Hang in There

This is the first full week where I have really felt the effect of COVID 19 on the fishing/tourism business in Rockport. All but one of my trips was forced to reschedule, and I found myself in the very unusual position of asking “What am I going to do today?” The answer has been surprising and fun. I had a few epic battles on the tennis court with my son Sam, who is on the high school varsity team here in Rockport. He hasn’t gotten the best of his old man yet, but I can see that day coming in the near future. I went on a wilderness hike/birding adventure with my daughter Lauren, who is a fifth grader and a member of the school birding team. I also took Lauren on a daddy/daughter fishing trip geared toward keeping some fish for some folks here in town who we knew would use them to ease the burden a little bit. That was motivation that Lauren took very seriously, and with each fish she added to the cooler she would announce “that’s two more people we just fed, dad!” Sam helped out too, joining me on a trip out to our lease in Refugio to harvest a hog for the family of a close friend of mine. Scatter some landscaping and yard work into the mix, and we made a pretty full week of it. This is certainly a tough time for all of us, but helping someone keeps us connected and feeling human. I saw on TV this morning that Jon Bohn Jovi is writing a song called “If You Can’t Do What You Do, Do What You Can.” He is asking America to help write the lyrics for him. I hope we were able to help a little bit.

My one fishing day this week was a grind, screaming south winds and dirty water, but perseverance paid off with a good box of reds and drum and a couple big trout on live finger mullet. Lucky I had some good anglers, because the conditions were not for the feint of heart. My day with Lauren had similar conditions, but “Lucky Lauren” always comes through! Be helpful, be good to one another, and hang in there. Better times are coming, and the fish will be waiting