My favorite image of myself, playing aquatic superhero, free diving in Hawaii.
As a boy, I always wanted to be the hero, and I'd debate Aquaman vs. the Submariner while everyone else was debating Batman vs. Superman or Captain America vs. the Green Lantern. Namor, prince of Atlantis, has had my greatest loyalty, especially in the original comic/cartoon version. Somewhere I have a list I kept of the more aquatic figures from myth and literature: first, Odysseus, Beowulf, Theseus, Tarzan; then, Travis McGee, Dorey Thomas, Doc Ford, maybe James Bond--those are all that surface in my mind just now. (My title is a rather juvenile borrowing from Bond's infamous self-introduction.)
I love free diving, being underwater and limited only by my ability to hold that breath, to swim and to explore, to hover and examine, to search and seek, and to feel that welcoming pressure of the water on muscle and bone. (I wish my sinuses liked it as much as the rest of me.) In my regular workout pool, I am known for diving as deeply as possible and as often as possible, lap after lap, so it's no surprise I'm the usual finder of treasure, the lost earrings and bracelets. Mel Fisher has nothing to worry about, but my dreams live on. Today, a pearl earring; tomorrow, King Priam's gold!
Somewhere, I have story-notes about a certain Nisus of Troy, veteran of that Greco-Trojan conflict, survivor and refugee, now a fisherman and salvage-diver, always seeking the treasures plundered from his beloved city and lost with those ships that failed to return to Greece, the ships lost to Poseidon's wrath. Nisus of Troy. You know there must also be a few crafty Greeks seeking that drowned gold, silver, and bronze. Never underestimate Odysseus.
Yes, I still have hero fantasies. Why not?
