The Woman Behind the Words . . .
Who is the woman behind the words AND the images?
A beloved friend has advised “Jackie, you need to step into the spotlight more” i.e. making more evident who The Marine Detective is.
For a whole soup of emotions/reasons, I am more comfortable being behind the camera in this role. That’s why I chose for the moniker “The Marine Detective” rather than my name. But okay – here’s an image highly representative of who I am, tutu and all.
Photo: ©Jacqui Engel, September 2018.
I will also share a story that is rather typical regarding there being a bias that leads to misidentifying who the voice is here on TMD.
Here goes . . . I was having lunch in a local restaurant and had one of my calendars on the table. The waitress, a lovely young woman, bounded over, saw the calendar and said: “The Marine Detective! Oh my god, I love him!”. I quietly asked, “Who do you love?” She enthusiastically said, “The Marine Detective! I follow him on social media!” and then very generously provided her views on the value of the work.
I stood up and felt compelled to stand in front of her and said softly, “I am The Marine Detective”.
What I interpret of her reaction is that she could not reconcile that the age, gender and stature of the person in front of her could be the actual force behind what she had described.
Is it important? I have come to understand that it is. That, by simply living out what I perceive to be my calling, I can help shift biases with regard to age and gender.
I am a 55-year-old woman in science who hurls herself into a cold ocean to learn from the life there, who drives a boat, studies whales, speaks from the heart, and who wants for equality in the world for the betterment of all.
That’s that for a while. Going back behind the camera now.
Oh, and why the tutu? If it’s new to you that it’s what I wear when I dive, please see my blog “Life is Hard? Wear a Tutu” at this link.
The Marine Detective 
3 Responses to “The Woman Behind the Words . . .”
I am privileged to be one of the people in West Vancouver whose life has been significantly enriched by coming to know The Marine Detective. MY life has centered on the ocean and it’s critters where I have served on various related Boards and organizations as well as studying its magnificent world. But since adopting two humpbacks and receiving a plethora of educational and highly informative information from the Marine Detective my life has become much richer indeed. Kudos to her and her associates..
Jackie – would you consider running for the Green Party in Courtenay-Port Alberni in the Oct 21 federal election.
You probably wouldn’t’ be elected because of the strong NDP MP 9Gord Johns) and a strong Conservative nominee (Byron Turner). However, you’d raise your personal profile and also that of the Green Party. I’d like to nominate you.
Betty Donaldson
Courrtenay
From: The Marine Detective
Reply-To: The Marine Detective
Date: Saturday, January 19, 2019 at 8:33 PM
To: “E. Lisbeth Donaldson”
Subject: [New post] The Woman Behind the Words . . .
The Marine Detective posted: “Who is the woman behind the words AND the images? A beloved friend has advised “Jackie, you need to step into the spotlight more” i.e. making more evident who The Marine Detective is. For a whole soup of emotions/reasons, I am more comfortable being”
Hello Betty, This means a very great deal but I cannot allow myself to be distracted from the education work, need to stay in my riding North Island – Powell River, and believe myself to ill-suited for politics.