IN 2018 — THIS IS WHAT I’M THANKFUL FOR, AND THIS IS WHAT I’M NOT – One More Cast Light Tackle Charters Charters

IN 2018 — THIS IS WHAT I’M THANKFUL FOR, AND THIS IS WHAT I’M NOT

by John McMurray
in Blog, Uncategorized
on February 20, 2018

I’m darn lucky to be doing this, but how long can I keep doing it?

As I’m writing this, I’m on my way to Vermont to spend Thanksgiving with my parents. My wife is driving, snow is falling. And in a rare moment, my kids are quiet, heads down in laptops.

But me… my mind is racing, frantically. Since I put my head down on the pillow last night and tried to sleep, it hasn’t let up.

Yesterday was fraught with the characteristic rush to blow water out of pipes, to push antifreeze through engines and pour remaining half gallons into bilges. I know it’s coming, but I’m never prepared. Too tempting to believe that we’ll get “a few more” good weeks before it all goes to hell. But here we are, teen temps tomorrow. Like a punch in the face, winter is suddenly here. I plan on squeezing as many days on the water as I can, when the weather allows it, but my season is, for all intents and purposes, ending… abruptly.

Thanksgiving always gives me pause. Whether it’s the end or not, it’s always the beginning of the end. A sudden, unasked-for break from what’s been an 8-month sprint. An unwelcome chance to look back and look forward, even if I don’t like what I see. This year I’m having a difficult time being optimistic.

Yet, in the tradition of Thanksgiving, let me first get off what I’m thankful for.

The “job”

I’m a full-time charter boat captain/small business owner, meaning I’m a part time mechanic, secretary, accountant, business manager, etc. Jack of all trades – haven’t mastered any. Yes, I do other things to make ends meet, but for eight months of the year, it’s all about trying to squeeze a living out of putting people on fish.

Hell yeah, I love this job. It is not really “my job”; the job is me. All of it. Almost 20 years ago I began to build a life around the ocean and fishing. Today, for eight full months it’s hard freak’n work. I sleep half the amount of time most people do, and work probably double the hours. My hands are always beat up and swollen, and my back and shoulders often beg for rest. None of this is a game for me, but it’s still freak’n awesome. I’ve tried a couple of conventional jobs. I can’t do that again. I won’t. I would rather… Well, let’s move on.

I don’t believe there’s such a thing as total contentment or happiness. But those moments on the water, when you look out over the ocean or an estuary and are inexplicably overcome, or when you experience the extraordinary adrenaline dump that occurs when a tuna explodes on a popper, such things are enough for me. And I am certain they always will be. Yes, sometimes it’s a grind, and it’s darn stressful on those days when the fish don’t cooperate, but I am incredibly thankful that after a long road I’ve ended up here. This is where I belong.

I fully admit that I am a glass-is-half-empty type, but it is not lost on me that there are very few people who can say that about their “job,” their life.

For that, I am extraordinarily grateful.

In 2018 — This Is What I’m Thankful For, And This Is What I’m Not

IN 2018 — THIS IS WHAT I’M THANKFUL FOR, AND THIS IS WHAT I’M NOT