Letters to the Editor
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Snorkeling
Snorkeling is, for the new diver, a great way to get acquainted with the vasty deep. SCUBA may be the greatest way to swim ever, but before you run, you gotta crawl. Seeing the undersea world of Jacques Cousteau firsthand is the only way to believe in something unworldly right here on Earth.
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Screw the moon! SCUBA is closest to flying in space
Keef, you've had a taste. Now take Scuba lessons and explore the rest of the planet. You've just started. Fly with the fish worldwide... underwater, down much deeper. I got into Scuba at 46, and now I'm 67.
Diverdan Prall, a longtime fan.
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Snorkeling vs Scuba
Having done both, I'd give the nod to snorkeling. Its way cheaper, you don't need some certification, and bulky equipment.
You don't have to worry about bubbles in your blood. Always a downer.
And you can't see quite as much. But you can see a hell of a lot. And if you want to go a little deeper, just dive and hold your breath.
Thats the best of all. Just awesome.
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The cartoon man speaks the truth
It's true
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"The Office" Redux
You just need to know how to stick your face into something warm, salty and fishy...
That's what she said!
8-) ;-P
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Keith, try scuba diving.
If you like snorkeling, you'll love scuba diving. You can start out with a "tourist" dive. You don't need to know anything at all. They'll take you down maybe 20 feet and take care of all the technical stuff for you. After that, if you're like me, you'll get the bug and learn to dive on your own.
You really want to experience something trippy? Get your open water certificate (first level diving) and go do a night dive! Just go down 30 feet or so. Everything is dark and shadowy and very calm. It's beautiful. You'll feel like you're floating through space, and if you want to see stars, just sit on the bottom, turn off your flashlight, and wave your hand. You'll be surrounded by all the tiny phosphorescent thingies glittering around you like a cloud of aquatic fireflies. It's heaven.
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Scuba doo...
Scuba is snorkeling raised to a very high power. Both in excitement and cost. It IS like being an astronaut, NASA trains people in their full astronut suits in a huge pool. I'd love to be a diver for NASA.
As far as fears go, I hate to fly. People say that I'm 'afraid' to fly or claustrophobic. It's not the plane that I'm afraid of, its gravity. ;-)
I recently spent a week in Hawaii and did a 'Manta Dive'. Aside from feeling guilty that the rays have grown to depend on us to attract their food to those spots every night, I was in total awe of the size and speed of those things. Yes, snorkeling you would be able to see them but on the bottom you actually have to duck (!) when they go by and you feel their wake as they pass. It was incredible!
Snorkeling to me compared to scuba is like the difference between seeing the pictures in a magazine and actually being there. Scuba is being part of that new world. There is so much to see and experience. I've seen barracuda and ells and little shrimps and airplanes and boats and even found money, and a bottle of wine, a toaster (miles from land) but no gold, yet...
I did once describe scuba as being 'better than sex'. It is, sometimes. Although I'm still suffering for that one comment... :-)
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Re. Snorkeling vs Scuba
Comparing snorkeling to scuba, Million-Year Picnic wrote: And you can't see quite as much. But you can see a hell of a lot.
Actually, you can see a lot more if you take the next step, to free diving (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_diving).
Consider: fish are not so shy when one does not noisily emit bubbles; one can dive all day with no fear of getting bent; one is not entrusting one's life to technology; and practiced free divers can easily attain the same depths as recreational scuba divers.
Another plus: It really freaks out scuba divers when some guy who's not wearing a tank silently drifts down next to them on a reef. 8)
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Lonewolfy
It's not often that something I read actually makes me "LOL" but your comment did, nicely done!
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Hey Keith
Did you notice Candorville this past Sunday? Same as your strip from last Wednesday.
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The one thing about SCUBA/snorkeling
... and it is weird, but it once triggered a fear of heights in me. I used to be pretty acrophobic but strong-armed myself out of it years ago. Then, one snorkeling trip I looked down a piece of kelp disappearing into the gloom and *BANG!* - it was all back again. I recovered & it hasn't happened since, many years ago, but really surprised me when it happened.
Keith, maybe that's the origin of your fear (or whatever) of the water?
I can vouch for the coolness factor of both snorkeling and SCUBA. Free-diving requires good lung capacity though, and the best I know still weren't down for more than a couple of minutes. It's something that can take a lot of dedication - easy if you're really into it - whereas SCUBA is somewhat easier. Do the real courses and not the 2-class things offered in tourist traps though. Knowing how to do dive charts is super important.
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Last week's
The "same comic" thing was a effort by minority comic writers to bring attention to the seemingly still-prevalent notion that a comics page only needs at most one "black" comic and one "Latino" comic. I believe i read that Darrin Bell of Candorville couldn't get his in on time (I think they were all supposed to run on the same day).
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Nice stuff Keef
That pose is great (in 3rd panel, with you floating there). And I haven't said anything, but your layouts are lookiin' awesome lately. It seems like you're carving out some white space (between all that lettering).
Keep it up! Someday you can open a snorkeling rink in Santa Rosa...
yer pal,
JasonC
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Thanks, Chris
When I read that line in the strip, I "LOL"ed for real myself!
I wonder if Keef knew at all about the potential double entendre...8)