Miriam, Ruth's younger sister, reading on the patio of the Mid Pacific Marine Lab in 1981. In the early 1980s I was on two trips to Enewetak atoll to ostensibly collect sponge samples for a cancer research project but really to pursue the best diving the planet has to offer. Miriam was an excellent scuba diver. She was very calm in the water and consumed less air that the rest of us. I know she would not approve of this picture. She was always conscious of her weight and like many overweight people spent a lifetime on and off diets. There was always a touch of sadness about Miriam. She often felt like the odd sibling out. Her older brothers and sister all became very successful professionals something that made her both proud and envious. Many years after this picture was taken she had a major falling out with her older sister and they didn't speak for years. Then, quite unexpectedly, Miriam reappeared with ovarian cancer. They had a few weeks to reconcile before Miriam died in her early fifties. It surprised everyone that knew her and many of us still find it hard to believe she's gone.

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