People are interesting. I am not sure you could find many people who would disagree with this socially acceptable standard. Even more interesting is life when you are traveling. Right now I am sitting in the Houston International Airport. I have coffee on my right, the floor beneath me and homework awaiting on a different screen. Though I should be working on a final paper for school I can not get something off of my mind: First impressions.
I am on my way home from New Orleans where I went on my first deep sea fishing trip. Now to many of you deep-sea fishing may sound lame/boring/crazy. Even more so may be the idea of traveling half way across the country and 50 miles into the Gulf of Mexico smack dab in the middle of finals week. Perhaps not the best choice but as a wise man once said, what is done is done.
I have to admit that fishing does not particularly appeal to me. However, before all of you die-hard-hook-wranglers get your line in a knot, let me tell you about Fletch. Oh what it is to describe Fletch, Adam Fletcher to be sure. The esteemed and sure handed First Mate of our vessel, the Phoenix, a boat that has seen many a trip to sea. Fletch described his life in four words; drinking, fighting, fishing and one last “F-word” that I will leave up the imagination of readers.
Now Fletch was at first impressions a rough, tattooed (a marlin piercing the moon of all things…), smoking, leather skinned and tank top wearing man. I was not sure of Fletch at first but boating 50 miles into open water lets you get to know someone. Though rough for sure, Fletch cared more for the people on that boat than one could imagine. More specifically he cared for and taught patiently the two 11 year old boys on the boat. Never was there a more patient first mate than Fletch. When faced with two boys trying to grab anything wet and finned within reach, Fletch calmly controlled the tone of the boat ride. We all knew that if Fletch was in control we were alright. WE all knew that if Fletch said we would catch a fish, we could. He had an almost magical ability to know what fish was coming up on your line before you could even see it. He could practically charm the fish on to our lines from 200 ft below.
Now to my point, as I sit here watching people get ripped off by airport priced Starbucks and various nicknacks. People are much more than they seem. I know that at this point you may be thinking, “Wow, this guy is a genius,” but give me a moment to explain. How often do we meet and write people off because of how the look, talk or move. How are we to ever know what is in a man’s heart. As I sat on the airplane just now I thought about all of the people around me. I have been many places in many different parts of the world and I can tell you that there are always, and I mean always, deeper issues of the heart than one might think.
There truly is a God who created, loves and cares for us. Within this understanding I find pause and patience to bear through life with people. How much more is it to ask one more question, spend one more moment and take one more step to meet and walk with people? Or is saving 1 min by moving on worth it…
As I sit here I think of Fletch. He was a good man, a rough man, but a good man. I wish I could have spent more time getting to know him. Here at the point of deep relations do we find out where people hurt, where they need love. So in the end of this rambled blog that I hope to edit a bit more I will say that to love deeply we must live deeply (fishing pun). We must get to know and dive into relationships with those around us. You do not catch big fish in shallow water. If you want to make the big memories and love deeply, you must go to deeper waters.
No more fish puns for now.
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