by Steve “Tuna” Tornovish
“Hey, how’s it going?”
“Ah, you know… Just living the dream…”
Living the dream. Don’t ask me why, but that trite phrase just grates on my nerves. The delivery of this ditty has to be done with complete deadpan in order to maximize the ironic impact. I’m pretty sure that the first place I ever heard this used was in the wild and wacky world of law enforcement. The optimum context was when greeting an officer who had just completed a 12-hour shift, only to learn that he was now being held for a four-hour traffic detail of some sort. Yeah, just living the dream.
This phrase seemed to be appropriate for what the world, the country, the state, and the island have been experiencing these past few weeks. Politicians are being shot at, literally instead of figuratively. World War III seems to be warming up in the bullpen. Want some more? Here ya go: how about a global computer outage that messes up little things like air travel, medical procedures, and all the way down to Mass. State Inspection stations (I’m guessing on that last one). You know, just living the dream…
But wait—there’s more! How about an environmental disaster that threatens so much of what’s great about our beautiful little island? One wind turbine blade breaks up (out of the 19 currently in place, out of the 62 total scheduled to be installed) and the entire south shore of the island is shut down. Poof—gone! Yeah, just living the dream.
So what was the cherry on top of all of our wonderful Nantucket news this week? Benzo, a brindle colored bug-eyed terrier of some sort, had gone missing. His family was crushed. As a dog lover, I felt their pain. I also sensed that the missing Benzo had the potential to be the straw that broke the camel’s back in terms of overwhelmingly bad news. Where’s Mr. Rogers when you need him? Come back home, Fred Rogers: this dream we’re living is too much right about now.
Nathan Skerritt is a fantastic Nantucket beach fisher. I met him last year at the awards ceremony for the August Blues Fishing Tournament (have you signed up yet? Let’s go!). Nate’s Instagram account is Strangeagent007, and it’s a must follow. There’s no one funnier than Nathan on our local beach fishing scene, and his fishing videos are always the best. Please keep that in mind when you read this post concerning the environmental mess that Nathan allowed me to share here:
“Went fishing at first light this morning…highly recommended to wear shoes instead of enjoy my feet in the sand…my salvation…my “break from “reality”…. Thanks to this Vineyard Wind Farm crisis…we are left to watch our piece of heaven get slapped with a brutal littering…one that we have zero clue about true future repercussions…..my sand…my fish… my sunrises…what have we done….”
Exactly, Nate: what have we done? Boy, I sure hope that those island residents who shilled for this Vineyard Wind project are enjoying the thirty pieces of silver they were paid. Grrrrrr…
I knew that I had a column to write and a deadline fast approaching. I just couldn’t seem to get started—the fog of negativity had me completely enveloped. So this morning I did what I often do when the black cloud tries to darken my day: I grabbed some fishing gear and headed to Great Point. I said a little prayer that I would get what I needed to change my attitude back to one of gratitude. Per usual, God did not disappoint.
As I drove up the outside edge of the peninsula, I saw a couple of guys fishing. I watched each fisher’s technique as I slowly rolled up the eastern shore. The first guy looked squared away: his casting technique was strong. Do I know him? Nah, he’s not from around here. He’s got a tackle bag on his shoulder, a true giveaway that someone is both a serious fisher and from places other than Nantucket. What about this next guy? Nope, look at the way he removes his right hand from the rod as he casts. I call it the magic wand wave. Casting like that is like running your car on half of the cylinders— so much casting power is wasted!
How about this guy in the black Jeep? He’s got a tournament shirt on from the Inshore Classic. He might know what’s up, I figured. I watched as he casted his lure. Much like me, this guy was built for power, not speed. He generated a great rod whip with his cast—yeah, that’s someone who puts his time in. Alas, I didn’t recognize the man, so I kept on rolling.
The wind had gone back out of the southeast, so I decided to roll straight to the “South Parking Lot.” I love this area and frequently fish it with my clients. To my dismay, I saw a pile of garbage as I walked to the water. Four empty packs of large Eagle Claw hooks, most likely used for bait fishing. Some sandwich wrappers. An empty purple can of Downeast blackberry hard cider. And, worst of all, about 50 yards of heavy-duty braided fishing line, strewn on the ground. Ugh: this mess was left by a fellow fisher. C’mon, people, be better than this! I picked up the junk and tossed it into the back of my truck.
This fishing spot had me casting directly into the wind, throwing my lure towards the silhouette of Nantucket’s center. Birds were working along the shore and there was a ton of “rain bait,” tiny little minnows, that jumped when my lure passed by them. It looked like things were lining up for a good morning.
I heard a vehicle approaching… it was the black Jeep that I had passed by earlier. The driver exited and headed my way with a couple of fishing rods in hand. We waved to each other as he approached. I told him that I’d only taken a few casts before he showed up. He nodded and got busy, throwing a unique yellow lure with a dressed single hook. I watched his lure as he retrieved it, figuring a hungry bluefish was going to smash it. Nope, didn’t happen.
After about 15 minutes of fruitless casting, we introduced ourselves. My new acquaintance was RK Russell. RK is one of those people who is sent to brighten things up. I immediately felt better talking with him. I asked him about the unique yellow lure he was throwing.
“Oh, I made that. I got into lure making when I gave up partying,” he laughed. RK told me it really wasn’t that hard to make. Now it was my turn to laugh. His lure was beautifully crafted, and creating it was far beyond any abilities that I might possess.
We talked for about as many minutes as we fished. RK told me that he had first been brought to Nantucket when he was eight months old. It had always been a dream of his to live on the island. That dream became a reality after he retired from running his printing business about six years ago.
“I do some bartending here and there, at the Angler’s Club and at the Brotherhood. I spend most of my free time in my wood shop.” It was clear that RK loves his new life here on-island. He and I discussed our shared excitement for the upcoming August Blues tournament. The prospect of catching a monster gator bluefish and winning the Tedy Bruschi Brew-Fish prize has us both ready to fish hard!
RK and I exchanged contact information and fishing lures. He gave me a beautiful black version of the lure he had been throwing, perfect for striper fishing at night. I gave him one of the cool new Haws River Tackle StingSilver metal lures that I think will crush the false albacore and bonito. What RK may not have known was that he gave me renewed energy to push through the negative fog. I’m grateful, my friend!
When I got home, I learned that the elusive Benzo had been found and reunited with his family. That joyous news was the result of a four-day effort by this amazing community. Well done, all!
Yes, the day is much brighter now. No, all of the world / country / island problems have not miraculously vanished. But maybe we can all benefit from the lesson of Benzo and w ork together to a better end. Then, just maybe, we will truly be living the dream.
Steve “Tuna” Tornovish is a Nantucket native who has spent his life fishing from the beaches of his beloved island. Experience the joy of fishing with his Nantucket Island Fishing Adventures: stevetuna.com
EDITORS NOTE: The Town of Nantucket reminds the public:
- DO NOT put any debris from the Vineyard Wind turbine in your home garbage.
- DO NOT bring debris from the Vineyard Wind turbine to the landfill.
