passed away last week. Poor boy. Was he a boy? I don't even know.

And though they promised another would replace him in the not too distant future, it will never be the same.

Most of them have green eyes…

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Thanks to my friend Kenya for letting me know that there is another opportunity for linking to a stream of consciousness writing community over at her place! This is probably my favorite way to write. Five minutes, quick and dirty! And on a Friday!!!

Do You Have a Fish Tank?

Can you not completely lose yourself in it? 

Gaze for hours.

I do.

When I look at it from the top, it appears so much smaller than its 90,000 gallons. Seems sparse since it is deep, and only some fish swim along the surface. Seems like it's the predators. And there's a whole social system within it as well.

Somewhat of an eavesdropper on their lives,
I can see this.
Everyone needs to behave, including me.

Some fish school. 

Angel Fish swim in pairs. 

Snappers seem to lead solitary lives.

Imagine a gigantic tank filled with life and color and textures. Then imagine slipping into its peacefulness. Some approach cautiously then flit off. Others nip my fingers anticipating food, or my flesh.

Five stingrays fight for my attention.
Suck my mask trying to kiss me.
Things brush past.

It is like playing in their secret world. 

Not mine. 

Intimate.

Like taking a Caribbean vacation. 

Without leaving. 

Soundless.

It's feeling like you are the luckiest person in the world. 

This Is Not A Real Post

This does not count as a post. It is 8:19pm. I am wiped out to the point where I can hardly keep my eyes open. Toothpicks needed, stat!

I kept saying at the aquarium all day today, “I’m having so much FUN!!!” And the Dive Safety Officer kept saying, “No! This is a job! We don’t have fun. Don’t tell anyone we are having fun.”

I babysat an extremely large green sea turtle named Nickel by using diversion tactics like dangling delectable Romaine lettuce in front of her nose, and scratching her back with a brush, and rubbing her fins (WITH MY HANDS!!!). Nickel is approximately18 years old and considered an older teen. She weighs about 180 pounds, and acts like a Lab puppy! Naughty!

My Young Charge!

I fed a moray eel. I basically shoved a large sardine directly down his (I think he’s a he) throat, and held it there until his second jaw/set of teeth popped out, and grabbed it. Freaky!

I prepared food for an entire days feedings for the Caribbean Reef exhibit. My initiation was filleting pounds of raw squid. Doesn’t scare me!

Finally, I suited up, and swam in the museum’s center tank to get my proverbial feet wet. Figured out buoyancy, and how to breathe and talk simultaneously.  Pushed away a bunch of mauling cow nose stingray who thought I had food, which I didn’t. Survived a head smack by Nickel's front fin as she tried to sit on my head. And swam up to the windows to wave at the young children. They were so excited and so was I!

I had my first tank picture taken when two high school girls wanted me in their #Selfie. They weren’t perfectly happy with how they looked in the first one so they held up a finger to say, "One more?" YES, please!!!

Yep! It was a really cool day. And now I am heading to bed. Really.

Night, night!!!

Please Vote for Shedd Aquarium as Best in North America!!!

Hi Everyone,

If you have read some of my posts in the last 5 months, you know that I am a diver in the Amazon Rising Exhibit at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, which opened on May 30. 1930. Okay, I will admit it is not a glamorous job by any means because I scrub the tanks. Sometimes, I even get to catch turtles. The cool part, though, is I am up close and personal to so many amazing (and large) animals including a tank full of piranhas! I remind myself every time I dive to spend a moment looking around, watching the animals move peacefully, trying to be thankful for where I am, and what I am seeing. I don’t touch them, but they touch me. Some are all up in my business, particularly the turtles.

So the reason for this post is USA Today is conducting a “Reader’s Choice” poll for all sorts of things with one being BEST AQUARIUM IN NORTH AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!

Please consider voting for Shedd Aquarium! It is an incredible museum! Check out the website. Explore. And when you come to Chicago, hit me up! I would be happy to walk you through my favorite exhibits (Amazon Rising (of course), The Caribbean Reef, The Wild Reef, Seahorses, and the Beluga Whale tank).

To vote, just follow this link:

http://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-aquarium/

Tanks (as we divers say) bunches!!!!!!!!!