Skills, Drills and Redundancy

I’ve never been to The Deep.  Many years ago I worked in the shallows. 

Science and discovery were the endgame.  But there was this guy Glen who was always getting in the way.  He was constantly on us about procedure, skills, drills and redundancy.  We had the pedal-to-the-metal in the name of science.  Glen was slow, methodical and always checking the winds.  The Manual, the tables, and “What, I have to submit my logs?!” Sheesh.  Glen was the Diving Safety Officer.

Glen was (and I expect still is) a very humble man, gentle and soft-spoken, but he stuck to his guns like glue.  I was an arrogant graduate student, and I wasn’t the only one.  Glen knew the ocean had a solution for arrogance and his insistence on skills, drills and redundancy was his way of making sure that didn’t happen.  In an absence of humility, Glen installed the software that would save our asses if things fell apart.  

Today I appreciate Glen.  Maybe too little, but not too late.

Here’s a link to a description of Glen’s career.  https://endeavors.unc.edu/career-aquatic/

It’s news to me that he has a Dr. in front of his name, but that’s just how humble, worth-their-salt folks are.