Mailing List Archive Mailing List Archive
George, Tom, Barry, et al: There really isn't any need to do any more Monday morning quarterbacking about Kris Mann, is there? My post regarding Kris was directed at divers -- some who were his friends and many who didn't know him. It was about a diver who had a role in an important exploration and was a member of our community. If you didn't know him, his faults and the details of his self-destruction weren't pertinent. If you did know him, the one-car accident was no surprise, was it? Whether driving or diving, intemperate, extreme behavior is potentially very dangerous. Kris knew that as well as any of us, and that's why we (his friends) would like to wring his neck. That Kris Mann's one-car accident was his own fault was, without knowing the details, immediately apparent to his friends, who neither excused, approved of, condoned, nor encouraged his self-destructive behavior. To imply otherwise is erroneous at least, and contemptible at best. All of us were greatly relieved that no one else was physically harmed and the tragedy compounded even further. Often, and this is especially true in diving, we find personalities that will not heed the admonishions of others -- people who can't or won't pay attention to questioning or advice given for their own benefit. Is it over-weening self-confidence, or arrogance, or contempt for those giving the advice, or immaturity that causes this disregard for what others might say? Who knows? Maybe it's a combination. And there are hidden pains and personal demons that are stronger than even the best of us. We're all human beings, and all have different ways of dealing with our demons. Kris' friends, in being friends, rather than rejecting him outright, understood the existence of those demons and feared that Kris' way of handling them might result in several possible kinds of tragedy. All of us cautioned him strongly and frequently about this, but unsuccessfully. That this death was a tragic waste is, you can believe, best appreciated by those friends and his family, who's anger at him is perhaps even more acute than yours. Most important of all is that friends and family received a great deal of unconditional, non-judgemental love from him in spite of our faults and weaknesses and returned it to him, in spite of his faults and weaknesses.In my way of thinking, that's worth more than all the money, fame, and cave there is. Sincerely, Christopher A. Brown Sci-Graphica PR and DOCENT FILMS The Technical Diving Video Library (TDVL) at http://www.neuro.fsu.edu/dave/docent.htm (N.Am. & Canada): 1-800-373-7222 Outside US:904-942-7222 Fax:904-942-1240 Life is short -- this is not a rehearsal.
Navigate by Author:
[Previous]
[Next]
[Author Search Index]
Navigate by Subject:
[Previous]
[Next]
[Subject Search Index]
[Send Reply] [Send Message with New Topic]
[Search Selection] [Mailing List Home] [Home]