The Hat

  The hat had been a part of this family for a long time. I say had because yesterday it was lost at sea. The hat was a sweat stained, sun whitened thing, and though I was sorry to see it go, my wife won't be, she hated that old hat! Don't wear that hat she'd say, it's disgusting. Wear your new Yankee hat, you'll look much better. It wasn't the typical baseball hat, it was a Yankee blue in color of course with the word Yankees scrawled across it at an angle, and I wore it everyday in the summer, in work and not. After all we had been through together, it seemed fitting that it would be buried at sea. It was quite the moment as I'll tell further on. But this is one of those times when the story begins at the end but is told at the beginning. Here's the beginning. My son Brian had called me and invited me to come along on a charter fishing trip with he, my grandson, and some of his childhood friends. His friend Rob set it up, as he works the boat in the summer months and teaches in the winter. Before I go any further and I get a bit lost on a rabbit hole, I want to said a shout out to the captain and crew of the Ole Salty Two. Captain and crew work their butts off trying to make sure that everyone catches at least one fish, Sea bass was the fish of the day. I caught one, and another ugly looking thing called a Sea Robin. A fish with wings at yellow spindly looking legs or feelers. The crew did it's job, and everyone did catch at least one, and my grandson caught a baby shark! 

  Late in the day, the sky clouded over, the sea got choppy, and the temperature dropped from being in the nineties, to being chilly. The boat began to roll as two to three foot swells came in rows, replacing the calm seas of earlier. It was as this sudden change in weather happened that I was on the bow when a particularly strong gust of wind came up behind me, blowing my hat into the ocean about six feet from the boat. One of the boats mates saw this and running to get a pole said, We are rolling toward the hat, it'll go under and then come out the other side. Sure enough it did, and he made two valiant attempts at snaring it by casting out to it. Both were close, and he almost hooked it on the second try. But alas, Old Salty rolled over one last time before sinking bill up into the waves. I saluted it as it sunk and said good bye old friend. 

  What a great day! to be out in a boat in the middle of the ocean with nothing but sky and water all around. Nature at it's best, what a beautiful country God has given us. What a way to celebrate our nation's birthday. Happy Birthday America! A day of fishing with family and friends, it doesn't get much better. Thanks again to the captain and crew of Ole Salty Two out of Belmar marina. Thanks guys!