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Apparently, Bird made several copies of a letter supposedly from

Bret Gilliam "revoking my instructor status with TDI", and passed it out

at the CDS workshop. The letter appears to be a combination of

off-the-wall excuses for recent events, a lot of name-calling, and a few

threats. All-in-all, considering the provider, and the alleged writer,

something that is self-explanatory in its insignificance.



      Let me just say that while this is amusing in itself, it is really

another blank being fired from an indefensible position.



       Last year we thought that I would have to be an instructor to

train my team on the use of rebreathers, so Gilliam accomodated that

and made me one, since Tom Mount and Bill Deans had too many political

considerations to deal with at the time. They later got BOD approval to

make me an instructor, but the need passed, and we dropped it.



       I have to honestly say that I had no idea what TDI's standards

were ( and still do not), and I honestly thought that after that

"Aquacorps" article and all of the history of deep air diving, that no

agency was invoved in it any longer. I now hear that my policy of a 130
aed is "out of standard" and constitutes some kind of violation. I
neither know nor care if this is true, since we are dealing with an
insignificant entity here.


        I would like to offer my sincere appology to the dive community
for apparently and unwittingly lending my support to an agency that is
so opposite to all I believe in - I can only say that this was absolute
negligence on my part for not ever looking into it, and in my defense I
honestly believed that there was nothing this ridiculous still out
there. I look like an irresponsible idiot and deserve to be called one
for this involvement. I cannot believe I did this.


       When it turned out that I did not have to actually be the

instructor for anyone on anything, the whole issue was dropped, and I

let my TDI status expire some time ago. Tom Mount issued me a "dive

supervisor" card, which is more in keeping with what I actually do, but

equally unnecessary, earned on numerous dives with Deans and Mount over

the course of several yers. All of these issues have long since been

resolved in other ways, and are currently moot.



       What all of these guys do speaks for itself, and what I do speaks

for itself. I neither have had nor need any excuses for anything I do or

say, and anyone who wants to argue the merrits of that is free to do so,
but stick to the issues.


       Somebody faxed me a copy of this letter that was supposedly

written to me, and all I can say is that if indeed it is real, I finally

know what type of character  Shakespeare was talking about in "MacBeth",

when he said "struts and frets his hour upon the stage and is heard no

more", and what he meant by a "tale told by an idiot , full of sound and

fury, signifying nothing".



       Looks like I hit a nerve with this one, and based on the swarm of

termites that came out of the woodwork here, I am again correct , and

will be and have been proven correct, and everyone knows it, or we would

not be having this little conversation, now would we?
--
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