One more thing, the high point of my day. After the dive, I was taking apart my rebreather and cleaning it and eavesdroping on this little girl (11 years old) explaining scuba diving to her little sister. She was getting ready to go diving but her sister was too young. It was fantastic to hear, the only word to describe it is cute, extremely cute. The worlds youngest scuba instructor, and she was doing a really good job too! I could tell that in her little sisters eyes she was a hero.
Then she saw my rebreather and came over and asked me what it was. I explained it and she really seemed to get an immediate grasp of it. She asked VERY intelligent questions about oxygen and carbon dioxide. I explained how the air flows through the loop and showed her the scrubber. She understood it really well. I told her that my rebreather was made in the UK and she said that is where she is from, I asked her name and she said “Virginia” and I said that’s where I am from!
Listening to her and her sister and talking to her really gave me a case of the warm fuzzies. It sounds really insignificant but it is a memory I will cherish forever.