Meeting the source of inspiration (a forgotten tale)

Meeting the author that made the man

One of Correy’s favorite books, the tome which inspired him to his future career as Underwater Archaeologist, is Submerged:  Adventures of America's Most Elite Underwater Archeology Team. It was written by Dan Lenihan, the man who headed up the Park Service’s super team. I remember from years back Correy telling the tale of this team, and how he dreamed to be on it. It was scarcely the beginning of his diving career when this book caught his imagination. Anyhow, after Correy’s memorial, I stumbled upon the book in his very organized (Ha!) closet, and took it home to read. Being a non-diver with zero interest in archaeology, I too was inspired, but in a different sense. I was struck by the passion of the writing, the exactness of the descriptions, and the way it affected Correy.

So, on a whim (and as a bit of therapy) I wrote an old fashioned snail mail letter to the author, essentially telling him about Correy and how his book inspired him to do some of the great things he did, informing the kid’s choice of career. I mailed it off in September (to a Park Service address found online), if I recall, and never heard back… so I thought. Forget exactly when, but about 5 months later, I got a letter in the mail, brief, but noting that he got my letter and hoped my address was still current. Apparently he had since retired, but the Park Service never forwarded the letter. He gave me an email, and asked me to write him again soon.

I went down to Albuquerque in March for a medical adventure, and on a whim, emailed Dan (who lives in Santa Fe) suggesting maybe we should meet up. He was rather excited to do so, and we set it up. I drove the hour-plus up there on a free day, and we met over lunch. We talked small talk mostly at first, about his career, his books he wrote with his friend, Gene Hackman, his son’s crazy job adventures. Towards the end of lunch, and extending to iced tea at his family’s house for hours, we talked about Correy – his life, his dreams, his accident. I could tell Dan was very moved, very interested, very sad. He was also very impressed to hear of the diving accomplishments and skills Correy had at his age. Dan, being one of the early cave and deepwater divers, had lost several good/best friends diving, so he had been there too. We spent about an hour looking through the nearly 200 pictures of Correy I had collected onto my phone. He was especially impressed with Roy’s pics (no surprise) and the ones depicting him in technical diving gear, from which Dan said he could tell Correy knew his stuff.

It was hard to leave, really. He was a man who really understood why Correy wanted to do what he did, understood the drive and the passion, and helped me wrap my mind around it too. To meet the man who wrote the book that inspired Correy’s whole way of life, and to find him so thoughtful and understanding and openly honest, was really a fantastic (though melancholic) experience. 

We still keep in touch via email, and I am still waiting to read the dually signed book he gave me that he and Hackman wrote. Submerged is worth a read if you haven't read it. You can see Correy in almost every page.