(Part of my Gone Fishing story)
Friday, 17 November 2017
Day 1326 of my current nomadic adventure (thankfully not on a tuna boat!)
1900 hours Mountain Standard Time (Pacific Time plus one hour)
Apache Junction, Arizona
It’s been 20 years since my little fishing trip. 2 decades. Wow! Who’s feeling old?
I was (obviously) reading the diary again as I was putting it up on Finding Marshall, probably for the first time in, well, I have no idea. Since I originally moved it from handwritten notes to a computer document 2 decades ago I would think.
Some of what I wrote didn’t ring a bell, while much of it did. I actually remembered some things differently than I had written it down. Goes to show you how unreliable your memory can be.
I also find it rather amusing that I talk a little (in both the diary and the faxes) about working out on the ship (I really didn’t do that much) and wanting to join a gym when I get back home. 1) I despise gyms so that really never worked out for me (pun intended). 2) After 7 weeks at sea I was the heaviest weight of my life. A good 60 pounds heavier than I am now. I looked like the Michelin Man. No joke. It seems like all I did was eat on the ship. So to talk about working out and joining the gym cracks me up today.
It’s a little bizarre to read this diary, 20 years later. It offers a glimpse into younger Marshall’s thoughts. Oh, if I could only impart current Marshall’s wisdom and life experience on the 25 year old Marshall. How things would be different. But that’s what we all say, right?
I seemed so young and naive back them. This is to be expected, I guess. So much has happened in the intervening 2 decades. Things that I never would have imagined in a million years. I am a completely different person than I was when I made this trip. I have different thoughts on life. Different expectations. Different idea. But, it’s definitely interesting reliving this part of my life through (finally) publishing this diary of my experience in the South Pacific.
What do I think of the overall experience, reflecting back on it? I’m really glad I did it. It’s one of those life adventures that not many people get to experience. I’m sure that, in one way or another, it helped shape the future Marshall. Having said that, I’m really glad I only did one “tour” out to sea. Not really a good fit for me.
I’ll wrap this up by quickly summing up how 1997 ended for me (post fishing trip). After having a week longish vacation on Maui with my girlfriend, I returned to work at the Robinson Helicopter factory. I was promoted to be one of only two technical representatives for the entire company (which was, and still is to my knowledge, the world’s largest manufacturer of helicopters by volume). I was married in December 1997, so 20 years ago next month (as of this writing).
Yeah, all of this seems like several lifetimes ago…
Previous Entry – 4 September 1997
Finding Marshall 