The things a man thinks about...

[kennethdaysale]

Originally Posted by Jrob78

Fishing was there for me when I was going through some really hard times. I've fished since I was old enough to remember but in my early 20's and then again in my late 20's it saved me. The fact that I could clear my head and not think about anything else is what I liked about it. When I fish, I focus 100% on what I'm doing and all the other crap goes away.

I know this is a light hearted casual thread about mowing/fishing and thinking but Joe's post brings it a little closer to home for me.

When I was 11 my father died suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack. Every child finds a way to cope with grief, my way was to fish. For whatever reason I simply could not stand the sad and concerned looks everyone always gave me and the never ending question that was asked with all the best intentions but to which there was no real answer...."Ken how are you doing? are you OK?" The only way to escape that torment was to spend every possible minute I could plundering around the river or paddling the old tin boat out into the mill pond. Talk about saving somebody's life and sanity....I can honestly say it saved mine.
As the years passed lot's of our friends and family began to question my mother about whether or not she felt my fishing and isolationism had become a problem. Bless her heart I"ll never forget overhearing her tell my Aunt one night...." Is he hurting anyone? Is his schoolwork or chores suffering? No ! The grieving disciples went fishing after Jesus died (John 21:3) if it's good enough for them it's good enough for Ken and he's happy and so am I"

[WatterBoy]

Originally Posted by Jrob78

I hate mowing the lawn. Fishing was there for me when I was going through some really hard times. I've fished since I was old enough to remember but in my early 20's and then again in my late 20's it saved me. The fact that I could clear my head and not think about anything else is what I liked about it. When I fish, I focus 100% on what I'm doing and all the other crap goes away.

Originally Posted by kennethdaysale

I know this is a light hearted casual thread about mowing/fishing and thinking but Joe's post brings it a little closer to home for me.

When I was 11 my father died suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack. Every child finds a way to cope with grief, my way was to fish. For whatever reason I simply could not stand the sad and concerned looks everyone always gave me and the never ending question that was asked with all the best intentions but to which there was no real answer...."Ken how are you doing? are you OK?" The only way to escape that torment was to spend every possible minute I could plundering around the river or paddling the old tin boat out into the mill pond. Talk about saving somebody's life and sanity....I can honestly say it saved mine.
As the years passed lot's of our friends and family began to question my mother about whether or not she felt my fishing and isolationism had become a problem. Bless her heart I"ll never forget overhearing her tell my Aunt one night...." Is he hurting anyone? Is his schoolwork or chores suffering? No ! The grieving disciples went fishing after Jesus died (John 21:3) if it's good enough for them it's good enough for Ken and he's happy and so am I"

Wow, that is very moving stuff, guys. Thanks for sharing. I enjoy learning about the role fishing plays for others, especially when I've never really thought about other perspectives before. I just kind of "happened" into fishing when a friend of mine bought a summer cabin on a lake about 15 years ago.

As far as mowing the lawn goes, I'm on the other side from most so far because I love it! Maybe that's because I only have to do it for half a year? I like it because I enjoy work where I can easily see how much I've done and how much I have left to do, plus I like being really anal and trying to see how straight I can make all the "lines" when I mow. It bothers me a little when the neighbors "mess up" our shared border on each side by being a little crooked, so I have to "fix it" when I get out there to do ours.