Post by cnot on May 5, 2007 21:11:02 GMT -5
Late in the summer of 1980. the year my eye troubles set in and I was still adjusting to the drastic change in my sight, the early evening air was filled by a distinctive rumble in my yard. Scott (aka "Smack" of my "Bet" story.) drove a 78 Trans AM, and I knew when he was paying me a visit by its sound long before he knocked on my door.
We had not seen each other in a couple weeks, he was working up in PA and did not get much time to play in Cape May Point. But, there he was in my backyard with a very light fishing rod and reel that had seen better days.
"What's that antique for?" I asked.
"I picked it up at a flea market on the way down." He relied. "Thought it might be a hoot to catch some Croaker on for bait. Figured we could surf fish tonight."
"I'll get the nets. Bait has been showing at Alexander Avenue at sunset lately. Nothing better to do tonight, band at "Gloria's" isn't worth the cover they'll charge on a weekend."
I went to the side of the garage for the seine and, as a joke, grabbed the long handled landing net we used on the jetties and sea walls.
"What's that for?" He asked as he came out of the garage with a little cooler and handing me a cold green bottle.
"We're going to need it if you catch bait on that thing." I laughed.
We talked about the events that had passed in our lives since we last saw each other as we walked along Yale Avenue. He was getting ready for the upcoming school year, so I let him do most of the talking. (I didn't talk about my eye troubles much in those days, I wasn't sure of how to deal with it all. It also seemed to make others unsure of how to treat me.)
We made our way to the sea wall at Alexander Avenue a bit before sunset, so we stretched out the seine net on the beach below, then made one pass along the wall's base. A few bay anchovies and mud minnows were added to the bucket and we climbed back up onto the wall to wait for bait. Smack put one to the minnows on a bucktail and started working it as the "sunset crowd" gathered.
Sunsets were, and I suppose still are, a big deal in Cape May Point for locals and tourists. Tourists mostly would gather at the end of Sunset Boulevard, at Sunset Beach, where they could watch the sunset, look at the Concrete Ship that was sunk just off the beach, or hunt for "Cape May Diamonds" among the pebbles on the beach. Locals, on the other hand, would head to Alexander Avenue, gather in small groups, and chat while watching the day come to a beautiful end. Not quite the celebration of places like Mallory Square in Key West, but a celebration none the less.
Just as the orange ball of flame had begun to hit the horizon, Smack's little reel began to scream. It continued to do the same until after the sun had just about disappeared, and he got a very large Weakfish to the wall.
"Get the net, get the net!" He yelled at me, "This is a big fish!"
I leaned over and scooped at the fish, totally wrong direction.
"What the (foul) are you doing?? I'm bringing it the other (filth) way!!)
This pass I bumped his light line and the fish was gone.
"You (Foul, filth) idiot! That was a (filth, foul) big fish! I can't believe you(foul, filth, foul) lost it!"
"Smack, calm down, I can't see that well now."
(More stomping, cussing, and swearing as he looked out over the water.)
"Calm down." I said.
"Why should I calm down?? You just knocked a (foul) big fish off my line!"
I took him by the shoulders and spun him around to face the people gathered behind us. "Because you're making them work over time!!"
His blush was bright in the dimming light as he saw the half dozen nuns in full habits, staring at us while working their Rosary beads franticly through their fingers.
Like I always say, you should always be aware of your surroundings when you're on the water!!!
We had not seen each other in a couple weeks, he was working up in PA and did not get much time to play in Cape May Point. But, there he was in my backyard with a very light fishing rod and reel that had seen better days.
"What's that antique for?" I asked.
"I picked it up at a flea market on the way down." He relied. "Thought it might be a hoot to catch some Croaker on for bait. Figured we could surf fish tonight."
"I'll get the nets. Bait has been showing at Alexander Avenue at sunset lately. Nothing better to do tonight, band at "Gloria's" isn't worth the cover they'll charge on a weekend."
I went to the side of the garage for the seine and, as a joke, grabbed the long handled landing net we used on the jetties and sea walls.
"What's that for?" He asked as he came out of the garage with a little cooler and handing me a cold green bottle.
"We're going to need it if you catch bait on that thing." I laughed.
We talked about the events that had passed in our lives since we last saw each other as we walked along Yale Avenue. He was getting ready for the upcoming school year, so I let him do most of the talking. (I didn't talk about my eye troubles much in those days, I wasn't sure of how to deal with it all. It also seemed to make others unsure of how to treat me.)
We made our way to the sea wall at Alexander Avenue a bit before sunset, so we stretched out the seine net on the beach below, then made one pass along the wall's base. A few bay anchovies and mud minnows were added to the bucket and we climbed back up onto the wall to wait for bait. Smack put one to the minnows on a bucktail and started working it as the "sunset crowd" gathered.
Sunsets were, and I suppose still are, a big deal in Cape May Point for locals and tourists. Tourists mostly would gather at the end of Sunset Boulevard, at Sunset Beach, where they could watch the sunset, look at the Concrete Ship that was sunk just off the beach, or hunt for "Cape May Diamonds" among the pebbles on the beach. Locals, on the other hand, would head to Alexander Avenue, gather in small groups, and chat while watching the day come to a beautiful end. Not quite the celebration of places like Mallory Square in Key West, but a celebration none the less.
Just as the orange ball of flame had begun to hit the horizon, Smack's little reel began to scream. It continued to do the same until after the sun had just about disappeared, and he got a very large Weakfish to the wall.
"Get the net, get the net!" He yelled at me, "This is a big fish!"
I leaned over and scooped at the fish, totally wrong direction.
"What the (foul) are you doing?? I'm bringing it the other (filth) way!!)
This pass I bumped his light line and the fish was gone.
"You (Foul, filth) idiot! That was a (filth, foul) big fish! I can't believe you(foul, filth, foul) lost it!"
"Smack, calm down, I can't see that well now."
(More stomping, cussing, and swearing as he looked out over the water.)
"Calm down." I said.
"Why should I calm down?? You just knocked a (foul) big fish off my line!"
I took him by the shoulders and spun him around to face the people gathered behind us. "Because you're making them work over time!!"
His blush was bright in the dimming light as he saw the half dozen nuns in full habits, staring at us while working their Rosary beads franticly through their fingers.
Like I always say, you should always be aware of your surroundings when you're on the water!!!