Tag Archives: scuba diving

Learning to Scuba Dive

During one of my winter vacations from Woodstock, when my dad and stepmother were living in Bangkok, my dad and I did a scuba diving course. Dad had started diving during our year in Hawaii (1966), and I’d been hearing his stories about it for as long as I could remember. Getting certified together sounded like a fun father-daughter activity, and it was.

Our instructor was “Dusty” Rhodes, who had served with distinction in the US Navy during the Vietnam war, and had then settled in Thailand. I did not realize until years later that the preparation he gave us went far beyond typical scuba instruction.

"Dusty" Rhodes, an older man with gray hair, wearing a slouchy, faded blue cap with a bill and an orange diving vest with an inflation tube going over his shoulder. someone off camera is gesturing towards him with a small knife (no, it was not a threat)
Dusty Rhodes
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