BIFC Donates Volcanas School Playground IFC (International Friendship Club aka Club de Amistad Internaccional) has donated and inaugurated a new play ground at the Volcanos Schools, in Puerto Vallarta.
This was celebrating the DAY OF THE CHILDREN on April 29, 2007. There was a big celebration, with gifts for the kindergarten children, and a cake celebrating this occasion and a beautiful hand made banner, made by the children, thanking the IFC. The event was very special to those there, parents and IFC members and Chairpersons of IFC; smiling faces of the children made it all worth while.

Standing alongside the new playground equipment is Barbara Bornstein and Francisco Landin

Rescued Baby Orca Whale Gaining Weight*
This past Sunday we could report a positive balance as Pascuala, the recently rescued baby orca whale has stabilized at 175 kg (about 385 lbs). She is being fed a milk-like formula high on fat at a rate of 12 liters (about 4 gallons) a day.

She continues to be very dedicatedly cared for with someone at her side at all times, I saw her being carefully fed with a funnel and a hose, and then Fernando Miranda, the Dolphin Center's director and founder of Dolphin Assistance Foundation, put on his wet suit and diving gear and went into the water with her. I could tell she was happy to see and feel him join her in the pool as she turned more active. He had her exercise and swim all about, practice diving to the bottom and come back up. "She has no mom, someone has to teach her" he said.

I told him he is earning his share in Mother's Day upcoming celebration, as Pascuala turned out to be younger than the two weeks estimated when she was stranded; further studies show she was just a few days old back then, so she must be only a month old by now. So far it appears as she will not be going to San Diego as the Mexican government will not allow her shipment outside the country. It is now a question of where in Mexico she will stay so the proper facilities can be built, taking into consideration she can grow to about 5 to 7 meters (15 to 21 ft).

It also appears that among marine mammals' specialists the cases of orcas abandoning their firstborn and this baby to be stranded are not that extraordinary. Paradoxically orcas, the largest whales of the dolphin family and top predators of the sea; so dependent on their mother's milk in this early period of their life, are the whales with the widest diversity of food sources, their diet covering hundreds of species from fish to marine mammals as other whales, sea lions and seals.

By Eduardo Rincón-Gallardo
There is good news for marine mammals lovers; on Tuesday I paid a visit to Pascuala (the baby orca, or killer whale that was stranded on April 10th in San Blas, Nayarit) at Vallarta Adventures in Nuevo Vallarta – and the news is that she has been transferred to a larger pool and she is swimming by herself with no help from trainers.

Pascuala (named after 'Semana Pascua,' or Easter when she wsa found) is still accompanied and watched most of the time by Vallarta Adventures' staff, sometimes sharing the pool with young bottlenose dolphins. There is mutual respect between them though I was told that the dolphins are somewhat wary of the 400 lb. Pascuala.

Last I saw of her she was in a much smaller pool where she could be aided to swim and come up to breathe, her skin showed bad bruises telling of her entanglement in fishing nets before she became stranded. Back then no one knew the extent of her injuries or if she would be able to swim again.

Although her future depends largely on the government's decisions, her health has improved and she appears as having better chances of survival. Will keep you posted.

Baby orca whale 'Pascuala' is now swimming unaided at Vallarta Adventures Dolphin center in Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit.

Update on coach's move to the US National Team training center
Last week Friday, Sept. 2, 2005, Club Esgrima Vallarta president, Eugenio Davidson Rodriguez accepted his and Charles Randall's special recognition awards given to them by the City of Puerto Vallarta for outstanding performances at the 2005 Jr. Olympics. Students brought home 3 gold medals and 1 bronze medal, along with 2 Jr. Olympic Champion titles. Davidson accepted Randall's award in absencia.
Charles Randall had left Puerto Vallarta in May 2005 with bittersweet feelings. After co-founding Club Esgrima Vallarta with Davidson, Randall helped bring the club tremendous prestige, success and scholarships for its fencers, and formed close relationships with its members – but now has left it all behind – sort of. He gave us an interview with the Q & A format:

Recruited by Ed Korfanty, U.S. National Coach and coach to Olympic Champion Mariel Zagunis, Korfanty and Program Director Cathy Zagunis, did the unthinkable and succeeded in luring Randall to Portland, Oregon. Randall accepted the position as assistant coach to Korfanty at the U.S. National Training Center, and Director of Business Development for the Oregon Fencing Alliance ( OFA-the club where the training center is housed).
Vallarta Today (VT): So how it is the new job going? Randall: "I started on June 15, and not slowly. I was supposed to be one of two assistant coaches, however I was notified around May 20, that Adam Skarbonkovic, the other asst coach had just resigned (he accepted a position to join the U.S. Air Force Academy fencing staff), and that I was now moving into the #2 position. Plans for the summer training camps had all been laid out with 4 coaches and 3 instructors as staff. Program Director Cathy Zagunis contacted me to see if I was flexible to work all shifts. Days were long with camps running from 9 a.m - 4, then evening classes up until 8:30 p.m. I was used to working all day in PV at my day job until 5 then training the kids from 6-9 for free, I get to do what I love all day, and get paid for it, who could complain?"
VT: What was your first trip? Randall: "I went to the July Vancouver World Cup. I watched Caity Thompson give a tremendous performance all day. She wanted to make the US National Div. 1 team for the first time. In a tough battle Caity defeated Olympian Emily Jacobson and made it onto the team. I saw Mariel Zagunis come from behind to beat #1 ranked Sada Jacobson (USA) to win the gold. How Ed teaches his students to reach down inside, stay calm and regain control, I look forward to learning his method of teaching that. 75% of the U.S. National team are now filled by OFA students, that is incredible and shows the success of Ed's fencing programs."
VT: Do you miss your PV fencer's? Randall: "Well yes, but 3 of them came and stayed with me for about month and a half in total, and the kids are emailing me almost everyday, so in a way no! I was able to get 3 partial scholarships for Jennyfer Lobato, Hector de la Torre and Ana Hernandez (see previous article on the training camp) to come and train with World Champions and other fencers at an elite camp. I will continue to assist our club from here in many ways. Naturally I don't have the close relationship with my new students that I have with my PV fencers, but I hope that will come in time. I am excited about many of my new students. One of the big differences is the ages. Here I have a student, Malia Hee who is only 8 years old and a real tiger – then I am honored to have Sherry Green as my student. She is a young 67 years and the #1 ranked fencer in the USA in her age category. She just participated for the first time as a US National Veteran's team member and placed #6 in the World at the World Championships. She called me from the US nationals when she won the gold medal, to thank me. While I did not teach her to fence, (Adam did a great job with her), she told me I taught her how to compete better and she felt that I had really brought out her best performance in the short time we had. Let me tell you, that phone call really made me feel welcomed."
During Randall's time in Puerto Vallarta the significant problems of training athletes without a secure location, lack of equipment, lack of money, problems in the city's sports department and Federation Mexicana de Esgrima (FME) had all contributed to his frustration with teaching here. VT: How is that different now? Randall: "It is very different. Just having a secure location daily makes a huge mental difference not just to me but also to the athletes. It's a testament to the drive of our PV fencers to have overcome these problems and achieve what they have. Just imagine how much more successful they could become if they really had a decent place to train. Currently they are training in an open-air area that gets flooded whenever it rains, we have trained on the beach, in parking lots, all sorts of places. The city has promised us repeatedly a place to train, a salon to be shared by martial arts, but they have not fulfilled their promises to us or many other sports groups. There are many competitions in a variety of places, many of them quite close - we don't have to travel 12 hours on a bus like we do in Puerto Vallarta. I know it won't be perfect here, but I really don't miss the broken promises or the frustration with the FME."
VT: What is going on with Olympic Champion Mariel Zagunis? Randall? "Her plate is quite full. She is preparing for the World Cup Circuit and which starts in October, and started her sophomore year at Notre Dame. One year after her history making win in Athens she is still winning, and is refreshingly the same down to earth person she always has been. It's really great to be able to count on holding her up as an example to the other fencers. She cleans, she helps, she's an exempleary example of humility and hard work."

VT: What is your favorite part of your new job? Randall: "2 things I think. One is learning from Ed Korfanty. He is the best sabre coach in the world today. I had the best and most legendary coaches in my day – so I recognized Ed's extraordinary abilities immediately. He is a true gentleman, soft spoken, but a fierce competitor. He has the same work ethic that I do. He himself is 2x world Veterans' champion. I learn from him when I fence against him, and in our daily work together. Observing him with the athletes is training in itself.

His confidence in me is very heartening, and as he and I get to know each other better our mutual trust is growing. The second thing is the work with the individual students, seeing them achieve, improve and grow. I'm already enjoying that. There are many great kids here in all age groups, and the adult group is a total blast."
VT: What's next on the agenda? Randall: "Well part of my job is to be coach at the Oregon Episcopal High School as our club is in the schools' sports center. The team holds the state champion title and I look forward to continuing and expanding that and other school programs.

In addition, Ed has informed me that I will start taking over some of the Cadet and Jr. Teams with his close supervision. My first trip will be Oct. 7 to the Miami North America Cup. He will be traveling extensively this season with the Div. 1 team on the World Cup Circuit, leaving me in charge of all the beginners through the advanced fencers. He has already mapped out the next 4-year strategy leading up to the 2008 Peking Olympics. It will be a very exciting time, and I eagerly look forward to being a small part of it."

Highlights of several students past results:

Yesenia Anylu Cruz – made fencing history, the first PV fencer to make the Mex. National Team. She won PV's first fencing medals, including gold for team, at the Jr. Olympics in her first year of fencing. Her win to the Div. 1 National team with only 14 months of fencing experience made history and stunned the Mexican fencing world. Her numerous medals include bronze from the Central American Games, gold from the San Diego Jr. Invitational, and a special award for being the #1 finisher of Jr. female sabre fencers in the U.S. Pacific Coast region. Cruz was a Div. 2 National Champion blazing through 3 Div. 2 tournaments, taking the gold in all 3 events.

Ariana Aranda – 2005 Jr. Olympic Champion, 2004 and 2005 Div. 1 National Champion, 2004 and 2005 Div. 1 Mex. Team Member. She made history by becoming the youngest fencer in Mexico history to win the Div. 1 national title at age 17. She was also National Champion of Div. 2.

International medals include a bronze from the North America Cup and silver from the San Diego Jr. Invitational. Aranda represented Mexico in 2004 at the Pre-Olympics qualifier in Rio and placed #5. Aranda was presented with the state's highest honor "The Medal of Merit" award in 2004 for her history making performances in 2004. Aranda holds the #1 ranking and National champion title for the third time in a row.
Hector De La Torre –2005 Jr. Olympic Champion, 2005 Cadet National Champion, Cadet National Team Member. With only 14 months of fencing experience De La Torre took gold at the Jr. Olympics in individual and team events, and at the National Championships. At the Elite U.S. Training camp competition, De La Torre defeated Olympic Champion Mariel Zagunis, Jr. World Champion Rebecca Ward, and Cadet World Champion Caity Thompson to win the silver medal, losing only to Patrick Ghattas.
Jennyfer Lobato –Div. 1 National Team Member, #4 ranked fencer in the country, in May she briefly held the #1 spot. Lobato won the gold in May.

She has brought PV numerous national, jr. olympic and international medals. Lobato won PV's first individual gold medal. She made the State Jr. Olympic team every year that she was a junior, winning the individual medal and team medals at every Jr. Olympic event. Lobato is one of Randall's original students and has proven herself to be the most consistent athlete in her training habits.

Ana Dulce Hernandez – blazed her way into the spotlight by winning a bronze medal at the cadet nationals after only 3 months of fencing experience. Ana made the state Jr. Olympic team and brought home a gold medal for the team event in her first 9 months of fencing. Ana proved she was not a fluke by winning her spot on the state team for the 2nd year in a row, and brought home the individual bronze medal from the 2005 Jr. Olympics.

Jorge De La Torre – PV's first male sabre fencer. Made the state Jr. Olympic team his first year of fencing. Consistently in the top rankings in every age category, Jorge has made the state Jr. Olympic team each year that he competed. Numerous medals won include the gold medal at the 2005 Oregon State Games. Jorge convinced younger brother Hector to stop surfing and start fencing.

By Jim Boland,

Dear Friends of Childrens Shelter of Hope Foundation and children in Puerto Vallarta.

Pasitos de Luz is having a benefit at Sea Life Park on July 16, and we are hoping to make it a "double benefit". First let me tell you a bit about Pasitos de Luz. Basically a day care center for children who are disabled, Pasitos now has over 73 active "clients", many of whom require the most basic and complete care....in many cases unable to even feed themselves.

The value of Pasitos to the families involved is huge, as many are single parent families or marginal families in which both parent must work if they are to make ends meet. Many of you have seen the miracle that is Pasitos, but for those who haven't, let me introduce Carlos and Mimi, brother and sister with a single father. First Carlos was born with a muscular deficiency that prevented him from walking, and then a year and a half later, Mimi came along, perfectly normal and beautiful, but without eyes!

They are completely devoted to one another and to watch Carlos be Mimi's eyes and Mimi be Carlos' legs is incredibly moving, as is the dedication of their young dad, who takes them about on his bicycle.

THE DOUBLE BENEFIT: Pasitos has been granted some land by the city, to construct a desperately needed replacement facility (those 73 kids, 10 staff and regular volunteers crowd the space equivalent to a two bedroom condo!). The city has one condition for the land grant.....that Pasitos de Luz begins construction by an autumn deadline, so we have been on watch for benefit possibilities to buy those first bricks and bags of cement. Sea Life Park has generously volunteered their facility for Sunday the 16th of July...all of the delightful slides and swimming areas, the shows, and lunch too! They are donating all of the profit for the day....40% of ticket sales. So that is the first benefit.

The second? We would like to take the kids from the children's refuge (Refugio Infantil Santa Esperanza) to enjoy this great outing and hope we can count on our friends to sponsor one or more children, at $15 US per child....as well as the madres and other workers...at $19 per ticket. Thus, our kids will have a much appreciated day of sun and fun, and Pasitos' construction project will garner the first and critical funds to get started.
If you are moved to help out, you can send checks to Dr. Jim Boland at 1466 Hopkins St, Berkeley, CA 94702, or if you are in Vallarta, call Jim at 222 2866, or Sarah at 293 5927 and we will arrange to pick up your donation (or

sell you tix for your own use!). Questions: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. And, if you wish to know more about the two places you are

supporting, please go to our websites: www.refugioinfantil.com and www.pasitosdeluz.org and
www.childrens-shelter-of-hope-foundation.org
Mil gracias....thank you, thank you, thank you!!

By Bill Reed
Parties aside, I was still working almost daily on the Huston book. I had completely abandoned the idea of an honest autobiography and removed anything remotely controversial. As I finished each chapter I critiqued it with Huston, and then fed it to Gladys Hill with instructions to correct any glaring errors or manifest untruths. That product then went to Sylvia, Joan Blake, or Huston's daughter Alegra for smooth typing. Alegra spent some time at Las Caletas during 1979-1980, and she was the most refreshing thing in that dismal place. For sure, Alegra and Danny Huston are the charmers in that family.
Meanwhile, I endured the ongoing attacks of the alacran and watched with dismay the dissolution of the Huston household. There were now two. John had built Maid her very own townhouse, replete with all the modern conveniences not available at Las Caletas. I went there once on an unavoidable visit, and overheard the lady of the house screaming at the top of her lungs at the servants. They were never again to call her "Maid." She was now to be referred to as "Mrs. Huston!" As far as I was concerned, Maid could beat her servants every day, call herself Mrs. Huston, or The Queen of Sheba; I didn't give a damn. What I did object to was the fact that she had so influenced John against Gladys Hill that the woman was now treated more like a servant than the constant, loyal, helpmate and strong right hand that she had been to Huston for over twenty years. John now often put her down in public, something that he had never done before.
It came to a head one day after Gladys caught Huston in one of his mistruths in the manuscript text, and made a correction. Later we had a chapter-critique session between the three of us at Las Caletas. John turned to me and said, in a loud, sardonic voice: "Well! Did you read this chapter carefully Billy? Did you see what Miss Hill did to this chapter? She changed it! Did you tell her to change it? I didn't tell her to change it! Do you think that Miss Hill now believes that she knows more about my life than I do?"
He turned to Gladys and shouted, "Well, do you Miss Hill?" The look on Gladys Hill's face as she stared back at John, in shocked disbelief, was enough to break your heart. It was no secret that she had always loved the man. She adored him. She broke down in tears and fled the room.
I was furious! I said, "John, that was uncalled for. It was cruel and inexcusable. I told Gladys to check the text for accuracy and to change anything that she felt was a discrepancy. If you want to yell at somebody, yell at me!" Before he could do so, I continued, "I'm sorry, I can't work any longer with you today. I'm leaving. Call me when you're back on track." I turned and walked away, calling for the boat boy as I did so. I didn't want to spend the night on the same "island" with the man.
I was so upset that I didn't see, or even call, Huston for two weeks. The manuscript deadline was approaching, and John was worried. He had Gladys call me. I told her that I had personal problems, and that I also had a writer's block. The following day I received a hand-written note from Huston, delivered to me in town by one of his servants:

Dear Bill - of course I understand about the writing but please - please drop everything & come over to see me right now. I'm sure that I can be of some help whatever the difficulties are.

John

I went back to work with Huston at Las Caletas shortly after that, and he couldn't have been more charming. He was simply delighted to see me. I noticed that Maid was conspicuously absent during the next few weeks that it took to complete the manuscript.

by, Bill Reed
Phil Ober's death saddened me deeply, and I consoled myself with memories of the good times that we had spent together. Good times, and sometimes trying times, as when he and I were babysitting Richard Burton for days, trying to keep him sober enough to read a script for an upcoming film. The producer was bringing over a contract to sign after the reading. Richard was driving both of us crazy, and we left him alone for a few hours while we went for lunch. During our absence, one of Richards's many girlfriends yelled to him from the street outside Casa Kimberly, "Oh Dickie, Dickie! Let me in!" He did so, and by the time Phil and I returned, they were both completely snockered.
The reading was a disaster. The producer grinned, handed Burton the contract and said, "If you can't write your name, Richard, just make an "X." I got off easy in that round with Burton; I only dropped in from time to time, at Phil's request, to keep him company, while Phil had to put up with that sort of thing for days on end. He was driving Phil Ober bananas. Richard could do that, but he was also a very funny man when he wanted to be.
I never got to know Elizabeth Taylor Burton. Shortly after I met Richard they were divorced, and he married Susan Hunt. Richard and Susan stepped over often from Casa Kimberly to watch us play poker when it was Phil's host day. Burton didn't play poker, but he often sat near the table and regaled us with stories as we played. On those days I usually lost; it was hard to concentrate on the game and Burton at the same time.

I was embarrassed when Richard and Susan stopped by on one of these visits. There was a new song out by Kenny Rogers about poker. The poker group unanimously insisted that I sing this "ballad" to Richard and Susan. I begged off, but was finally pulled to my feet to perform, sans guitar. The song went something like this: "You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away and know when to run. You never count your money, sittin' at the table, there'll be time enough for countin', when the dealin's done ..." Instead of "count your money," I sang, "count your blessin's," just like I had been trained to do in Youth For Christ meetin's a century earlier.

I also coughed, stuttered, and put on the worst performance of my life. There was dead silence in the room when I finished. Finally Richard said, in his best stentorian-Shakespearean voice: "Billy Joe?"
"Yeah?"
"Methinks it would behoove you, William, to cleave to writing."

He got the applause.

As bad as I was, Richard still came around to our poker sessions occasionally, and day he told us about the time when he was a young actor in London, working with other young actors, mostly penniless, but some from old established aristocracy. One of these actors had inherited from his family an ancient Rolls Royce that barely ran, and also required vigorous cranking to get it started. The young actors rode to work together in the old Rolls because they couldn't afford public transportation, all pitching in for driblets of gasoline.

The car stalled one morning in front of this young aristocrat's equally run-down mansion. Richard was on the crank, since he was the strongest of the group. The car refused to start after repeated crankings, and the young man finally ran into his house, grabbed a chain whip from a rusting knight in the hallway, returned and began beating the car's bonnet, screaming all the while, "Start you swine! Start!" Richard gave it one more crank, and the Rolls obediently started and purred like a kitten.

Richard acted all this out, running back and forth to the mansion, wielding the whip, and cranking away at the Rolls. It was better acting than I've seen him do in some of his films, and one of the funniest things I've ever witnessed.

by Bill Reed
It was when I didn't receive my usual half-case of Dom Perignon champagne as a Christmas gift from John Huston back there in 1979 that I realized, with finality, that the honeymoon was over. That didn't stop us from working together, and it certainly didn't interfere with the poker games. Poker took precedence over personal brouhahas. Poker took precedence over everything. As a matter of fact, some time during 1980, the game was held in my beach house at Las Animas, and Huston attended, along with Phil Ober and the regulars.

It was a rough, windy, stormy day, and Huston left the game a bit early when his panga from Caletas came for him. That's when everybody should have left, but the others elected to wait for my boat, which was larger and could handle the waves better. I told the group that my boat was due to arrive in half an hour. An hour later we were still waiting.

I had talked with Sylvia earlier on the CB radio, and she had asked me to send Carlos to pick her up at Boca; she planned to stay overnight at Las Animas. Sylvia was a Mexican lady, always late for appointments, so I wasn't worried that she was a bit tardy. The others were, especially Phil Ober. Phil had house guests in Vallarta. He had promised Jane that he would be home on time. He just had to get to Boca. He had to get to Boca now!

Why couldn't anything happen on schedule in Mexico? When people said that they would be at a certain place at a certain time, then they should god-damn-well be at that place at that time!

He wouldn't stop. He was sardonic, cynical, petulant, demanding; I had never seen Phil Ober behave as anything other than a perfect gentleman. He and his wife, Jane, visited often in our homes, and we in theirs. They were a charming couple. Now, I was shocked at Phil's behavior.

I told him that I was sorry, and explained that he simply had to wait for Carlos; there was no other boat to take him to Boca. He said, "Yeah? What's that? Isn't that your boat also?" He was pointing at my Boston Whaler, riding at anchor offshore. I said, "Sure, Phil. That's my boat, but it can't just skip ashore like a panga and pick you up. Look at the waves! If I tried that, I might swamp her, and at the very least you would all get soaked to the skin trying to climb aboard in the surf. That's not a good idea."

"Well you've got to do something! I've simply got to get back to Vallarta, Guillermo. I've got to get back to Vallarta now! Let's try the whaler. I don't mind getting wet." He turned to the others: "Do you?" By this time he had them cowed. Whatever Phil said was fine with them. I was pissed, but I told Phil that I would swim out to the Whaler, bring her in close to shore, and try to read the waves.

The native mariners had told me that they came in fives and sevens, and I had to "read" them and pick the right one if I hoped to "skip ashore" properly. Well, no harm in at least taking a look. I told Phil that if it looked feasible, I would attempt to pick them up. If it appeared too dangerous, I would so signal them, and take the boat back out to anchor. And that's what I foolishly tried to do.

Dumb Diving
By Bill Reed

From around 1976 to 1989, SCUBA diving was an almost daily event for me. Sylvia became quite professional also, and often followed me down to depths approaching 180 feet. I usually went on down to 200, worked a minute or so looking for the big ones, then joined her for our decompression ascent. She always leveled off above me, watching carefully for any signs of distress. At those depths, diving alone is a no, no. The major cause for concern is the accidental loss of air. In that case, the diver in distress can signal for help, then "buddy breathe" with the assisting diver by taking alternate breaths of air from the same regulator.

I had lost air on many occasions, but had always managed to make it back, somehow. Sylvia, Gerardo Velasco, Javier Gutierrez, Lalo Moreno, Savoy, had all warned me repeatedly: "Billy, you're pushing it too far...." I wouldn't listen of course. I was UDT trained, and the Under-Water Demolition Team was the forerunner of the U.S. Navy SEALS. I was the best damn diver in the whole world! But even the best diver in the whole world can get into serious problems underwater if he gets too cocky, and doesn't use common sense. My turn came on a diving trip with Gerardo Velasco. My theoretical safe diving time - including a decompression stage while hunting for smaller fish in caves up the sides of the big island-rock of Los Arcos - was 32 minutes. A perfect arrangement, which wasted no time ascending by stages in open water. As I was decompressing, I was shooting fish. I did this so often, without mishap, that I became careless on occasion, pushing for just a little more than my carefully pre-computed two minutes bottom time. That's what happened on that fateful dive with Gerardo Velasco. Gerardo and I had been diving together for some time now, and he had become so professional that I trusted him completely to watch my back. He leveled off at 180 feet, and I went on down to 200, looking for that last big one.

I found nothing, clocked my ascent time, and was about to head upwards, when a monster tuna spun by me and then continued on down, beyond 200 feet. I chased him, couldn't catch him, and started my ascent. I noticed that I was at 220 feet. I had been at max and beyond for four minutes. I figured that I had just enough air to make it back by using my reserve air supply (another no, no for any diver). I switched to reserve and ... nothing! The air flow stopped completely! Undoubtedly a broken or jammed release valve, I thought. I had 220 feet to surface, with no air in my tank. I assure you that that is impossible, even for the real Superman. You couldn't hold your breath and attempt it, since the existing air, under pressure in your lungs, would expand with the decreasing pressure through ascent, and your lungs would literally explode. Ascending, one had to get that compressed air out of the lungs by exhaling slowly and steadily. If you tried to hold your breath and shoot to the surface, you would assuredly contract the bends due to the inability of your bloodstream to so quickly clear excess nitrogen bubbles. They would lodge in your joints, or elsewhere, and either cripple you for life, or lead to a possible fatal internal hemorrhage. So I had some interesting choices about the manner of my death, but die I surely would unless I got air, immediately.

I signaled to Gerardo. He saw me. He was also just about out of air, but he started down to assist me. Then he stopped. I saw his indecision. He had enough air to make it back alone, if he started upwards at that moment, otherwise Quien sabe? We stared at each other through face masks for a few seconds; a moment of truth that seemed to stretch out for an eternity. Then he pantomimed a shrug and came down for me. That seemingly careless shrug actually meant (and we both knew it) that if we were going to die, we were going to die together.

We buddy breathed on the way up. While buddy breathing, one should take no more than three short intakes of air, then pass the regulator back over. My body was so starved for air by this time, however, that my teeth locked involuntarily onto the mouthpiece, and I took more air than I should have. Finally Gerardo jerked the regulator hose away from me. He got the hose, but the mouthpiece stayed locked firmly in my teeth! When I realized what had happened, I took the mouthpiece from my mouth and tried to reattach it. Instead, I dropped it. We watched it sink slowly downwards into that deep dark void, and realized that we might well soon be following it. Now we had only the bare metal stem from which to suck air, and that permitted water to mix with the air intake.

Gerardo's eyes widened. He began to gesticulate wildly.
We still had some 90 feet to go before reaching the surface. What could I do? Then it dawned on me that before I switched to my reserve I was still getting some air from my main tank. It had been hard to suck out of there, at that depth, but it should logically be easier to do so now, since the ambient water pressure around us had decreased considerably. Was it possible? I switched my own tank back to main, and lo and behold I had air.

Not much, but at least we now had a sturdy, intact, mouhpiece to suck on. It was just enough. When we hit the surface, the tank was dead empty. So was I. I had used up every ounce of energy in my 50-year-old body.

I didn't even have the strength to dog paddle.

And of course the damned boat was nowhere in sight. I said to myself, Aw, the hell with it! I was ready to let go and sink back into the depths. It would be peaceful down there. I would be able to rest. I began to sink.

Gerardo dove down and pulled me back to the surface. He slapped me hard across the face, repeatedly, and supported me on the surface while at the same time calling for the boat. Carlos finally heard him, then located and picked us up.

It was a long time before I went SCUBA diving again (all of two weeks). I knew that I would never come closer to death than that and be able to talk about it. For some time after that close call, Gerardo and I took up safer sports, such as Beach Parties and Beach Golfing.

What A Drag's durability as a fundraising institution, covered in our main piece, depends on infrastructure that did not exist by default: professional performers willing to participate, a venue capable of staging large-scale theatrical production, and an audience with the established habit of attending live performance. Puerto Vallarta has all three. Understanding how that performing arts ecosystem developed offers a more complete picture of what the city is, beyond its beaches and tourism statistics.

One of the promising ways to get company members motivated is a Company Retreat. It’s also a golden chance for employees to learn more about each other while enjoying some quality time together.

An international competition has been announced to masterplan a 494,127m² beachside hotel complex in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.