Ralph Zetti
I was a little suspicious of Ralph Zetti at first. You see, Ralph is a Yankee and is from way above the Mason Dixon line. We don't usually let Yankees into our collective membership, even though we let them into the store, assuming they have money. But two things changed my mind. First, I saw pictures of the quality of his work, and I was impressed. His work fit right in with what we are doing here, both the theme and the quality. He is good.
The second thing that changed my mind about Ralph is I found out he is not only a SCUBA Diver, but a dark water diver! That changes everything. Despite the fact that he is a Yankee, he is on of us, my kind of guy. He is one of the crazies that will drive hundreds of miles to pay someone (A Southerner) good money to take him out and throw him off a boat into water 50 feet deep that is rushing over his head so fast that he has to use a screwdriver stuck in the river bottom to keep from being washed away downstream. Did I mention this water is so dark and silty that with a good light you can usually see 2 or 3 feet, on a good day. On a bad day, you can't even tell if your light is switched on. Did I mention there are living things in that dark water? Things that bump into you, things you can't see that swoosh the water so powerfully, you can feel the shock wave from it?
The dangers are often exaggerated though. People claim that the rivers we dive are Water Moccasin and alligator infested. Just. Not. True. The gators ate up all the moccasins a long time ago.
I have talked with Ralph, but have never met him. I will meet him next week. Hoping he has a good sense of humor...
The second thing that changed my mind about Ralph is I found out he is not only a SCUBA Diver, but a dark water diver! That changes everything. Despite the fact that he is a Yankee, he is on of us, my kind of guy. He is one of the crazies that will drive hundreds of miles to pay someone (A Southerner) good money to take him out and throw him off a boat into water 50 feet deep that is rushing over his head so fast that he has to use a screwdriver stuck in the river bottom to keep from being washed away downstream. Did I mention this water is so dark and silty that with a good light you can usually see 2 or 3 feet, on a good day. On a bad day, you can't even tell if your light is switched on. Did I mention there are living things in that dark water? Things that bump into you, things you can't see that swoosh the water so powerfully, you can feel the shock wave from it?
The dangers are often exaggerated though. People claim that the rivers we dive are Water Moccasin and alligator infested. Just. Not. True. The gators ate up all the moccasins a long time ago.
I have talked with Ralph, but have never met him. I will meet him next week. Hoping he has a good sense of humor...