Promises to Yourself

M

MikeH

Joined
Oct 18, 2001
Messages
4,611
My Busse collecting really took off in 2002 after my daughter received massive brain damage in a hit and run. For eight years I was tied down in constant care of her. (I had just retired at age 55 and my wife, a dedicated first grade teacher, wanted to keep working. She worked past her 70th birthday.) This forum was one of my few outlets, and each Busse blade was a promise to myself that one day I would get back to my beloved outdoors. My wife fully supported my Busse habit. It helped me stay sane.

Fast forward to Blade 2017. Now finally relieved of pain after several years of back problems during which my 36 year old Boston Whaler has languished under a tarp, I am weighing whether returning to the water is worth the risk of returning to a life of pain. So I asked my wife on the drive home from Blade, "Why did I buy a Dozier fillet knife when I may never fish again?" The wise lady said, "You made another promise to yourself."
 
You don't have to go back full force. Take it easy go back into it a little at a time.
I lived by a man that had a true love of fishing,mostly running up and down the river bank. A friend and I went with him a few times he would leave us behind with us in our mid 20s and he 80. Soon after the last time we went with him his doctor told him he shouldn't be out doing things like that. He stopped going. The change in that old man was something to see. He seemed to stop living and never seemed to be happy like what he was. With in a year and a half he went from full of energy and happy to a totally different person and passed away. I believe it is better to take the chance and live happy than back into a shell to protect yourself just to die inside. Do what you can and enjoy it as much as possible.
 
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Excellent story to share, as usual! Thank you for that!
One particular Hog quote seems fitting here:
"No Regrets!"
 
Slow and easy...a stress-free lifestyle will help you live longer so you can still enjoy life.;)
 
Adapt. Wait...I don't need to tell you that. You will naturally adapt. If its fishing that you love...find some easy spots to get to and fish from so you can keep fishing as long as you can. If its boating you love, maybe sell a few busses...hell, I've definitely been drinking...leave the Busses where they are lol. If its boating that you are interested in...maybe splurge a bit and get yourself a really nice suspension captains chair for your Boston whaler. Its a catch 22...what to do...
 
Where, exactly do you float a 36 ft whaler in Alabama? That's.a big boat for your locale.
 
It's 3 hours plus from Birmingham to the.gulf. long way to haul a.boat. Just wondering if.he hauls.his.rig or floats local freshwater
 
It's one of the old 15-1/2' Striper 15's. Great little boat that somehow got rated for 70 hp with a hull weight of only 500 pounds. It is a little rocket and I have no desire for any other.
 
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