This is my post for #freewriters 2870 prompt her dream hosted by @mariannewest
Yesterday, while on the other side of the river, my husband's boat motor broke down. He had to leave his bait holder, which was on our side of the river. This morning he took my boat to get his bait holder. I was glad he took it because even though I start my motor here in the yard, it is better for them to be run in the river. He was amazed at how fast it went and how well it ran. But said he does not know if he could fish it. His boat is wide with plenty of room, mine is small and not as stable as his.
When he got back home, he worked on his boat motor and found the problem. The kill switch wire was no good, he replaced the entire wire and now it starts. He told me that yesterday was his last day of trout fishing for this year, there are six days left. He said everything you do not want to go wrong while trout fishing happened yesterday. He sets his bait traps in the morning before fishing and leaves them an hour, then runs them to get the bait. In the hour, the offshore line was all dead. He lost the most hooks he has ever lost to sharks. He was coming in early because of a thunderstorm building, the motor would not start, and he was caught in the thunderstorm while trying to get to the closest boat ramp by using the trolling motor. He had to wait in the thunderstorm, while my sister drove the thirty miles to get him, he was only two miles across the river, but to get there, you have to drive ten miles south to the only bridge, then 20 miles back to the north once you cross the river. I will see if he goes back now that his motor is back running.
We had two of our friends funerals last week and heard another fisherman we knew has passed. John moved to North Carolina after Florida passed the ban on net fishing so he could still fish the way he loved to fish. It was a tragic accident at sea. I do not want to write what happened to him, it was bad.
I was telling my sister today that I thought I would be able to fish up to my dying day. I never thought my body would fail me the way it has. I told her that I never thought of fishing, as hard as it was, as a job because I loved what I was doing.
Many years ago, we lost a friend at sea. They were in the Gulf Stream, anchored, and he fell overboard, it was at night. The only thing I will say about it is that they had gutted their fish, and big creatures were under the boat.
When I die, I wanted people to say she died fishing, it was her dream job. I am sure Stephen, John, and Kim felt this way, too.
Now, when I die, they can no longer say she died doing her dream job, it will be something like she died pulling weeds. photos are mine