Sarley: Mea culpa, I have no defense for my actions on Lake Superior
I was shaken when I read the following email that I recently received. It hit me so hard that I read it over and over again.
“Hi Steve, Your column, along with Jim O’Donnell’s, is my favorite in the Daily Herald. But I must tell you how upset I was reading your Lake Superior adventure the past 2 weeks.
“Where did we put the life jackets?
“Are you kidding me? Lake Superior and you’re not sure where the life jackets are? You admit to be in an undersized boat. You continue fishing even when you admit you should be heading in?
“You sound like a drunk college kid with no idea how to act on a great lake!
“But what upset me the most was how cavalier you described your actions instead of explaining to your readers how dumb you were and to NEVER, EVER do anything as remotely stupid as what you did.
“I will continue to read your excellent and informative column, but please don’t ask me to get in a boat with you. Gary Colabuono.”
Thank you for the wake-up call, Gary. I have no defense for my actions. I am embarrassed and humiliated by what I wrote. I have no defense and that is the bottom line.
While on the Lake Superior outing, the change in weather turned a pleasurable fishing outing into what could have been a truly tragic happening. Every time we go out on the water, we are putting ourselves at some risk. I should have never tried to tempt fate at all. I did a stupid thing and should have never done it.
Years ago, I moved into a new house and noticed a neighbor had a nice fishing boat in his garage. I struck up a conversation with him and hoped he’d invite me to go fishing. He soon did and we made a date to hit the Illinois River at Utica.
The weather forecast was iffy. We launched and began to pull bottom bouncers. The weather turned nasty and the skies looked horrible in the distance. I suggested that we head in for the day, but the boater turned me down.
Lightning crackled in the sky. I said we needed to head in, but the boater said the lightning was too far off in the distance.
The next flashes of lightning seemed a block away. Our fishing lines were now being pulled up into the air by the power of static electricity. That’s a sign that you are about to get fried by a bolt of electricity. He still didn’t want to stop fishing.
The boater finally gave up when the tornado sirens lining the banks signaled that we were in the middle of a full-blown disaster. We beached the boat and looked for safety. The next day’s newspapers described the wreckage that had ripped the Starved Rock area apart.
We waited out the storm and loaded our boat and headed home. I remember not saying a word to my neighbor on the whole ride home. We parked the boat in his garage and I crossed the street to my house without saying a word to him. I had faced death and was scared.
I really never talked to the guy again, which made it difficult for my wife, but I was never so mad at anyone in my life. My silence continued for the next 20-plus years.
The tables turned and now I am the villain of the story. I am a hypocrite.
I guess I needed to learn a lesson, and I thank Gary Colabuono for giving it to me. You have taught me a lesson and made me a better person.
• Daily Herald Outdoors columnist Steve Sarley can be reached at sarfishing@yahoo.com.