Dear Readers –
We here at Morale Central love the water, especially the ocean. We love wading, swimming and especially SCUBA diving. Fun fact, We had a side hustle as a SCUBA instructor with a local dive shop for 10 years. “But, but, but,,,Colorado is landlocked,” We hear you cry. Yes Poindexter, it is which did put a bit of a dent in Our career advancement. Actually, like most recreational industry jobs the pay was incidental to seeing tentative students take their first breath under water. Also, the pay was only slightly above nothing. (“What’s the difference between a SCUBA instructor and a large pepperoni pizza? Well, a large pizza could feed a family of four.” Oh We crack Ourselves up.) You get the idea; We love being underwater. As an instructor We got more questions about sharks than any other denizen of the deep – including the mantapus, a totally fictional creature We just made up cause We like manta rays and octopi. Sharks are like any other creature – don’t start nothin’ won’t be nothin’. However, even the most docile of sharks can remove one from the census when provoked. Nurse sharks have nubbins where Jaws had razors. Nurse Sharks are the Homer Simpson of the shark family. They are nocturnal and spend most days sleeping or drinking Duff beer. However, one diver We observed really wanted a picture. So, Jacques Cousteaupid PULLED IT OUT OF ITS HOLE!!! Homer did what any right-thinking resident of Springfield would do. He bit him. Did it break the skin? Nope. Did it hurt? Probably. Here’s the real problem – Nurse Sharks are like a chocolate lab with a tennis ball. Once Homer clamped down, he didn’t want to let go – no matter what Marge said. Raise your hands if you think having 300 lbs. of fish clamped to your leg with a limited air supply is a problem? We’ll wait. Also, many sharks are endangered. If an aquarium gets a male and a female they encourage them to get busy. However, sharks are not teenage boys. They need romance, mood lighting, candles, flowers and perhaps dinner. To encourage the process some aquariums even pump music into the tank. And which musician caused the happy couple to make Baby Sharks (Do Do Do Do Do Do – oh come on you knew that was coming). Why Salt-n-Pepa, of course. Particularly the song “Push It” was particularly effective in convincing Mommy Shark (Do Do Do Do Do Do) and Daddy Shark (Do Do Do Do Do Do) to put a tie on the aquarium door, but We digress…
What’s Making Us Happy This Week – Mountain Lakes
It is a hiking truism that one should never let the destination get in the way of the objective aka summit fever. If one’s goal is to enjoy the mountains then forgo the top of the peak. This is one of the many reasons We love lake hikes. They are lower in elevation, (sometimes) easier to get to than the summit and (typically) less risky in terms of lightening storms. Plus there is the added bonus of plunging one’s feet into the icy water. At left, assuming Outlook allows it, is Thomas Lake with Mt Sopris in the background. It started to snow as We took this photo and there were skiers coming down the bowl looker’s right of the exposed rocks in the center. We shoulda brought skis.
What’s Making You Happy – Pass it On and We Will Share It
Words To Live By
Remember, every day’s an adventure, every meal a feast and every paycheck a fortune.
A good friend will help you move. A great friend will help you move a body.
Every pizza can be a personal pizza if you believe in yourself.
Expectations are just resentments under construction.