FISH CATCHING TRAVEL
“SAVE OUR WATERS”
On last Thursday afternoon, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it would suspend enforcement of bedrock clean air and water laws. What in the Sam Hell does that have to do with the virus? WTF?
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The Wade Right Fishing Belt
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Note: Sorry there has been no new reports but I have decided to follow the stay at home recommendations. Unfortunately while I am in good health I do have an underlying condition or two which makes me a good candidate to bite the big one if I get infected. The Boss and I are exercising great caution as the number of cases ballooned to 41 in our county this week, and it promises to go higher. Several of the new cases are health care providers.
The Boss returns to her rotation in the ER today and of course that is worrisome. As I write this she is taking off her wedding ring, other jewelry, watch, and putting on an old pair of glasses for the duration, removing anything that can bring the virus home. But like all health care pros she is off to keep us safe in the face of the virus, and all of us can help them if we follow the guidelines.
This does not mean I will not fish a day, in fact it might be Thursday looking at the tide and weather. But out of respect for my wife and her coworkers it will be one day a week for me, if at all, until things settle down. If you talk the talk you must walk the walk, and just because I can go fishing does not mean I should. Time to put on the big boy pants and NOT go fishing. This is tough, but this too will pass and there will be plenty of time for fishing. Just remember if you are one of those “it won’t be me” folks, or this is just “some trumped up deal”, you just might kill someone. You do not have that right. In times like this you are either part of the solution or you are the problem. This, and the following, is so off the fishing topic. It is my opinion alone and not anyone else.
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Knockin Tail – Swim bait with a jig head or swim bait hook, a swim jig trailer, on the Alabama Rig, all will rattle your way to more fish!
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Random fish picture. My first marlin. San Juan Puerto Rico.
A Reflection
One morning while sitting around drinking coffee in the break room before court I asked a friend who specialized in big time divorces a simple question: How do your clients afford those big houses? His response: “They can’t. One hitch in their git along and they are toast.” That answer could not have been any more timely today. When this is all over the country, and the world, will be changed forever.
So what in the hell does divorce have to do with the virus? It has exposed how close to the financial edge many folks live. (I am not going to address the working poor, they are screwed. Sad.) Our society has “progressed” to the point where every member of the family must have a cell phone, 250 tv channels is the norm, and car payments are just part of being alive. The baseline, or what we might think it is, has evolved into credit cards, streaming services, big houses, boat payments, and all the rest are the new “norm.” The virus, just like a divorce, has exposed how many folks who make a good living are one small hiccup from financial ruin. (And don’t even get me started on corporations that pay their execs a multi million dollar bonus who are now expecting the taxpayers to bail them out. If their CEO was to stupid to make a realistic disaster plan he is to freakin’ stupid to receive that kind of a bonus.)
The thought that the world could be disrupted in this manner was just not an issue. It never crossed our minds. In this day and age how could we not be past all that? Well here is the lesson learned: We were horribly wrong across the board. Just a couple of weeks has led to a world wide personal and financial disaster. In just the blink of an eye families and businesses are on the verge of complete financial ruin. This country is also on the brink and the effects of the virus extend to every corner of our country. And we are all just as responsible as the virus for the current state of affairs
So What is Next?
Time for folks to really think about what they are going to do moving forward. The questions that need to be asked are simple. Is a $200 a month cell phone bill smart? How did we get to the point where a 10 y/o has some kind of constitutional right to a cell phone? Why do I really need a new car when the one I own is serviceable? Why am I spending a couple of hundred thousand more on this house than that one? Does that 300 hp really say more about “look at me” than any practical reason? Is my life so empty that I need a zillion tv channels to be complete? All of these lead to the real question that each of us must answer: What if? Unfortunately it is here now!
What if this last longer? How long can I last? What if something happens to me? And as a result of that, what happens to my family? How am I going to pay for all that? What is more important, food and safety, or Facebook? Why am I really buying this or that? So what if I buy a $500 rod and reel? Does that make me a better person? Will it replace my family? Being able to make the payment is not the same as being able to afford it. Are you so shallow and weak that your pride of owning all that stuff is that important? Here are a couple of perfect examples of what I am talking about.
When I graduated from Law School we bought a house. It was a cool house, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, deck, hot tub, pool room, it had it all. It was well within our budget and if we were still in Fayetteville I would be living there today. The day we closed the real estate agent said the following: “This will do until you are a rich lawyer.” How did it happen that a house became nothing more than a status symbol and not a home? And if your “friends” like you more because of the house………. sad.
And probably my favorite. A law school classmates of mine was the spoiled rich daughter of a big shot attorney and would not know work if it slapped her in her smug little privileged face. We were chatting one day about kids and I said something about my daughter, who was in college at the time, not having a car. Her response: “You are not going to buy her a car, what a bastard.” Another example of how the baseline has moved over the years from one of simple hope, then to expectation, and finally to “I deserve it.”.
If this is not a wake up call I don’t know what is.
So when this is all said and done it is time to take stock on what is really important in this life. Folks need to evaluate what is “necessary” and what is nothing more than window dressing. We all need to plan for this kind of thing, it could be something else as soon as tomorrow. 10,ooo people have died so far, and countless millions may be ruined, with more to come. So take a moment to think about what is important in life. This is a wake up call and you can choose to answer, or as Oprah says: “If you keep doing what you are doing you will keep getting what you have been getting.”
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Another random fish pic. A big Lake of the Woods pike.
Sorry for the rant, that will be the last of it. So on a funny fishing note – Lefty Kreh to his boat partner who was all messed up.
Looks like you are having more trouble than a pregnant nun.
No disrespect to pregnant nuns! And one final fishing joke. Jimmy Houston.
You know what the difference is between me and God? God never thinks he is me.
Never a truer word has been spoken about fishermen.
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To those of you who are doing your best to keep us all safe – Thanks. To those of you not getting it, what makes you so special you can act like you want? Keep your distance, stay home when at all possible, read a book, take a nap, eat to much, wear a mask, organize your tackle, love your family, and just keep on keeping on. There are finally small indications we might be seeing the peak in the US, but if we get complacent this will not end. I don’t know about you but I am ready to resume my real life. I hope you and yours are safe and sound.
God Bless America
