Day of the Radiant Spiel

 

I threw out all my scuba equipment today.

I was looking for my old knapsack - not backpack, but  the smaller knapsack I use for day trips - which led to a general house-cleaning episode of emptying closets. My scuba gear had sat on the floor of one closet in an old duffel bag for twenty years now.

So first of all, the equipment was old and out of date. And not just 20 years old, from the time it was last used. It was old and out of date even when I last used it in 2004 (I bought it in the early 90s). Last time used, in fact the last several times used, the regulator malfunctioned and I had to rent or borrow one from the dive boat operator. I bought my gear just before the computer revolution of the 90s, and the console was an old, analog version, not the modern type with digital displays that calculate time between dives based on depth and time underwater for you. 

Finally, I strongly doubted if any of it still worked after sitting in a duffel bag on the floor of my closet for two decades. The duffel bag itself was moldy and the zipper wouldn't open - I had to use a knife to cut through the canvas. 

I did keep a long-forgotten pair of Tevas I found in the bag, plus the dive mask and snorkel - simple, uncomplicated gear that might come in handy someday in some situation I can't imagine right now. But the rest - the fins, the flotation vest, the regulator and hoses, and all - went in the trash. I haven't needed it in the past 20 years, I doubt I'll need it in the next 20.

As it turns out, the knapsack wasn't even in that closet. I found it in a storage bin beneath the office window.