Monthly Archives: June 2015

Fish-A-Rama

I love fishing and can’t get enough of it. I’ll fish at every opportunity that is available to me and then try to squeeze in more. I do have a couple of problems, though. First I put into the freezer much more than I can consume in a year. Then, second, which piggyback the first one, my wife does not eat any of the fish which mean all that is in the freezer is for me. Here is an example….Imperial Plaza just went on a fishing trip to Virginia Beach. To put fresh fish into my chest freezer I had to throw out six bags of my oldest fish. I usually freeze six to eight fish to a bag and I threw out fish from 2013 and 2014. I now have three bags of eight fish from the trip. It hurt me to my heart to throw the fish away but I didn’t have any choice.

The fishing trip was on a Wednesday and, to top that off, my son-in-law and I went fishing the following Friday night. Sitting on the pier with my chair, a tablet for music, food, and a cooler with ice for the fish and sodas was relaxing as well as great. We were in heaven and have done this, in the same place, many, many times. We just love fishing and, like me, he’ll go fishing every chance he gets. Many fish were caught and we had a great time talking, eating, snoozing and, of course, fishing.

For the first time, I swear it was my first time, I gave ALL of my fish, that I caught Friday night, to a few residents at Imperial Plaza. I will not say that I will always do this but I decided to slow down filling the freezer. I plan to do a lot of fishing and don’t want to load forty or fifty bags into the freezer like I normally do. There are a lot of people, here at Imperial Plaza, that I have become friends with and I know they appreciate having fresh fish that is free. Of course I keep the best stuff (puppy drum, speckled trout, shark, etc.) and I will not clean the fish for them. A few people did not accept the fish because I would not clean it for them.

It was great going out of Virginia Beach from Ruddie’s Inlet because I haven’t taken that trip in a couple of years or so. Most of the time the boat goes out over the ship wrecks, a long, long way from shore, out in the Atlantic but this time the boat went out over the tunnel. For those of you that do not know, this is the tunnel that runs under the Chesterpeak Bay from Virginia Beach to the Eastern Shore. Fish just love this area and dolphin hangout there because of that fact.

While fishing, a lady about six feet from me, caught a small shark but didn’t want it. I could not let good meat go to waste so took it from her and cooked it the next day. Shark meat is good eating although many people turn their nose up at it. They really don’t know what they are missing. Shark is good eating without bones; good boneless white meat. The only bone in a shark is the spine down to the majority of the tail.

Finally, I want to mention the Imperial Plaza activity that I have just come from (Saturday). I want to commend the people that put the Father’s Day Celebration together. It was just grand and it was FREE. We had a live band (BBB [Better Blues Band]), plenty of food and drink, tables under the trees and most of the Imperial Plaza Staff was there to serve. A person couldn’t ask for anything more although, as usual, there were people that had to complain. Personally, I could not see anything to complain about. Even the weather was nice. Again…..Thank You, Imperial Plaza Staff. Job well done.

It’s Coming

First let me say, a week in advance, “Happy Father’s Day”, to all the fathers out there. May your day be wonderful and full of family activities or just plain restful. I prefer restful over anything. Like mothers, fathers need a day of plain rest and recuperation. It’s coming.

Another event that is coming is the Brookdale Imperial Plaza fishing trip this coming Thursday. We are supposed to fish out of Virginia Beach and, I hope it’s like when I have previously fished out of Virginia Beach aboard Miss Virginia, we go to the old ship wrecks. There I have caught plenty of one of my favorite fish, Black Bass. But, there may be a problem on our doorstep. Rains should be coming from the west and arrive here tonight and tomorrow. I am hoping it will be far enough out to sea that it will not cause rough seas. I can take it but I don’t know about the older people that want to go. Can you say sea sickness? Either way it may be, it should be a good day for fishing. The most fish I have ever caught was during a rain storm and during a roller coaster boat ride. I have always said, “the fish are already wet”.

Richmond is still going full speed getting ready for the bike races in September when bike racers, from all over the world, will be here in force. I can hardly wait and I hope the weather will be good. I will be on the sidelines as well as watch on TV. I wish this had happened in my younger years so that I may tryout the route like during the Grand Prix. For those of you that don’t know, before and after the European portions of a Grand Prix, for a small fee you may take your vehicle onto the track and drive the course. I’ve done it and, although you aren’t going at a breakneck pace, you get to see what the drivers see and you let your mind take you into Fantasy Land.

And, while everything depends on the weather, let me throw this into the pot. Let’s not forget that we are now into Hurricane Season and we, here in Virginia, are long overdue for a strong one to hit. I have always kept my eye on the weather and have tried to do an amateur prediction. I have done quite well but I can’t predict the far future weather. Plus, the one thing to keep in mind, is that weather have a habit to do what is unexpected. Can you say it’s not an exact science? So far, here in Virginia, we have had very good weather and good weather is expected for the future. Of course, there must be occasional bad weather (rain, wind, lightning, etc.) but we all should expect this. Everyday can’t be warm and sunny because severe drought will follow. I feel for California as well as the wet weather in Texas, Colorado, and other states that have flooded with too much rain. Virginians have nothing to gripe about nor make undue wishes for. The weather have been perfect.

Keep in mind, this is only the tiniest of tiny of the things that are coming. There is more to do at Imperial Plaza as well as the surrounding areas. I advise everyone to take advantage of it. That Is why I retired, gave up my house and moved to Imperial Plaza. Now I don’t have enough time for everything to do. Let me add one more thing that I am contemplating. I got a message from one of my writers site that the novelist James Patterson will give a course on writing, for a small fee of course. I am seriously thinking about taking the course. I have had a couple of classroom courses but I think James Patterson will be out of this world.

Now, take care and be true to yourself and remember this…..”Be kind to your neighbors because you’ll never know when you may need them”….also, “Insure your words are soft and sweet because you’ll never know when you’ll have to eat them”.Electrical Storm, Arizona