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 Holly Winter Living The Life Of Holly June 15, 2003 “I helped make that pool.” Darin said, pointing to the brand new horizon swimming pool at our resort. “Really?” “Yeah. That took a lot of concrete.” He laughed. “Took forever to make that thing. But it was worth it.” “Yeah. That’s the best pool on Grand Cayman Island.” Billy said. “You should have brought your bathing suits. You could have tried it out.” I said, handing them each a beer. “Oh. No.” Billy said. “We don’t need bathing suits.” I laughed. “I bet you boys would be really popular if you jumped in there naked.” We were sitting on the beach in front of the condo. Darlin-man’s friends, Billy and Darin had stopped by for a visit. Billy was looking out to sea. “Oh. Mon. Now I want to go fishing.” “What do you see?” Darlin-man asked. “See those birds flying around out there?” There was a flock of about twenty birds flying just over the water. “They are flying over a school of fish.” Billy said, salivating. “How do you know?” I asked. “Actually.” He said, never taking his eyes off the water. “We didn’t know about that here on the island. Then we started learning from fisherman on other islands. They didn’t drive around all day using up gasoline while they searched for fish. They let the birds find them.” He slapped his leg. “That’s a big school, I can feel it.” Darlin-man looked out to sea. “Have you been fishing a lot lately?” “Yeah mon. I’m the number five fisherman on the whole island.” He said, watching the water. “I could drive home, grab the boat and still catch that school. Look. They are swimming along the reef. I could catch them at East End.” “Yeah. We could.” Darin agreed. “Don’t you get tired sitting around in a boat all day waiting for birds to show you where the fish are?” I asked. “No way.” Billy laughed. “We just jump in the water and go for a swim.” “Doesn’t that scare away the fish?” “And sometimes when it’s a really dull day, we ride the turtles.” Ok. That peaked my interest. “Turtle riding?” “Yeah, mon. Those big sea turtles? We ride them under the water.” I looked at Darlin-man. No way. That sounded like a story. Like something you would say to tourists. I looked back. “You ride the turtles?” “Sure we do.” Billy said. He looked at me. “You wait till you see one floating around in the water when they come up for air. Then you jump on his back and hold on to the sides of his shell. Then you just have to push down on the back of their shell.” Darin cut in. “You push down on the part of the shell right behind their head. It makes them dive down deep into the water.” “Yeah.” Billy said. “It’s really fun. You have to hold your breath, and ride down for a bit. Then when you are done, you lift up on the back of the shell and they take you to the top.” I looked at Darlin-man. Nope. No way. That sounded made up. I waited a minute. “Do you REALLY do that? Or is that something that you tell tourists?” Billy shrugged as he looked back out to sea. “We really do that.” Ok. I was ready. I wanted to ride a turtle. Of course Darlin-man would have to get pictures of me. Man. Maybe this was the sport I had waited my whole life for. Turtle diving. Yes. I liked the sound of it. “It’s dangerous.” Darin said. “Really dangerous.” “Too dangerous for me to try?” I asked. Yeah. I know. But. I was already planning my strategy. You know. How to hold on to a slippery turtle during the dive. I could wear my snorkeling mask so I could see things during the dive. Man. That would be so cool. No. I didn’t have it figured out yet. Surely Billy could clue me in. This guy knows how to do everything and anything Caymanian. I was already planning my application for the Turtle Diving Olympic competition. Billy turned back to me. “One of my good friends died when he was doing it.” “Oh. You can die?” “Yeah.” Darin added. “He had seizures all the time. He must have blacked out when he went under the water.” “People with seizures can die during turtle diving?” Ok. So. Maybe the epileptic in me recognized immediately that this wasn’t a good sport for me. “They searched for him with scuba equipment. Never found anything.” “Ok. I’m out.” I said, sadly. “And sorry about your friend. What an awful way to lose a friend.” I was sure that I would have won the Olympic metal in Turtle Diving. Now. My career was over. “If you want to try something, maybe it should be fishing.” Billy said, eyeing that school of fish. “How about you come down tomorrow afternoon, and I’ll take you guys out.” Darlin-man smiled a big-boy-smile. “We’d love that.” “But right now I’ve got to go.” He said. “The fish are calling.” “Gotta listen to the fish.” Darin said, getting up. “Yeah. I chase those fish more than I chase my girlfriend.” Billy laughed as they took off. Darlin-man headed towards the shore line. “I’m going to chase some fish.” “Good luck.” I said, picking up my magazine. “Hope you catch one.” “You know. There are a lot more fish in the sea.” He said over his shoulder, suggesting that he could find an easy replacement for me. “Yes, there are.” I agreed, turning a page in my magazine. “Just be sure you don’t catch a jelly fish.” I suggested. “You know how they sting.” ------------ About the author: Holly Winter is a teacher and a writer and a flight attendant living in Denver, Colorado, USA. She can be reached at her website or email: Holly@livingthelifeofholly.com Comment on this column in the forum. ------------ |
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