MENU
Divemaster of My Dreams
Dieke van Ewijk
During the winter and early spring of 2001, the waters of his native Santa Catalina Island were too cold to dive comfortably in his trademark 3mm shortie. For the first time, Dr. Bill sought warm tropical waters to dive in, backpacking through SE Asia, Australia and the South Pacific in the winter of 2001 in search of unique diving experiences.
Little did he know that on the island of Phi Phi Don in Thailand he would meet a woman who would change his life. Dr. Bill noticed her on his first dive with Visa Diving. Although struck by her beauty, especially her smile, he was most impressed by the way she prepared her "customers" for their first dive. She was patient, informative and caring... displaying an inner beauty that outshone even her substantial outer beauty.
Dr. Bill quickly introduced himself. She said her name was Dieke van Ewijk and she was from the Netherlands. He requested an opportunity to dive with her on the next dive trip. Over the next two weeks his razor sharp mind developed a foolproof strategy... as a customer at Visa, he would only dive if Dieke were his dive master. Since Dieke loved diving, she was more than willing to oblige as this ploy got her out of the office and into the water more often.
Soon Dr. Bill mustered up the courage to ask Dieke out to dinner. She accepted and he enjoyed the pleasure of her company several times during his extended stay on Phi Phi. Dieke introduced him to the infamous Thai "bucket" (a blend of Thai whiskey, Red Bull and Coca Cola served in a tin bucket). Although she promised we would have just one, within an hour the floor was spinning as Dieke, Dr. Bill, Jon and jon's soon-to-be fiance Nicole made the rounds The Upstairs Bar, Amsterdam Bar, Tin Tins and other dancing establishments. Bill soon realized that Dieke was one of the few women who actually look worse while he is intoxicated versus sober. He immediately knew he was deep "in like" with this wonderful woman.
Although Dr. Bill was scheduled to return to Bangkok and travel on to Kuala Lumpur, he decided to spend the rest of his Thai visa (right up to the stroke of midnight) there on Phi Phi with his dearly adored Dieke. Although she made it perfectly clear the two of them were just friends, he was so deeply hooked he could not do anything but hope she'd change her mind and reel him in. Such are the things dreams are made of.
Dieke and Dr. Bill made several dives off the neighboring island of Phi Phi Lei where Leonardo diCaprio and Virginie Ledoyen made the movie "The Beach." They lunched together on Maya Beach, site of the film's commune. Dieke innocently said that no woman could refuse a romantic request made on that beach. Dr. Bill was not quick enough to test her, but hopes to someday in the future. Dieke also took Dr. Bill to Pileh Beach, which he felt was even more romantic (and certainly less crowded) than Maya. Dieke stood her ground and did not give in to Dr. Bill's adoration.
Dr. Bill left Thailand determined to keep in touch with the lovely and devastating Dutch woman. He is willing to drop everything (well, except his heavy steel dive tank- it would break his toes) and follow her to the ends of the Earth (the Maldives, Red Sea, South Pacific, Catalina kelp forests) for a chance to dive with her once more.
So Dieke, divemaster of my dreams, I promised you your own web page and I've fulfilled that promise. Now I suppose you want me to dismantle it! No chance we could dive together first- perhaps by the dikes? I didn't think so.
| Home Page | Products and Services | Scientific Research | About Us | Contact Us |
This document maintained by
Dr. Bill Bushing.
Material
Copyright © 2001 Star Thrower Educational Multimedia