In the Dunk Tank

I have been in the dunk tank three times in my life. Not drunk tank, but dunk tank. You know, that carnival-type game where some putz sits over a tank of water and others throw baseballs at a target that when hits, drops the putz into the water. Two of the times were not overly memorable, but the other…

Early in my career, I was a front-line supervisor for computer retailer. Because of the varied schedules and long retail hours, it was rare that more than just a few of us would get together socially, so when the store closed a couple of hours early for our annual company picnic, it was well attended.

One year the company rented a dunk tank. All fo the supervisors and managers were encouraged to take their turns being targets and I actually looked forward to it. At the time I was supervising our service technicians. It was a group of 12 that really got along well and routinely gave each other a hard time, even when lending a hand on a difficult diagnosis.

Water was put into the tank just before it went into operation. For those who don’t have much experience with a dunk tank, this presents an issue. Water coming from the typical hose will be relatively cold. Think of your tap water when it is at its coldest setting. You wouldn’t take a bath with it. Over time, water in the dunk tank will raise to the air temperature, but it takes some time. Being eager to have fun, I signed up for the first slot, not realizing the temperature situation.

I put on my suit, climbed the little ladder and scooted over to the center of the bar suspended over the water. Instantly my team was lined up. The first several throwers bought tickets (money went to charity) and missed all of their throws. I, in good-natured fun, would should insults with each miss. “You throw like my grandmother!” “Do you need to throw a basketball to make it easier?” “You couldn’t even hit the ground if you were trying with that throw!” It was then that I spotted Jason in the crowd.

Jason was a young technician that was relatively new to the job. He was a great guy and a hard worker and we had hit it off well. He liked to laugh and I knew he could take some ribbing. So I started in on him. “Jason, I know he couldn’t hit the target. Maybe he needs to come up to the toddler throwing line!”

Jason stepped up to the line, grabbed a ball and fired. It hit dead center into the target and WHOOSH! I was in the water. It was not just cold, it was icy. The entire crowd laughed and applauded. I re-set the bench and crawled back onto it. “Even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then. You are so lucky that…” WHOOSH! I was in the water again.

Jason not only sunk me with all three of the balls he had purchased, all the rest of my team gave him their balls. While not perfect, Jason sank me over 10 times in short order. I hadn’t known that Jason was a star pitcher in high school.

Sicilian Fish

The tomatoes really highlight the flavors here.

I think I spent as much time in the water as this fish had.

Frying the fillets.

The veggie mixture.

A quick, tasty dish.

Sicilian Fish

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
4 fish fillets (talapia)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup water
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
8 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil

Directions:

In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add fish fillets, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook 2-5 minutes on each side, depending on e thickness of the fish. Carefully remove fish from skillet and keep warm.

Add 1/4 cup water to the skillet and deglaze pan using a wire whisk. Now add the onion, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, oregano, basil and salt and pepper again, and cook until tender and onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.

Serve fish with this mixture over the top.

Source: http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Sicilian+fish%22&hl=en&prmd=ivnse&ei=mzuaTdmIK6fiiALIupmdCQ&start=10&sa=N