In a crisp gray shirt, green pressed trousers, flat hat and badge, the Park Ranger stretched both arms skyward to make certain he got our attention.
If you, like us, dream of visiting strange and alien worlds, you will venture into that weightless wonderland that exists just below the waves.
It would be a three-hour round trip down the Hawaiian coast to a place called Two Step, what the Marriot concierge promised me had the best snorkeling in all the islands.
So there, the four of us, in our 70s and 80s stopped with snorkel gear in hand, reversed our clumsy, waddling course to the ocean below, heeding the Ranger’s gyrations.
His look was that practiced mixture of sorrow and sympathy morticians ooze when greeting bereaved families.
“Yes,” he says, “This is Two Step, but the last step is a ten-foot plunge into the surf and deep water!”
I stood my ground, not wanting to turn and look at my older brother, former champion swimmer, world class diver, who could hold his breath for 5 minutes, but whose movement was now limited from spinal cord surgery.
The ranger went on, “The sharp coral and sea urchins covering the walls as you enter, are pretty risky.”
I chanced a glance at my drop jawed wife, 79, who had just suffered a severe ankle sprain when the Ranger asked, “Can you all lift your own body weight?”
At my 250 pounds, that cracked me and my brother up.
“It isn’t the getting in that is the most difficult, but the getting out,” he continued.
“You must time your exist: Wait for a wave large enough to push you up to the first step, grasp on, hoist yourself up before a second wave hits. If set, and you can hold on, it is that second wave that can lift you beyond the scouring coral and sea urchins.”
“If you want a good sense of what it is like, go on down, but before jumping in, look hard into the faces of those looking up at the two steps. Measure your abilities through the stress you will see in the eyes of all those trying to get out.”
Richard Kimball – one day in Hawaii
All future posts will only appear on: https://medium.com/@daffieduck2016