OK, now that Sheller has let the eel out of the bag so to speak by giving more of the real facts in his post of 1.6.09, I guess I’m going to have to tell the truth about “what was in Pat’s bag”. "...you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32) I should say at the outset that none of this changes the opinions I expressed about the lack of real substance as to the personal views/value judgments of individual humans in the big picture of the biologic and physical processes that have and continue to shape this planet and the lack of reality to human “ownership” for better or for worse of all of these processes. Nor does it change my stated rejection of the position of those individuals who think that their personal values are so “right” such that the rest of the world necessarily should adopt them.

Background: The report of “what was in Pat’s bag” was written as part of an email to group of us who dive often in the LA area and report conditions to each other - particularly the vis in different areas so we know what is up in the ocean and can plan our diving in as close to real time as possible. We generally do not post on this BB for reasons that may be obvious from the results of the posting about Pat’s bag. Every wonder why it is hard to find much in the way of real dive reports here???

Anyway, I reported on the conditions from our 12.28.08 trip to the group and simply commented that Pat owed them the story of “what was in Pat’s bag”. However time passed and Pat was simply not getting to it and by then I’d received a couple of queries as to when they would learn the story of “what was in Pat’s bag”. Well when we went diving on New Year’s Day, I “threatened” Pat that if he didn’t send the group the story, I’d send out a story and make the capture “Twain-esque” (e.g. hyperbole as in Twain’s Buffalo story in Roughing It). Well Pat didn’t do it so the story of the capture was born. Everything in the report is true except 1) Pat did not head out with the intention of catching the eel and 2) the actual method of capture. Pat saw the eel where he’d seen it a couple of weeks before but it was out of in its hole and was acting lethargic in the rocks. Something was not right. Later at the end of his dive, returning to the boat at the bottom of the rocks there was the eel, lying on the bottom, clearly not well. So he scooped it up into his bag and brought it back to the boat figuring that maybe it had a fishing hook in it or something else we might be able to remedy as the area is heavily fished. In the ice chest on the boat, Pat and Sheller carefully examined what was decidedly one very ill animal. While the corneas were not cloudy, they already had a slight haze to them. There was no hook in evidence, no fishing line from any orifice and no evidence of external injury. We then just put it back it the ocean with little hopes for its long-term survival. Disappointing to us personally as that is the first wolf eel we’d seen in SM Bay in 30 years. But in the big scheme of things - it simply “is”.

Errata: The story was actually put up on this BB by Max Bottomtime because I thought some people might be interested/amused and I never can get pictures to work here. Thus the use of my professional name; I never do that unless I get paid extra for it something Max didn’t know. My purpose with the Marc Twain-esque story of the capture was not to besmirch the nonpareil reputation of Swami Pat – a man who actually collects plastic trash underwater while lobster diving but make good on my promise to Pat to “tell a Twain” about him.

Andy S.

• Re: Now the whole truth about “what was in Pat’s bag. halibug 09:53:01 01/08/09 (1)
  • “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth” Andy S 15:37:03 01/09/09 (0)