Wednesday, July 28, 1999
12:04 AM, in the living room

Something amazing just happened to me just now, but i'll talk about that in a minute.

Yesterday (as of 4 minutes ago) started slowly. I talked about most of it in yesterday's entry. Well I forgot to mention some things though. Anyway we went to Biloxi to find out how much it would cost to fish in the open sea. $250... and we had $150 left. So instead we went to an IHOP. 3 eggs, 3 pancakes and a 12-oz T-bone steak for $6.99... I didn't miss deep-sea fishing one bit. About that time I got a lovely idea... I remembered seeing the two crabs that Mom and Dad caught in the morning and I thought that getting a crab trap would be a good idea. Dad thought so too, and decided on the way home we'd get one. We drove to Ocean Springs then, and saw the works of a man named Walter Anderson. He's an incredible painter. I decided to order one of his paintings, a gorgeous black cat licking milk from a bowl, but it cost $100 so I'll have a bit of saving up to do. But somewhere between the museum and the road the rents got into an argument, yelled at Julie, and suddenly got quiet and wouldn't talk to anyone. Well Uncle Bill and I picked a place to eat, and wouldn't you know, they served Po-Boys. The waitress there was EXCEEDINGLY cute. I think this trip is making me more confident with women. When I get back home I'm going to Books-A-Million and asking that girl out. Well on the way to Wal-Mart to get the traps, we ran into a thrift store because, well.. Julie just lives cheap stuff. We finally made it to Wal-Mart and got the traps, then headed back.

When I got home, I really really wanted to fish. Badly. I begged Dad to give me a rod then took some shrimp and went out to the dock. When everyone (except Julie, who was on the phone with her bf) saw the speed that I caight the first fish in, the were astonished. They came out, sat around, caught nothing, and went back to the cabin about thirty minutes after they came out. About 10 minutes later I started talking to God. Just casual talk, little things. About 15 minutes later I caught another fish. I went back to talking, and eventually asked Him "What is it like being God and putting up with man?" The answer came in the form of a fish that put up a good right, but I eventually brought him in. "Okay," I thought, "Fishers of men... real cute." After putting the fish in the bucket with the other two, I cast out my rod and pondered the lesson I had learned. The lesson? No matter how much you struggle, no matter how hard the fight, God will always bring you in at the end...

Well about 10 minutes later I was tired of fishing and decided to let God take over. I said to Him: "Okay God, I'm going to reel this in and I'm going to cast it where You want me to, and I'm letting You take control on this one." Right as I began reeling in I hit something that jerked back. I relled it in, and it was a fourth fish, and the entire piece of shrimp was left. I rehooked it, looked out over the bay, and the fish in the bucket croaked. I shrugged it off and continuted looking. When I got back to the same place I heard another croak. I said "Is this the place?" All four fish croaked. Not wanting to incur the Lord's wrath, I said a prayer, asking Him to guide my hook and to anoint the bait, and cast out with all the power of Heaven behind me. Ten seconds later I got such a tug that it jerked the reel off. I grabbed the fallen reel and furiously reeled in. After about a minute the line slacked, and I took advantage of the time to put the reel back on the rod and secured it. I thought that the fish had broken the line, so I started to reel back in slowly, not knowing that the fish was preparing for a power turn. The result was a jerk that made my entire shoulder sting. It still hurts. For two minutes I fought that fish with all the strength I had, and I almost gave up. I remembered the message God had given me, and at that time I knew that fish was a sign as well as a gift... I just had to earn it. Eventually I brought it out of the water and I saw that it was a Gaff-Topsail Catfish, a type that had a poisonous barb in top of it's body that also had an expensive price for the meat. Marveling in the feat I had just accomplished I decided to carry it to the house praising His name the whole way, with the catfish still on the line becuase I was not in the mood for a night under detox at the hospital as well as a tetinus shot, and placed (well actually, I slung it, that sucker was heavy) it in a large bucket. I woke Dad up, and he took a picture and cleaned the fish and slung it's head into the water. The four croakers I caught I put back into the water and gave thanks to God for giving them to me. Any hopeless bums out there reading this? Screw you, miracles do happen.

9:43 PM, on the road.

Well this morning started out good. We went out to check the crab traps and I just glanced out because I was something move, and the sight made my mouth water: Three blue crabs that were easily the size of my hand that were fighting over the catfish head from last night. I grabbed the net, slid slowly into the water, sneaked up behind the quarreling crabs, and pushed the net down as fast I could. The result: three blue crab and a catfish head. Staring at my prize I decided that that catfish had proved more of a blessing that just a good meal, so we put the head into one of the traps and put the crabs in a bucket. I took the net and went hunting along the bank, and caught six more within the next hour. I noticed the tide was coming in so I decided to put on a ton of sunscreen, strip down to my boxers, and lay on the partially submerged lower dock. I lay out there for about 30 minutes (10 on my back, flip, 10 on my stomach, flip, 10 more on my back) and then Dad checked the trabs with his bare hands and hearing his scream will be one of the funniest moments of the trip, if not my life. See there was a large crab in the trap at that time, and he thought one of dad's fingers looked pretty tasty so he not only pinched it, causing Dad to scream out, but he also shoved it right into his mouth, causing Dad to (pardon the term) scream like a girl. Now keep in mind this man has done such things as dress a 2 inch gash on his leg that was caused by an exacto knife with duct tape and a Hardee's napkin and refuse going to the hospital, so naturally it was nothing short of hilarious watching Dad scramble around, whipping around a crab that was snacking on his finger, and stabbing it with his keys. dad took a special moment to savor dumping that crustacian into boiling water later on.

Well this is our last night here, and I can't wait to get home. I can't wait to talk to my friends again, and to see Molly, and to ask out that bookstore girl so I can refer to her by her actual name. Well overall it's been a great trip, we caught 23 fish and 21 crabs, I made a stripper blush, I flirted with an oriental goddess, got a head-to-toe sunburn (I am going to have a rough time sleeping tonight), got to see Dad showing enough pain to the point that I almost fell off the dock from laughing so hard, and (thanks to the Almighty) caught a catfish the size of my arm. But right now, I'm going to go catch a crab/fish feast.

11:15, in the bed

That meal was phenominal. Boiled crab, hush puppies, hash browns, fried catfish, atlantic croaker, trout, and bream... oh it was stupendous. After dinner we all sat out on the deck (except Julie, who had been asleep since 9) and talked. Dad wnet downstairs later to take a shower and mother decided to wash the dishes, leaving Uncle Bill and myself behind to talk. He asked me how the South Park boycott was going. I told him that it went national last I had heard. He said that if he'd seen the movie, that he'd probably be behind me, but then he told me that he doesn't think it's right to leep people away from it. I told him that he wouldn't understand unless he either read my article on it or saw the movie, and that I don't ever want a kid to be able to see it. He said it was R-rated and that kids can't see it. I knew he was wrong though, because I remembered sneaking into R-rated flicks all the time when I was young. I replied that there is still a line between decency and indecency, and when he asked me who drew the line I shut up immediately. If he doesn't know that than it's his problem. I stood up and left, and started writing this.

Well tomorrow it going to be rough. We're leaving pretty early, and it's a 6-hour trip... combine that with a nagging family and a sunburn and you're in for a wild ride. I hope it goes smoothly. I wonder how many e-mails I have, and I wonder it that CD's gotten there yet. Well I'm going to attempt to sleep now, I hope I can.