#172
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Bill Reed - suprane
 Brownwood TXJoined On: 10/16/2008
Last Login: 2/21/2013
Experience: Expert
Looking For: Dive buddy - just friends
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Born in 1951 in Amarillo, Texas, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to dive! My earliest influences were Lloyd Bridges in "Sea Hunt", and Jacques Cousteau. In 1970 during my first year in college, I ran across an add in the local classifieds for a used SCUBA rig. It consisted of a 60’s vintage 48 cf steel tank, an AquaLung back-pack, and an AquaLung DA double hose regulator! Wow!... I had to have it! So, with my "new" gear in hand, and a bunch of friends in tow to witness the historic event, I headed to the nearest body of water I could find... Palisades Creek. A muddy, shallow creek on the out-skirts of town. I had no mask, fins, weights etc.(and, certainly, no training!). But, what I did have was a tank with air in it, and a burning desire to be underwater sucking air from that tank! So, I quickly donned the gear and jumped into the water only to find I was way too buoyant to get to the bottom! Looking around on the shore I was able to find a huge rock which I wrapped my arms around and jumped back in the creek!.... I promptly sank to the bottom.... I sat there in the muck, unable to open my eyes, but I was breathing underwater! In my mind I was now Lloyd Bridges!! Thus began my love affair with SCUBA! It has not diminished in the nearly four decades since!
Over the years I have moved through the PADI ranks to my current Rescue rating and have added several specialties including TDI Advanced Nitrox and TDI Decompression Procedures. I have had the good fortune to be able dive in many great locations. These have included Grenada, Grand Cayman, Maui, Jamaica, Aruba, Bahamas, Roatan, Akumal, Cenotes in the Yucatan Peninsula, many springs in Florida, and Cozumel more times than I can remember!... Cozumel remains my favorite. And so I try to get there at least once or twice every year! When not in the salt water, I have managed to dive a number of lakes, reservoirs, and springs throughout Texas and New Mexico. In my other life I am a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist providing anesthesia at a moderately sized hospital in Brownwood, Texas. My other passions include riding my Harley and spending time with my wife, Laura! (She is undoubtedly the most expensive of my diversions!)