Hi Everyone..If you're new to our community, Welcome!!..Enjoy your stay here..Post your questions, and share your thoughts, and get to know us..We are a freindly, helpful gang here, so pull up a chair, and make yourselves at home

We are having a nasty heat wave this week, and Ive for the most part stayed in the house with the air on for the past couple of days..I went clamming on Thursday, and the heat got to me quick..I was sweating so much that the salt from the salt water was getting in my eyes and burning, so I decided that I had better quit, and go in, so I did..I did ok for the short time I spent there, and I finally feel like I am gaining some strength..Clamming is very hard physical work, and it really beats me up pretty bad, but I enjoy going, and I am grateful that, even though I havent got the physical capacity that I once had, I am still able to go..It is hard for me to imagine not being able to go

We havent had any rain for about three weeks, and the grass isnt growing much, and that is fine with me..Im thinking about bringing my conch pots home tomorrow, cuz that is over till the fall now..It will take three trips to get them all..It wasnt that good this year..I did alot better last summer

We had a little parkie chat on Yahoo Messenger this morning, and I got to meet some people, that no doubt, those of you that have been around here for a while, probably know..And of course our own Harley and Chasmo were there as well..Its always nice to chat with other parkies to compare notes, and learn about how others are living, and dealing with this disease..I always get some much needed inspiration in the process

How was your week?

Hi Steve,

We're sharing that miserable heat up here as well. It too left me pretty wiped. I don't have AC in my car and barely at home so I deal with it the best I can. To add insult to injury, my neighbor across the street had some house sitters there. She went away, and they partied endlessly nearly every night until someone else called the cops. I was going to, but they beat me to it. There's nothing like having a poor nights sleep due to PD only to have other things eat up any sleep that you do get.

On the positive side, I started another class online. This one's in Java, which looks pretty interesting. I'm not a programmer so this part will be frustrating for me. The good news is that this looks like it's the last of my programming classes, and now I get to go on to something a bit more interesting. I can't wait for another 5 weeks to fly by so I can get on to the next course.

I also bought a new bike on Saturday (yesterday). I plan on riding every weekend if I can. I went out for a short ride when I got home. It was quite hot, but I went back to the cycle store where I bought the bike. It's only 2 miles from my house, but I have a hill, which seemed like a mountain to climb over to get there. My legs were burning, and my arms were shaking by the time I reached the store. I then followed the Merrimack River home, which is a longer, but flatter ride. I probably put in about 6 miles round trip. Not bad for a first ride in nearly 8 years.

John

Steve,

I thought I'd tell you how much I enjoy your weekly check-in. I am a fisherman's daughter, west coast trawler, and deck-handed for him growing up. How I love the sea, the smell at the wharf. I'm into sailing, that is a sou'western hat I'm wearing on my profile pic. I really enjoy fishing and I try to get in at least one fishing trip in when I travel. I have gone Marlin fishing in Costa Rica and Bari Navidad in Mexico. In Florida we cast for our bait before heading out. I should say the captain got the bait using a net and slung it around like a rodeo rope, It was something to see and a dying art.

What coast are you on? How does the chat work on this site is it voice or typing back and forth? Sounds like fun.

John, that is excellent that you got yourself a bike and how well you did. Good on ya.

Bonnie

Very cool...I 'm sure you two could trade a few good stories for us to enjoy.

paula

Good to hear that you share a love for the ocean and fishing!..I like on the East Coast in Rhode Island..If you click on my profile you can take a look at my picture album, that consists of myself, and my boat, the boat that I had to sell a year and a half ago due to pd

I started fishing in 1975 handraking for hard clams, and in 1978 I went to work for my Uncle on his 85' west coast style tuna seiner..I worked for him for three seasons, and began trawling for flounder in 1978 in the off season out of a 20' boat towing a skiff trawl in the bay here



This is the sister ship to my Uncles boat..This was taken in Long Island Sound



This was me, in the middle with the hard hat on, in the seine skiff tagging bluefin tunas and releasing them..We had to wear a hard hat because the seine was hauled up in the powerblock overhead in the boom, and if a tuna was gilled in the net and came down on you, it would definately put you on your knees..This picture was taken two days before my 27th birthday in 1980 off North Carolina..The guy on the right of me, with the Sou'wester on..we called him "Soupy"..(dont know how he got that name)..he was a wayward kid who grew up in a home with very dysfunctional parents, and my Uncle took him under his wing when he was a teenager, and he was probably the senior most member of the crew..He went on to Alaska and today he is the Capt of a huge Fishing Trawler



1980 was my last season tuna fishing..My daughter was born in July of 1980 and I decided that I would fish out in the bay here so I could be home every night..This is the 26' Trawler I fished out of for about 12 years, untill it rolled over and sunk with me on it in July of 1996, the day God gave me a second chance at life






In 1988 I worked on this boat as mate untill 1994 when I went back to Trawling again..She is the 100' Wando River, and was a freighter in South America, hauling lumber before she became an Ocean Clam Dredger..We used to put on 1500 bushels of either Mahogany Clams, or Surf Clams..This picture was taken in Atlantic City New Jersey



This is the 47' Trawler I fished out of from 1996-2005..I sold her in 2006 after I had ripped her down to the bare hull and completely rebuilt her in 2004..In the middle of the project which took 8 months, I was dx with pd..We fished the remainder of the '04 season, and the '05 season when it became too much for me to continue on..My daughter deckhanded one summer with me

If you go to the Neurotalk forums page, and scroll down to the bottom of the page you will see the Chat room users, and click on Join Chat Now!, or you can IM me on Yahoo at stevedafishman2000

Steve,

I enjoyed your fishing pics. and hearing about your history, I'll get back to you when I find a couple of pictures, still unpacking. My father is a wooden boat builder and built three of his own. Th first one he built blew up when his brother stepped on the gas line. That was before he was married to my mother, the second was named after my sister and I (Gailin). My middle name is Gail. The last one a beauty called the Tonquin named after the famous Tonquin a shipwreck that has not been found. The anchor was found a couple of years ago. My Dad had a Maritime Museum in Tofino for quite a few years.


Bonnie

Steve...dig those Elvis sideburns! Nice... (Thank ya...thank ya verrrry much...)

Just dealing with the heat here in our neck of the woods. It's been in the upper 90's, low 100's for almost 2 months straight now. Mostly it's been a dry heat, but occasionally we have gotten a thunderstorm once or twice. At least without the humidity you can still get outside and do things.

Gearing up for the YOPN in Atlanta next month. (Atlanta in August...yay!) then a weeks rest, then off to Oahu for a much needed vacation. Can't wait to get into the ocean. It's so therapeutic.

Otherwise, nothing too exciting. Just trying to survive gas prices, the economy, and watching all the poor people out here who are losing houses left and right. So sad...

Have a good week and fight the good fight!

makes me jealous, UK is going through a bit of a miserable summer.

Not like this time last year though when Evesham was flooded:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/herefordandworc..._gallery.shtml

but not great nonetheless.

Anyway, on a positive note I am getting rid of both kids for 2 weeks, one to Turkey, one to Wales, leaving the house to my wife and myself alone. Happy days.

And the weather is scheduled to get better this week, so fingers crossed.

Take care,
Neil.

That was my hair Todd..I was a rebel without a cause