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Friday, June 11, 2010

Happy Birthday Jacques!

When I opened my internet today Google had a lovely new design – today would have been Jacques Cousteau’s 100th birthday.



What nostalgia! As a child I was captivated by him. I watched “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau”. I dreamed of being on The Calypso



I was a member of the Cousteau Society and would read thru every “Calypso Log” newsletter the day it arrived.



In my later teens, as a member of the Cousteau Society, I was able to purchase my first piece of art; “The Source”, a limited edition lithograph by marine artist Margery Spielman. The form in the center is a diatom – a basic algae. Ringing that are images of sea life and divers coming out of a reef…



…with the green Cousteau Society Calypso and dolphin in the upper right side.



The piece has been signed by Margery Spielman AND Jacques Cousteau.



As an early 20-something, I went to a conference in Raleigh, NC called “Seas ‘86” solely to hear his son Jean-Michel speak. Wow. And afterwards I spent forever in line to get his autograph on one of his father’s books.

Somewhere along the line, life got in the way of my fascination. There came a time I forgot to renew my Society membership. When Capt. Cousteau died in 1997, I meant to renew but again forgot.



But today I will give my old ‘friend’ Jacques a birthday present and will rejoin the Cousteau Society to help fund its efforts to protect our oceans. Considering what is going on today… I think it is a very important gift…

http://www.cousteau.org

1 comment:

  1. I loved watching those shows, too. I'm horrified with what's going on in the Gulf right now, the environmental repercussions will be so huge.

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