Monday Morning in Midst of Harvey
Hurricane Harvey Still Dealing Devastation this Monday Morning
Monday Morning With Harvey
I know we are probably heavily dosed with the Hurricane Harvey coverage by now, but damn, this is a bad deal. Some of my family is in the “100-year” flood plane and some in the 500, but how in the heck does a region get away with even calling those areas that – when they are constantly susceptible to hurricanes?
While Houston gets most of the media (good hotels, restaurants and huge population), my favorite fly places and fly people are further south – at the EPICENTER of where Harvey made landfall. You will remember many a word written about Rockport, and Port Aransas, Texas. We’ve spent a lot of time there through the years, and caught plenty of fish there as well. It’s where normal people do normal things and have wonderfully normal and uncomplicated lives – until now.
Now? Who knows what we’re going to get the next trip we take to our favorite places. I clearly remember kayak fishing on the backside of Galveston after Ike, and seeing places – houses, boat houses – still falling into the water many months after that hurricane. And then there’s the flotsam that comes with these hurricanes. It will be all over the bay, the surf, the beaches and it will last for years.
TEXT YOUR MOM!
The power of group text messaging in a disaster is real. I am able to keep up with my Houston clan right now, and they keep up with each other as well … very handy during Harvey. Especially since my family is scattered from Houston to Harlingen during this event, and Grandma was hospitalized late last week in Harlingen, Texas. The Valley seems to have gotten off the hook this round, and that means it is about the only place that can take the September-October onslaught of fishing folks that hit the redfish in peak season. You know the Borderland is where my mind is wandering to … but hurricane season “ain’t over until it’s over” as I am fond of quoting.
PULL!
I have never been on, or around a shooting range that compares to the Elm Fork kdkdkd that was host to the Reel Recovery fund raiser last Saturday. I have a perfect record when it comes to skeet shooting – I broke them all, every one hit the ground – 0 for 0. I missed every one, and never ever went back for a second helping. I could blame my 20-gauge, but may be a lie. I used to pluck dove, out of the air out my back door as a kid, but I have fallen away from the bird hunting for now.
What a great bunch of people at the Reel Recovery event, all with their hearts and shots in the right place. Most of the participants were thanking me for taking their picture. Little did they know I was grateful for what they were doing for guys like me. The money raised from this event will help fund the future Reel Recovery participants (as I was last year). My appreciation also reaches to the people who took their valuable time to provide support for the event. For me, it was a reunion of sorts, but also gave me a priceless opportunity to meet new people who were cancer beaters and hardcore fly fishers. I am hoping my give-back, my photography from this event, helps spread the good word about Reel Recovery. I certainly enjoyed the challenge!
Prayers and thoughts reach east and south this week, as our fellow Texans deal with all that Harvey has dealt and continues to deal in coming days. If you have any information about recovery efforts, fund raisers, organizations that deal with the aftermath – PLEASE COMMENT OR CONTACT ME with that information now.
Category: Causes, Complimentary Reading, Culture on the Skids, Houston Fly Fishing, Life Observed, Science and Environmental, Texas Water Conservation
