“The Portal”

September 23, 2010

By Caciques Augie Cummings and Marianne Foss-Skiftesvik

As we scrambled to get our scuba gear together we were both optimistic and pessimistic about our journey into the abyss. We were hoping for a good time and a new understanding of aquaculture. As the french toast and granola settled in our stomachs we secured our life within our BCD’s. The hissing of tanks and the clanging of metal echoed throughout the boat house. Like a machine, we transport the equipment from the boat house on to the boats in a smooth and precise manner. The scuba gear seemed more anxious to get in the water than we were. As the Kenny T and the Red Rising destroyed the waves with their massive hulls, we peered on like sailors towards our destination. As we bounced up and down off of the benches, white as sea foam, so did our stomachs and minds. We had no idea what to expect, like the frontiersman once felt, and our minds began to wonder. As buddy checks went swimmingly, we fell off into colossal waves, and our nerves began to tingle. Fighting against the current, we saw heads disappear and reappear behind the massive waves, as if they were ghost in the water. As we were given the okay we put one hand in the air and began to sink down. Going through the portal from this world to the next reminded us how far away we were from home. Looking down squinting into the sea, we saw a myriad of fish from our species ID. Yellow Tail Snapper to Midnight Parrotfish, Atlantic Spade Fish to the Arrow Crab surrounded us. They swam around, greeting us into their abode. Fears quickly left before we could even catch them, replaced with pure joy and happiness; our minds were set at ease.