Joel Simon's Childhood Introduction to Sea Life

Joel Simon grew up by the sea in Long Beach, California. His first intimate encounter with sea life occurred while in the seventh grade.

He was body surfing during a storm at Seal Beach. After riding a wave nearly to the beach, and firmly planting his feet in the sand, he felt something slice his foot. "I think I cut my foot", he said to his surfing buddy. He lifted his foot so he could see the result. Blood was freely flowing. "Yep," he said "I cut my foot."

He reached down into the water to find out what had done this. In his hand, up came a conglomerate of invertebrate life that waves had torn off the nearby pier. He had no idea what any of it was. He walked up to the lifeguard and said that he had cut his foot. The life guard asked to see the wound. Joel gladly obliged. Blood was still flowing freely. "Yep," said the guard, "you cut your foot."

Still clutching the mass of invertebrates, Joel went to the hospital, received 9 stitches, and went to school the next day, on crutches, his foot in a plaster cast up to his knee. And he still had the mass of stuff that had caused the wound, now in a bucket of salt water. It had begun to smell.

There was only one PhD. in the school, an elderly gentleman named Dr. Voissard. He taught Chemistry. Joel asked him about the stuff. He said come back after school ended for the day. Along with his surfing buddy, Joel returned to the chemistry lab after school. And there Dr. Voissard made a confession.

"You know I'm the only PhD. In the school," said Dr. Voissard. "Yes," the boys replied. "And you know I teach Chemistry?" continued the Dr. "Yes," the boys replied. "Well," said Dr. Voissard, "My PhD.?" … "Yes?", the boys inquired. "It's in library science!" confessed the Dr. So with that confession, the good Dr., the boys, and the bucket marched together down to the school library.

"What in the world are you bringing into my library???," exclaimed the librarian. "That's just what we aim to find out." The Dr. retorted. And he marched the boys, and the bucket to the biology reference section, and began pulling books off the shelves. After only a few had been opened, the librarian implored the good Dr. to take the reference books (which should never leave the library), the bucket, and the boys back to the lab, along with a promise to return the books as soon as they were done. The Dr. asked the boys if that would be OK, and they agreed.

Back at the lab, Dr. Voissard assembled a dissecting microscope, pulled out some sharp, shiney tools, and they all set to work pulling apart the mass of smelly stuff in the bucket. Orange worms were still wriggeling, tiny shrimps were still flapping, and crepellids and pictnogonads were still crawling amongst the dense cluster of mussels and tunicates. The boys were transfixed, fascinated by the bizarre and beautiful creatures contained in the bundle of muck.

With this episode began a process of discovery that for Joel has lasted a lifetime. "Since that day the ocean never looked the same to me." says Joel. Before then, I only looked at the waves, the surface. But since seeing those weird and lovely animals under the microscope, I now look beneath the surface, to a dynamic world of living creatures that even after all these years, evokes the same sense of fascination I had that afternoon in the Junior High School Chem. Lab.

Joel went on to earn three degrees from Stanford University, where he became a SCUBA instructor and taught classes in marine biology. After four summers teaching SCUBA and marine biology to graduating high school seniors in the US Virgin Islands, he began working with the Stanford Alumni Association designing and leading educational snorkeling programs focused on marine biology. This led to similar work with such respected clients as the Smithsonian Institution, World Wildlife Fund, American Museum of Natural History, California Academy of Sciences, and numerous other alumni groups including Harvard, the Univ. of Chicago, and MIT.

With nearly twenty years of experience in the travel industry and his extensive education specializing in tropical marine environments, Joel is able to combine his interests, passions, and professional expertise as director of Sea For Yourself. "I don't think everyone needs to cut their feet to establish an intimate knowledge of the marine environment," says Joel. "The sea taught me a valuable lesson. I believe that the joy of discovery I felt that afternoon in the lab is indicative of the spirit of Sea For Yourself programs.

"Through the organizational and educational infrastructure that comprise Sea For Yourself programs, I hope that every snorkeling participant can experience that same sense of discovery, and the joy of learning through their own personal experience, what fascination lays just beneath the surface of the sea. And by the way, in case you were wondering, it was the sharp edge of a mussel that made the neat incision on my foot. I still remain grateful."