 State of the Tank: (cont.) |
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I "sadly" packed up some camera equipment, and we were finally on our way. And speaking of photography, it was on the way up there that Greg informed me that we were going to be joined by Tony Vargas and his friend, Herman, who were flying up from Florida. If you think Tony's name sounds familiar, it's because it probably is. He was a longtime Contributing Editor for FAMA magazine, a noted speaker, and has probably taken a large percentage of the photographs you've ever seen of the wild and captive critters in this hobby. Herman, btw, is a past President of the Florida Marine Aquarium Society, which has a membership larger than some towns I've been through. So it's safe to say that between Greg, Joe, Tony, and Herman, the reefing knowledge collectively forgotten by these guys is many times what I'll ever hope to learn. But since rarely does all of this knowledge agree with each other, I didn't feel COMPLETELY intimidated since I figured any point I dared make was bound to be agreed with by one of them.
Long day short? These were four of the coolest, most grounded guys someone like I could ever hope to hang with in the hobby. And by that I mean not only are the four of them friends, and in some cases longtime very good friends, but they are also colleagues who's experiences and knowledge so greatly supercede my own, that I would've completelyunderstood if the extent of my
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participation in any discourse would've been answering 'yes' to their, "Pretty cool, huh?" But I can honestly say that not once did I feel like a fifth wheel around them. Everybody was as gracious and nice to me as if I were... well, one of them! And I just wanted to acknowledge that and let everyone know that I appreciated it.
Anyway, before someone starts playing the soundtrack to 'Brokeback Mountain' here let me get on with the day. It was, in a word, tremendous. Joe could not have been a better host; taking us on as thorough a behind-the-scenes tour as I've ever had anywhere...between stopping to feed the penguins, running home to check on his kids, and apparently keeping the Earth rotating on its axis! In other words, Joe is one busy guy. And while Atlantis Marine may not be the largest public aquarium in the nation, Joes's remarkable attention to detail certainly helps make it one of the most well run. In fact, I didn't see one of the place's 40 some-odd tanks that looked like it was even a little bit neglected. Only someone who loves what they're doing can get results like this.
But first, a little about 'backstage': To tell the truth, it looked like any well stocked fishroom...just supersized to the power of a thousand. There was hardly a spot to be found not occupied by prop tanks, storage bins, buckets, sea lion pens, and hoses of every imaginable size. Okay, well maybe your fishroom doesn't have space for a sea lion pen |
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