Since the horrendous October 7 attack on Israel, I have suffered nightmares and had thoughts of myself in the position of those border kibbutzim fending off the Hamas attackers. My emotional reaction is nothing compared to what the families of those lost and taken hostage are experiencing, yet I continue to be haunted by the horror of what happened there. I called many of my friends both Jewish and gentile to talk through my feelings. I read many news analyses and opinion pieces in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. I visited a nondenominational house of worship. And finally, I made a call to my local rabbi for a lunch date. Yet these attempts to allay my fears were not sufficient to calm the waters. So, I resorted to what I have relied upon over the last 35 years for relaxation and repose: I went fishing. Captain Charlie out of Jupiter Point inlet was available midweek and I booked an early meet at his marina. I looked forward to a morning on the Loxahatchee River in an open boat, the sun rising from the marshland of western central Florida. The wind was from the northwest as we pushed through the Intercoastal to the river. We awaited the bridge rising after a Brightline train crossed, traveling south from Orlando. Our bird companions –osprey and an occasional eagle –trailed us as we sped west; the cloud cover creating shadows along the river route. There was an occasional tarpon rolling close to the mangroves, but they eluded my bait. I was intent on catching snook, who were sunning themselves on the surface of the 78-degree water. The morning was all fishing and no catching. Captain Charlie, intending to soften the blow that I was not connecting with any fish and would likely be going home emptyhanded said, “Fish have heads and tails—nothing in between.” I guess he meant they were brainless. Nevertheless, I was calm and, for a while, the tense thoughts had receded. As we waited at the bridge on our return a train sped by and I sensed I was back to reality. My thoughts turned to planning another break– a trip to Bray’s Island in South Carolina for redfish.
