I've shared my life with three special dogs.  A Collie named Prince was my very first pet when I was a young child, and as an adult I have grown particularly fond of yellow Labs.  Neither one of my dogs has ever done anything spectacular or newsworthy, but their unwavering loyalty and steady companionship (among many other humorous and lovable traits) have led to my being completely devoted to them.  

Shamu - my first Lab - passed away ten years ago.  The grief I felt after losing her was nearly unbearable, and oddly, the one thing that helped me move on was adopting and caring for another dog.  Ocho started out as my neighbor's dog - another mouth to feed, an unwanted burden for a single mother of a two year old boy - and when I approached them and said I would take the dog if they ever decided they didn't want him, it was only a week later until Ocho and I were sharing living space.  That was nine years ago. 

Ocho has become the love of my life.  He hasn't done anything as heroic as the dog in the attached story, which I saw on the news yesterday morning, but I still give the canine species two opposable thumbs up.  Here's to Man's Best Friend!

http://www.today.com/video/today/53007916#53007916

There's not much better than coming home from work on a Friday afternoon and finding your new passport and the current issue of Sport Diver in your mailbox.  It's apparently time to start thinking about my next vacation.

While Bimini and Barbados have always appealed to me, Bonaire is renowned for its diving.  I would love to have my brothers see Stingray City in Grand Cayman.  The Virgin Islands - US and British - are enticing, and I am fascinated by Trinidad and Tobago, too.  Not to mention Hawaii.  The October issue of Sport Diver features an interesting article about the Dominican Republic, so I can now add that to my list of places to see someday.

So many islands, so little time.

Thirty years ago, my classmates at Shikellamy High School voted Jeff Persing and me the "class jocks".  I still think of myself as a jock, although I have become increasingly disenfranchised with professional (and some major college) sports over the past ten to fifteen years.  I know there are some decent guys playing in the NFL, NBA, and Major League Baseball, but too often we hear about athletes being arrested for domestic violence, using performance enchancing drugs, and engaging in other forms of lawless and thug-like behavior. 

The NFL recently faced a scandal involving players who were paid a bounty to make dangerous hits on their opponents.  More and more evidence is showing the seriousness of concussions and the long-term consequences that can result from repeated blows to the head.  Major League Baseball teams scouting for talent in the Dominican Republic have been accused of exploiting youth and  running sweatshops in this and other nations.  
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/03/baseball-dominican-system-yewri-guillen
Why do we continue to turn on our televisions and support this crap?  I'm finding it difficult to not become jaded and cynical when it comes to our sporting culture.

If you ask me, the toughest athlete in America today - and one who deserves our sincere respect and admiration - is a 64 year old woman.  Diana Nyad is attempting to become the first person to swim the 103 miles from Cuba to Florida without the use of a shark cage, wetsuit or flippers.  Yes, this is her fifth try, but she's doing it because it's her dream.  She's doing it because she would like to improve relations between Cuba and the United States.  She's doing it because she knows what Laurel Thatcher Ulrich wrote in 1976 is true - "well behaved women seldom make history".  Diana Nyad, keep on strokin'. 

Follow Diana's progress at her web site, www.diananyad.com.