A Rough Week

It has been a rough week for the family. Tiana is struggling with some mysterious seizures that has all of us worried. Bryce has ended up in the hospital with a running soccer neck injury. We’re still waiting for the outcome of this serious accident. On a lighter note, I’ve winched and wined all weekend with a very painful toothache – possible root canal and the medical community starts licking their chops at the Barrand family.
I did get in two great dives at the Aquarium, one in the big “Sea of Cortez” tank. A fish had died earlier in the week and so they close the tank to diving and apply antibiotics when a fish dies. So ours was the first dive in over 5 days and we needed to feed the Moray Eels. I’ve been attacked by all those fresh water fish in the Reservoir, and felt a little nervous, but I was freaked out by those Morays. They aren’t usually aggressive but they were hungry and even when I didn’t have any food one kept coming after me when I was cleaning the sand. They are about 5-6 ft long, thick, slimy, green, well armed with sharp teeth eating creatures. Thank goodness they are nearly blind. The folks watching thought it was so funny when I kept back peddling away from the eels.
Things got really crazy when we brought out the food. We hold the large dead mackerels in a long canister and feed the eels with tongs and no mesh gloves. The other fish in the tank haven’t eaten well either over the past week and they were all over us with the smell of food. We had 5 eels to feed. The first bite of fish goes well, and then everything falls apart. The Morey realizes that I have food and starts coming after me with jaws snapping. I have to hurry and dig down into the canister to grab another fish with those silly tongs before the Morey chomps down on my unprotected hand or arm or face. We also need to fight off the other fish in the tank from stealing the mackerel meant for the eels. It must have looked like a comedy act, with this giant green eel with jaws moving coming after me as I swam backwards trying to stuff dead fish in those teeth and avoid being bit. It was wild and I loved it. It kind of reminds me of dealing with lawyers.