I reached over the boat s gunwale and carefully placed the medallion on the seat before scrambling back aboard. I shucked off the air tank, kicked off my fins, and sat down on the seat. Carefully I peered at the golden Madonna, knowing I was the first person to do so in over 250 years. It was even more beautiful on the surface, and I knew I had found something of indeterminable worth. It was the day of all days for me, and the beginning of a lifelong struggle to try and top it.
Life has a way of turning sweet or sour in a heartbeat, so to speak.
On 25 April 1987 I found the greatest artifact of my shipwreck salvage diving career. On 27 April I had to commit my best friend to eternity. My buddy of ten years through thick and thin, Henry the Cat, had terminal cancer, and my last kindness to him was to have Dr. Foley put him to sleep. They say this is the ultimate act of love between an animal and its human companion. Maybe so, but it was the hardest damned decision I ve ever had to make.