NUMENON |
PONDERING CORE ESSENCE
NUMENON |
I recently took a work-lunch walk on a brisk, sunny day to scout a potential Boston Harbor shore-fishing spot. It took me about 15 minutes to get from my desk to Fan Pier Park. This looks like it might have some potential to hold fish, but might not be too friendly to fishing efforts. My biggest issue was simply that the land is built too high above the harbor to make catching or landing. fish enjoyable. But it is a trendy and hip spot to watch the day or evening go by, so I am glad I found it, regardless. Just around the corner I found the Fan Pier Marina. This would be a super cool place to dock amybaby22 seasonally, but based on their web page (and the diminutive size of my skiff), I am quite certain that I am not exactly their targeted demographic. Still, I'll check it out later this season when the docks are in place and some of the resident boats are in the water. Hoofing it back to work, I walked beside the Moakley federal courthouse. Its exterior walls were decorated with engraved insets. These included The Constitution's Preamble, each of the amendments, and a variety of historical quotes. Although I was in a lather to get back to work, I stopped in my tracks when I noticed the JFK quote, below. At this moment, his words simply resonated with me. Having slowed down, I then couldn't help but notice that nearby insets spoke to me, too. The walk hadn't necessarily paid off in terms of future fishing potential, but it was still timely. It provided a small, but desperately needed moment of hope and recognition that the foundations of our democracy rest on the broad shoulders of Intellectual and well-meaning Giants. These foundations will not be toppled easily. And, I will return! To fish, to picnic, to view the harbor or simply relax; but also, to check out the rest of this building, and to reflect on my good fortune! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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I am not much of a fly fisherman. I am certainly not averse to it, I've just never convinced myself that it is either a superior method of fishing, or generally more enjoyable. To me, it's simply another way to enjoy this great, multifaceted distraction. It's also another tool in the tool box, and should certainly be utilized when appropriate for the task at hand. Still, it's been over a decade since I've delivered a fly with the long rod. In fact, other than a recent casting practice session on the lawn of the local high school, I'd not even touched my fly rod since a 2008 trip to Montana. I'm still not sure I could ever match the experience described in the third-from-last paragraph in my description of that trip; check out numenon.blogspot.com/2012/10/out-west.html. But maybe I am finally getting ready to make some new fly-fishing memories of a different sort. This winter has been in-between; no local safe ice, too cold and windy for enjoyable or productive shore fishing (especially for somebody new to the area), too sloppy to expect to travel North comfortably, and so forth. But the clock continues, and it's been over four months since I've successfully casted to a fish. I feel that in my bones. And so, I daydream. And one of those daydreams somehow morphed itself into some (admittedly manic) action. I decided that I should try catching school stripers on my fly rod, especially if I am trapped inshore by the wind (which seems pretty likely given my experiences on Cape Cod in the spring and fall.) A simple approach to this would be to wait until spring, remember to string up the rod before my first trip to the Cape, tie on a straight and short fluorocarbon leader, and pick up a couple of flies on the way to the water. My mid-winter self has turned this into a time-consuming, sprawling project in which I've acquired a few new fly-tying skills, poured a few hundred dollars into supplies, and have generated several dozen Clouser-style flies in a variety of sizes, colors, weights, materials and sparseness. Well, this has been fun, at least in a get-through-winter kind of way. I've also added a dozen or so teaser-style flies for surf fishing and sea-bass jigging. I've added some small and sparse Clousers for tossing at albies with a casting egg, or to add as a teaser with my skipping epoxy jigs. There's a good chance that these flies could pay off in multiple ways as I pursue my 2020 goals. Speaking of which, I'll officially add another to the list presented in a previous post; here's to capturing a striper on the fly rod with a self-made fly! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways I have generally been treated well by my experiences in New Hampshire. Starting with summer vacations as a kid and catching my first brookie and brown trout as I learned to fish; choosing my college destination largely based on a sense of place; tons of fish and memories from the Connecticut River and its tributaries; a couple of lunker smallmouths and the largest green bass I've ever hooked; hiking, floating and camping; to say nothing of meeting my best friend and getting married there. I'd recently enjoyed the day amiably touristing with A, visiting some old, familiar places but finding some new ones, too. But it was the apparently complete silence of the night on February 15, 2020 that reminded me why I've got the Granite of New Hampshire deep within me. It was a simple walk to relieve the dog; but the utter stillness of the setting grabbed me. This was a different place than Boston or Lansing or even Casco Bay, and I need such a place in my life. What a pleasure to have been reminded of this. What a gift to recognize (and to be able to act upon) this need. I'm pretty sure that my annual, non-resident fishing license will be an investment in my well-being. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways |
Steve LachanceVia Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Michigan and now, back to New England! Archives
June 2024
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