Let's Get It On!_ The Making of MMA and Its Ultimate Referee - Big John Mccarthy [17]
It turns out our friendly tour guide had been warned numerous times not to poach business from the local dive shops.
Diplomat Ted tried to tell the Federales they didn’t need to use so much force on our Norwegian guide, but I told him to can it and tried instead to negotiate our trip back to shore. The head Federale said another boat would be by shortly to pick us up, revved his engine, and sped away with his men just as quickly as he’d arrived.
There we were on a shore that was about to go bye-bye with the tide coming in.
Minutes, then hours passed with nary a boat in sight. Ted kept talking, trying to minimize his involvement in marooning us in the middle of Cabo San Lucas Bay.
Meanwhile, it was obvious to me that we’d soon be climbing the rocks. I said good-bye to Elaine, put on some fins, dove into the water, and started swimming in the direction of the harbor. About an hour of swimming later, I made it to the marina.
By the time I returned to Marooned Island on a rented boat, Elaine and her family were huddled on the rocks like a pack of pelicans. Ted tried to sputter out his reasons why he shouldn’t be blamed for all this, but the last thing I remember was telling him to just shut up and sit down.
My fishing improved over the years: a dorado (mahi-mahi) I caught in Mexico
I know everybody has crazy stories about their in-laws, and I have a ton I could tell you about Ted that still make me chuckle. Unfortunately, Elaine never really got along with her dad, so I felt like I was always trapped between them trying to keep the peace. Based on my own experiences, especially my own relationship with my dad, I valued family greatly and always felt she should try to work things out with her own dad.
I figured he loved her and Elaine just didn’t understand him. I always encouraged her to talk to him, but it would take me years to understand her point of view. I learned later that just because someone is family doesn’t mean you have to love them, like them, or even put up with them. Some relationships work, and some don’t.
Whoever came up with that “for better or for worse” phrase was a freaking genius. When Elaine met me, I was living on the edge. Some days I think back and wonder why she wasn’t scared off altogether. I guess I was lucky she was into the rebellious type, because I had plenty of that to go around.
I was a big, immature twenty-year-old powerlifter who thought he could handle just about anyone. I know now there were plenty of people who could’ve handed me my ass, but back then I was a six-feet-four, 300-pound guy who thought he was invincible.
At the time, I was driving a Jeep CJ-7. I was so big the back of the seat had broken off at its hinge and I couldn’t sit in it anymore. I started driving Elaine’s car, a tiny Datsun truck, with the window rolled down so my arm and shoulder could hang out to give me more room.
One night, I was driving Elaine home so she could change for a party. When I slowed down at a stoplight, I saw a green MG compact sports car ahead of us with its top up and the rear window open. Then I caught the driver’s eyes.
“What the hell is that guy winking at?” I asked.
“Certainly not at you,” Elaine said.
That was it. I snapped. I pulled up behind Mr. Green MG, honking my horn and flashing my lights to get him to pull over.
Instead, he turned in to a McDonald’s drive-thru, where I boxed him in from behind. Then I jumped out of the truck, went up to the driver’s door, and told the guy to get out of his car.
He looked at me as if he’d just dropped his grandmother off at church. “What’s the problem, buddy?” he asked innocently.