Terry, would you like to tell me what the history of the WKPP is, or is it
ok for me to do it? The point is that we had a handful of people who would
even try this stuff. The first guy always ready to go was Sheck, but he was
new with the team. Gavin had dove with him once, I dove with him a few
times. The regular three man team was Gavin, Lamar English and myself on
survey. Lamar bailed one day and Exley stepped in, and then Exley and I dove
to gether a bunch until he killed himself. He got right on the DIR thing
other than the having to do stupid things like he did to kill himself. He
was as cool as it gets in the toughest dives. He also was game for any crazy
thing I dreamed up, and I miss him - he was like a kid.

Most of the old time WKPP guys had quit , and those who remained had already
drawn their own line in the sand. There was a sign along the highway to
Tallahassee that said, "Prepare to meet thy maker". It used to freak
everyone, and I wanted to tear it down, but was afraid to do so, but it
finally rotted and fell down about the time we got serious about DIR in the
WKPP. In the wings was my favorite dive partner, JJ, and he and I did all
the other dives that Gavin was not on. Gavin had a thing about not diving
with people under 30 after Sherwood died, and he had a thing about not
diving the horrendous dives too much to save the wear and tear. At that
point even a simple set up dive was what once had been world record dives at
300 feet. JJ ate those up, and so did Exley, and of course as we now see
with me, the wear and tear factor is a moot point if you DIR.

We did not have enough qualified people to run the dives the way we do now
where we send multiple teams to set up before the push team and then clean
up after, so JJ and Exley and I did both the setups and the cleanups. The
only reason my guys ( JJ, Casey, etc ) were not on the main dives is that
the other guys were there first, and I since Lamar was my original dive
partner from the time I was certified and Gavin right after that, those two
took me as the next in line and I could survey the fastest. As far as
ability to do these dives and tolerate anything, as well as deal with any
thing and everything at once, JJ is the correct guy, and what makes me so
"good" is knowing that all along , as well as knowing who not to let in the
water.

I hope this clarifies things. There are hundreds and hundreds of people who
have helped with the WKPP at one time or another.

-----Original Message-----
From: terry michael [mailto:OEA51@go*.co*]
Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2001 9:30 PM
To: Trey; Michael J. Black; techdiver@aquanaut.com
Subject: Re: Re: Steve Berman


>Back then JJ and Exley and I did all the setups , >cleanups and Gavin and I
did all the dives.

The world according to George? :-)

-----Original Message-----
From: "Trey"<trey@ne*.co*>
To: "Michael J. Black"<mjblackmd@ya*.co*>, techdiver@aquanaut.com
Date: Sat May 19 04:46:22 PDT 2001
Subject: Re: Steve Berman

>Mike , show me the better way. Go ahead, we are all listening. You yapping
>about people is not diving. Show me a better way to dive, show me your
>methods and systems.
>
>Nobody will get on here who knew Berman and say anything different than
what
>JJ and I already said.
>
>I said , Berman came out to help a couple of times years ago, and decided
he
>did not want to do that kind of diving , and he did not want to do it my
way
>, and he did not want to do it my way off the field, or we could have used
>him . Back then JJ and Exley and I did all the setups , cleanups and Gavin
>and I did all the dives. Now we have over 100 people, so we no longer try
to
>change anyone to fit our methods, we go with those who want to do it our
>way, and that goes for GUE as well.
>
>As I said, Mike, if I catch any WKPP member violating my rules on or off
the
>field, they are gone , and if JJ catches any GUE instructor not doing what
>he wants, they are gone. How much clearer can it get, Mike?
>
>And maybe you can tell me what difference it makes anyway. If somebody does
>something stupid, I will always say it was stupid. Everyone can see
Berman's
>dying for nothing is not the way to go. This is an interesting case simply
>because Berman was such a long time diver and was skillful. On the other
>hand there are a ton of can't walk and chew gum cases out there who think
>solo diving is a good idea. Hopefully he set that record straight.
Hopefully
>Sheck set the record straight on diving with morons and diving deep air -
>his 30 years of cave diving got extinguished in one bad move. Berman ,
Exley
>and McGuire were a lot tougher than 99% of the divers in the world. They
are
>dead. They did not do it right.
>
>Let me point one more thing out to all you strokes: the reason I get access
>everywhere? Those who let me dive know I will not let the Exleys dive air,
>the Bermans dive solo, or the McGuire's dive bottles not properly marked,
>and that is why I have the keys to the kingdom and the assholes who
>constantly fight me get to dive at Ginnie. I can enforce it with my
>authority, and I will set that example, and so will everyone around me or
>they will not be around me for long. Again, you tell me the better way.
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Michael J. Black [mailto:mjblackmd@ya*.co*]
>Sent: Friday, May 18, 2001 10:41 PM
>To: Trey; techdiver@aquanaut.com
>Subject: RE: FW: Steve Berman
>
>
>Funny how you Doing-It-Rightists keep lying and denying, and it helps
>your cause so much when you disagree among yourselves.  Friends and
>students of Berman's seem to think he was a GUE instructor who dived
>DIR, and helped in the past with the WKPP.  Next thing you know, you'll
>be calling him a "stroke," "barnyard stupid."  And what's the "body count"
>for you guys now...McGuirre, Wolvo, Berman, who else?  MJB
>
>--- Trey <trey@ne*.co*> wrote:
>>
>>
>> Mike, you believe what you want, but as usual, you are spreading lies
that
>> some bitter person put in your ear. You have no idea who these people are
>or
>> what you are talking about anyway, and there is not a single person on
>here
>> who does not recognize that.
>>
>> It is as we said.
>>
>> Steve Berman was not a GUE instructor.  In remembering back when Steve
did
>> help with the WKPP, it was when Exley was still alive, so figure out how
>> long ago that was. He showed up a couple of times, and I tried to get him
>to
>> run with the ball, but he told me that it was just not for him.
>>
>> Jarrod's way with GUE was not for him either so he did not become a GUE
>> instructor, which he easily could have had he chosen to follow the path
we
>> follow, on and off the field. He did not.  Where might he be now if he
>were
>> a GUE instructor?
>>
>> As I said, my players conduct their diving DIR on and of the field or I
ax
>> them, Jarrod's instructors display the GUE example or he axes them. End
of
>> story.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Michael J. Black [mailto:mjblackmd@ya*.co*]
>> Sent: Friday, May 18, 2001 12:09 AM
>> To: Aquanaut Mail
>> Subject: Re: FW: Steve Berman
>>
>>
>> Who do you wanna believe?
>>
>> To:  techdiver@aquanaut.com
>> From:  trey@ne*.co* (Trey)
>> Subject:  RE:  Ginnie Fatality
>> Date:  Fri, 11 May 2001, 07:52:52 - 0400
>>
>> "He (Berman) did help with WKPP a while back, but like you (Black), he
>> thought I was a huge asshole and did not want to do it my way."
>>
>> To:  quest@gu*.co*
>> From:  JJ@gu*.co* (Jarrod Jablonski)
>> Subject:  Steve Berman
>> Date:  Wed, 16 May 2001 12:38:10 - 0400
>>
>> "Steve (Berman) had nothing to do with the WKPP or with GUE."
>>
>> For the record, Berman was a GUE instructor who had helped in the past
>> with the WKPP.  He dived DIR, and died violating the DIR principle of
>> no solo diving.  And for the record, you can count on more lies, denials,
>> hypocrisy, and death, from the Doing-It-Rightists.
>>
>> MJB
>>
>> __________________________________________________
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>
>
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