Hook, Line and Sinker...

It’s Tom’s fault.
The fishing disease, that is.
It’s rampant like a virus in Jen and Paul’s lives.

When Paul was around 9 years of age,
Tom took him down to the SF Bay near
the San Mateo Bridge to fish.

Paul had never been, and it really didn’t take
long for Paul to get hooked.
It was like he’d been born with a fishing rod
in his hands.

We took several fishing trips to gorgeous, scenic fishing
holes in Northern Cal: The Russian River, Eel River,
the Trinity River; also lakes and streams in the Sierras,
and Mammoth Lakes, CA.

Needless to say, when Paul grabbed onto the sport,
Jen followed up.
She is as addicted to fishing as Paul.
Both are now avid fly fisherman as well.

Jen's abilities and bright personality has
offered her a few photo shoot opportunities with
advertisers and the Collier County Tourism Bureau.

Jen is in a fisherman’s paradise--Key West.
She and Paul play phone tag relating their fishing tales.
Yes, it’s all Tom’s fault--
and I’m glad the kids share this wonderful sport.

Up, Up And Away...

De-worming the pool is great fun.
After a rainstorm, worms line the pool bottom.
I netted forty-five worms last week.
You can tell my mornings start off with a blast…
It’s a peculiar thing why worms are on the death march.
Don’t they have any sense?
I’ve got to get a life…

Lately, I’ve been going through pictures.
I’ve been thinking about Jen and the great fun
we had on our two Bahamas cruises a few years ago.
The first time I checked out our bathroom,
I wondered how do you flush this thing?
Not only that, but how do you move around in this cabin?

We shared Corona buckets on deck, and
compared notes on our tans.
We frolicked like school girls on the beach,
swinging in beach hammocks.
I haven’t seen Jen for a couple of weeks,
since she’s moved to Key West.

Jen’s been having a grand time.
Her ship has finally arrived.
At least, I sure hope so.
Paul misses Jenny.
They are great friends as well as siblings.
They were fishing pals, too.

We’re expecting tons of rain this week.
I’ve got the worm bucket ready…

Ba Da Da Dum...

An older gentleman whom I know, Chuck,
told me recently there’s no way that he’ll step
into the Gulf waters for a swim.
His wife loves the water, but not Chuck.
He fears that he may run into Jaws.

In the Gulf, if you swim closer to the shoreline
in clear water then an encounter is somewhat unlikely.
There was a man who was attacked by a shark while
swimming 100 yards out.
Good grief!
Black tip, bull head, and nurse sharks are in the
Gulf waters.
Common sense is the key, here.

One of our first summers in Naples, Jen and I
were swimming a few yards offshore.
We suddenly heard a young boy shouting and crying
that something was biting him.
Sure enough, there were 1” sized jellies floating
near him on the surface and a few had stung him
on the legs and arms.
The jellies looked like wads of spit on the
water's surface.
A suntan product called SafeSea can protect you
from jellies which are found in Florida waters
certain times of the year.
That was the first time I’d seen jellies.

I’ve been knee deep in the water and I’ve
seen pods of 50 or more stingrays swimming
up the gulf, close to the water’s edge.
While most people ran out of the water back
to the beach, I stood watching the rays pass by,
flapping through and around my legs.
It was like getting slapped with rubber tires.

Another time, some people started hollering out to
swimmers to get out of the water!
I know my fins, and knew that what they thought were
sharks were dolphins swimming along the shoreline.
If I were in California or Australia I’d be more
afraid of what might be lurking in the water.

At Bahia Honda in the Florida Keys, Paul, Jen
and I were walking through the shallow waters,
stepping lightly, avoiding walking over the coral reefs.
Paul felt something batting against his leg.
Looking down he saw a fish that looked mad.
The little fighter was trying to push Paul away from his reef.
No way did the fish want us around!

At Hanauma Bay, on Oahu, Jen and I were snorkeling.
I was quickly bashed against my silicone mask, pain
shooting through my face.
My nose was slightly fractured and I had a black eye.
The offending source of the attack was a Japanese man
who had whacked me while he was snorkeling next to me.

He started laughing when he looked at me.
He and his companion were pointing at me, calling me
“Fishy Face”…
Funny…Benihahaha…
I rose out of the water.
I wanted to snap his skimpy weiner suit back, sending him
flying across the Pacific Ocean.
People are dangerous, too!

If you want to play it safe I suggest grabbing your rubber ducky and head for the bathtub…