Families at Sea

By: Joseph J. Jacques Jr.

Thanks, Dad For uncovering the mysteries of the ocean

For my wanting eyes.

“While surfaces can be seen, depths need to be explored”

-Author

In 1969, one year after I was born, my Dad, Joey Jacques bravely started a dive shop in Columbus, Ohio, He named the shop, Central Ohio School of Diving. With only $7000.00 in his pocket from his service in Vietnam, he had a tropical dream: to give others the opportunity to experience the love and splendor that is the ocean. Of course, convincing my mother, with a newly born, “me”, of this moneymaking proposition was another story. Most thought he was crazy in the head (or maybe bubbles in the brain, of which still might be there…. Ha!) Who in the hell starts a Dive Shop in Ohio?

In 1969, one year after I was born, my Dad, Joey Jacques bravely started a dive shop in Columbus, Ohio, He named the shop, Central Ohio School of Diving. With only $7000.00 in his pocket from his service in Vietnam, he had a tropical dream: to give others the opportunity to experience the love and splendor that is the ocean. Of course, convincing my mother, with a newly born, “me”, of this moneymaking proposition was another story. Most thought he was crazy in the head (or maybe bubbles in the brain, of which still might be there…. Ha!) Who in the hell starts a Dive Shop in Ohio?

A man with vision and in-sight into a sport that would blanket his art, love, family and livelihood for many years to come would. His plan was to give others the key to unlock the mysteries that lay beneath the surface of earth’s blue skin, like a newborn awaits new attractions, colors and words. My father would say,

A man with vision and in-sight into a sport that would blanket his art, love, family and livelihood for many years to come would. His plan was to give others the key to unlock the mysteries that lay beneath the surface of earth’s blue skin, like a newborn awaits new attractions, colors and words. My father would say, “ You reach, you touch, you feel it. The ocean is a life and love that is alive in you; a stream that is beyond thought, when you reach it, you can reach it in others. This is the liberation, the

unity, and the equilibrium that our mother ocean provides. Like a rose in the desert, hence, my Dive Shop in the middle Ohio.”

“ You reach, you touch, you feel it. The ocean is a life and love that is alive in you; a stream that is beyond thought, when you reach it, you can reach it in others. This is the liberation, the

unity, and the equilibrium that our mother ocean provides. Like a rose in the desert, hence, my Dive Shop in the middle Ohio.”

Joseph Jacques Jr.

DAD

My father taught me to scuba dive at the age of Three, I had all my own gear by the age of five. (which historically, I believe, makes me the youngest diver ever recorded!) This My father taught me to scuba dive at the age of Three, I had all my own gear by the age of five. (which historically, I believe, makes me the youngest diver ever recorded!) This

is a picture of me while in the Y.M.C.A. I was showing my dad the amount of hair and gum I discovered at the bottom of the pool. I, too, was an explorer and had something to share with the world! While growing up, I had the extraordinary opportunity to travel with my father to foreign lands and far away places, I was a typical blonde hair blue eyed island boy from Ohio that seemingly always had a tan. I remember one dive among hundreds that we did together, a novel dive that I’ve kept to myself, until now. It was a picture-perfect day off the coast of Belize, a tailor-made scene, boundless

skies, flat sea, and ideal visibility. There was something magical in store for the “Jacques Boys,” or at least one of them. As we sank into a sea of tranquility, my father turned to give me the “O.K Sign,” I returned the gesture with a wink of my eye. We descended to about 80ft onto a very porous reef. Fish scatted like some frighten chasing horses. Giant sea-fans like Louisiana willows blowing in the summer breeze, undersea “wildflowers” blooming on every corner, and poster-color patterns gathered my attention as my breathing deepened. It was such a circus of exotic life. I was 8 years old and pleasantly paralyzed in a stained glass deep-sea story with my

father by my side. My father was well on his way to mastering the craft of underwater photography. An art form that was quite intriguing to a young fresh mind like mine. I watched intensely as my father followed a Harlequin Shrimp into a half cave. All that was visible of my father was his legs and fins and the “ass-end” of his tank. I watched as the camera flash lit up the half cave like lighting in a thunderstorm. And there I was, singled out among life forms, alone to bare all that life had in store for my skeleton and spirit. Witnessing an ancient ritual that’s been present for millions of years. To underwater ocean life common, but to me, a fairytale in slow motion.

My mind soared like pelicans over a calm shoreline. I saw in the deep blue distances something…… some figure that started to take shape the closer it came. All I felt was fear. My heart became the drum of the world, beating streams into rivers and rivers into ocean, such rhythm, such grace and symmetry. Two Manta Rays in liquid fight, I was a child and they were my keepers in this ancient forest. I was their muse – an alien who extended his bubbly flesh to a dry world that was unknown by their kind. My right of passage in this salty place was their morning stroll. They circled me twice and got a closer look on the last pass. I saw their eyes, and they saw mine. In that precious moment I became the king of the world. My life-vibrations so bold it awoke Trident’s pre-born child from her lucid dream. I felt the energy of their courtship and the innocence of their curiosity. This moving breathless drama was my symbiotic secret until now.

Joey Jacques

Jay Jacques

If you are a reader that’s unfamiliar with the ocean, there is a sadness that submerges and takes shape, an abstract composition as tricky as sea-life itself. What you are missing is simply a piece of you.

: A covert impulse of your character- vast, alive and webbed for water. On that enchanted day with my father, I found in a magical moment what most take an entire lifetime to uncover - support and love of an extended family scene. “Jacques Style”

Please take the time explore your ocean. Its author creates maps that must be followed. Sunset & Grouper shot by: Joey Jacques Written by: Jay Jacques