What was YOUR 15 minutes of fame (or flame)?

[miketsp]

Last time we were diving in Fernando de Noronha I had this rented buggy and we got pulled over by the police because none of us were wearing seat belts - you know, small island, almost no traffic, holiday spirit, hot weather, relaxed etc. Anyway the cop asked me whether I thought it was right to be driving around without a seat belt and and I said "of course not, back home I'd never dream of it". Then I turned round and there was a film crew for the local TV station doing a piece on road safety.
Well all the other drivers they'd pulled over had tried to justify the lack of the seat belt one way or another. I was the only one that admitted it was risky.
So this turned into an interview and I spent the next 5 minutes, very tongue in cheek, being filmed while dramatising and expounding on the dangers of driving without a seat belt.

 

[robertmackey]

Rescued two females that drifted about a half mile from the vessel at night. We had just turned on the spreader lights on deck side and I glanced and noticed a very small light blinking in the far distance. At first I thought it was a small sailboat and then realized it might be a diver. As I was bouncing in 4 ft. waves in a small dinghy I couldn't imagine that someone got caught in a current and pulled this far away from the boat. It had to be scary for them in the dark and the open water. They were very happy to see Sparky!

They both handled the situation very well and were relaxed and didn't panic. One of them turned out to be the girl of my dreams!

Stay Afloat,
Sparky (morning star-blackbeards cruises)

 

[SueMermaid]

Now that's romantic. Can you tell us more about that? That's the sort of thing that novels are based on.

 

[robertmackey]

Now that's romantic. Can you tell us more about that? That's the sort of thing that novels are based on.

Thanks for being so sweet! '-'

It is very a romantic story and it has unfolded perfectly. I pulled up and helped the two ladies in the dinghy and at that moment I looked into her eyes and felt a warmth...a flow go through me like never before. I knew something was going to become of us. I knew at that very moment that this was indeed my soul mate. That person we search for and sometimes never find. It is odd how people stumble across each other-it's amazing in this story.

The whole trip was fixed on her and I never could do anything , but think of her. She was then and is still on my mind each minute of everday I wake. I get a chill thinking of her. I can't get enough of her love. It will take the rest of my life to try and fill up on her love-our love together. I do not know why I can't go on without her. I couldn't imagine not being together. I guess this is why we are getting married on April 1st (April fools day-we are goofy like this).

I didn't even have to think about it...about telling her how I fell in love with her-fell hard. So asking her to be my friend, lover, my wife, my partner, and even my dive buddy was no problem. I am so excited and for the first time in my life I am so happy. We both are.

I spent each day the best I could to make her know how I felt and on the 68 ft boat I had to be creative. We would spend evenings cuddled up with a blanket on the deck top and gaze at the moon and stars, private beach trips and hold hands walking in the sand, holding hands while we dove, dancing and had an awesome New Year's eve at Bimini (a moment never to forget and a return trip to look forward to each year), I would fix her hot chocolate, cookies, and a movie, took her on a private tour of Bimini, we can talk for hours and just smile at each other-that smile that never leaves you. '-'

We are thinking about putting a post on the board about the trip and about our relationship. I am in Detroit visitng her as we speak and I fly out in the am to go back out on the boat. I do 3-weeks on and one off, so this is good for now. She will come down to be with me on the 2nd trip of each month (2 b together). I miss her already and haven't even packed yet.

Man I just want to yell out her name. When I am with her she makes me crazy: her smile, her kiss, her touch, the way we connect and are always close to each other, the way she talks, her eyes...something moves in me that is hard to explain. I just can't get enough of her. It is a good thing-an awesome thing!

Hope this was a little more detail and hope it makes someone realize that they have someone really special in their life and if you haven't found them yet, keep looking...your sould mate is waiting for you to find them. Hopefully you'll cross paths soon and I hope it is the best love story ever. I know ours is!

Thanks for all the pm's.

Stay Afloat,
Sparky

 

[SueMermaid]

*sigh* Awwwwwe! Now I feel all oogey. :05:
Thanks for sharing your account. How long ago was this dinghy rescue? Where will you live when you get married? I am kickin myself for not falling in love with my captain on the Morning Star, that would possibly have led me to a life I crave.

 

[Knight1989]

MY "moments of fame" have been preatty short. I was on an episode of the TV show Rescue 911(as an actor) when I was a kid, talk about a nice ribbing from the other kids. A picture of me made it into Time a few years back when I was in Alaska. I was on CNN doing a 9/11 memorial ceremony. I was told, but have never actually seen the tape, that I was in a Curacao Board of Tourism Video leading a dive group out. An article I wrote on Police training was fetured in a few local papers. There was also a front page article done on me with regards to new police training practices I had devoloped. And a speech I wrote for a police memorial was featured in the Faternal Order of Police magizine. Same speech made the local news too. And a paper I wrote dealing with some new alcohol detection equipment was published by the USAF.

 

[jepuskar]

I saved the company I work for $30,000 by catching that we were getting billed for a bunch of circuits we no longer used...over a year this went on...before i even started there. After a few months of waiting, our telco rep emails me, copys my boss and his boss on the email stating we got the credit.

This was about a year ago...I did receive a small verbal thank you.

Couple months ago we had a $500 ISDN bill for one of our branches and they blew up wanting to know why, how, when...etc.... funny how they dont care about $30,000 saved, but $500....the world stopped.

 

[rubbachicken]

my 15 mins of fame, on a beach in israel year before last, paddling about in the surf, a big wave came up the beach and washed a 4 year old kiddy away, i was closer than the life guards, grabbed the affore mentioned kiddy, i was famous that day on the beach, my belongings had been washed away, cell phone clothes etc, but kiddy was OK and wouldn't leave me alone for a long while, her parents came running down the beach with the life guards, but she still wouldn't let go
a day i won't forget, i don't think i have been hugged by so many strangers ever

 

[yukoneer]

When I looked at your post, it gave me a flashback of my hunter safety course in west virginia several years ago (i think '95 or '96). I was the only deaf person there, and the couse had about 50 people. It was a 3-day course (3-4 hours a night). I could see from body behavior (and later was confirmed by my interpreter) that the people in the course thinks that I will fail it. One thing they don't know is that my dad was a sniper instructor during the vietnam era, so, i had that benefit of already been "educated" I just had to take the course to make it official. I let them have their doubts about me, and on the last day, I took the written test and had a 99% score. Only one person had a better score than I did and he was a police veteran. Anyways, my score was announced by the course instructor director to the class - he did this on purpose to "tell" them that them doubting a disabled person was wrong. He also was disgusted of how I was talked about from the other people that was in the course. Needless everyone was surprised... They did a 180 and were all friendly to me and whatever - i know better than that, those pretenders!

Word did spread and the local newspaper found out about it, they did a research and it turns out that I was the first deaf person to complete the course and they called me a pioneer, blah blah, 2 page feature of me in sunday newspaper in the lifestyle section. I was also invited to the DNR (i.e. same as NY DEC) formal banquet and was given an award from the commissioner. It was nothing to me, but I guess it meant something to them. I just wish they didn't make a big deal about it - all i wanted was a simple hunters safety course certificate. I guess after all of this fuss, they realized that not all deaf people are dumb

here's a few range photos zeroing in my new redfield scope: www.yukoneer.com/range/

 

[robertmackey]

*sigh* Awwwwwe! Now I feel all oogey. :05:
Thanks for sharing your account. How long ago was this dinghy rescue? Where will you live when you get married? I am kickin myself for not falling in love with my captain on the Morning Star, that would possibly have led me to a life I crave.

I will live with my dream girl...here in Detroit, Michigan. It snows alot, but we have each other to stay warm. '-'

It was New Year's Eve-the dinghy rescue. Thanks for your response.

Sparky <><