This past week, I’ve been hearing and thinking a lot about fishing. Sometimes on my drive to work, I enjoy listening to Captain Marty’s fishing report featured on an OBX radio station. Have you ever imagined working on an offshore fishing boat? If you have, all you need to do is hang around the marina or docks consistently at about 4:30 a.m. and you may just get hired. You could be doing something as simple as helping the crew load ice or fueling a vessel and get noticed for being a willing and dependable hard worker. A boat captain may see you and wonder what you are doing hanging out at the docks so often and ask about you. One day if you are lucky, a crew member may not show up for work and the captain may ask you to come aboard. This could be the start of a great gig that generally includes on the job training. There is opportunity for advancement too in that you could work your way up to 1st or 2nd mate or even captain. There you go; a non-traditional way to find a job! The crazy in me thinks it sounds like a lot of fun even though it’s messy hard work.
Another fishing story I heard this morning was from Joel Osteen and he was talking about Jesus’ disciple Peter. After Jesus was resurrected, Peter went back to fishing. Jesus appeared to him again on the beach and told him where to place his nets to get a big catch aka obedience equals blessings.
Today I woke up at 4:30 a.m. At around 5:45 I decided to head to the beach to watch the sun come up. As I was watching the fishing boats leaving out of Rudee Inlet, I had an epiphany. I need to go fishin’! Not literally fishing, but what I realized is that I need to take some “me” time; a staycation, some time to relax and to reconnect with my true authentic self. So I officially declare the month of August as my Gone Fishin’ month.
Fridays at my coffee shop used to be Beach Music Friday. These feel good tunes would encourage the guests to hang out a little while longer and discuss the exciting plans they had for the weekend. I used to gaze out my front door at the hotel across the street and it was hard for me to imagine that the mighty ocean was just on the other side. One of my surfer friends suggested that when I needed a break from the shop that I hang a sign on the front door that said “Gone Fishin” and head on over to the beach for a while. Of course my customers wouldn’t mind, he said. Right. I love surfers and here is the reason why. A recent article in The Huffington Post describes surfers this way. “They chase waves for hours and laugh like little kids. The ocean is their meditation and they revel in the tides. They’re a splendid balance of free-spirited, playful animals who are also fiercely determined to achieve their personal best.” Wow! I wish I could have been that chill and free spirited back then; maybe I would not have burned out so fast.
The lyrics of this great beach music song by General Johnson and The Chairman of the Board says it all. Do you need to Go Fishin’?
Another great one Sandy! I will definitely think about this and join you “Gone Fishin'”! ?