6 ALL IN A DAY’S WORK

Imagine plodding through a pool full of beef stew: thick,

murky, and carrot-filled. Now add the rushing currents of a storm

surge and you have an idea of black water. There’s zero visibility

and chunks of debris fly about. Extreme scuba diving in black water

during the huge tidal surge on the east coast that came with

Hurricane Sandy was not something even the most fearless high

sensation-seeking people would have done. For Jason this isn’t

a hobby. It’s his job. For the last 15 years, he has been braving

conditions like these and worse to fulfill his life’s passion and

profession: to discover new species and better understand ancient

life.

Jason’s career is far from typical. He is a mechanical engi-

neer, project strategist, paleontologist, and runs a non-profit. He’s

been on archeology digs. And then there is his diving, which facil-

itates the deep need behind all of these endeavors – an insatiable

desire to discover new things.

“It started in childhood, and continues to the present.

Throughout my life, this desire evolved from an interest to

a passion, to an obsession, to a business, and now into this

Indiana Jones style of field work.” Which is exactly how

I think of Jason – the underwater Indiana Jones who braves

treacherous conditions for treasure. Jason spends a major por-

tion of his life tying heavy weights to himself – weights so

heavy that he has to climb (not swim) out after his dives –

trolling along the bottom of river beds using only a bright

light that allows him to see a mere 8 to 12 inches in front of

his face and a screwdriver that he sticks into the clay and mud

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