Job Description for Five-Year-Old

... necessary small talk about what's going on with her... then a pretty simple but accurate description of what I've been doing...

My new job is observing fishers catching big tuna and swordfish out in the Gulf of Mexico. I will report to the federal government agency which sets the regulations for the fishery. My reports will help determine future regulations for the species of fish effected by this fishery.

I will be stationed in Houma, Louisiana, near New Orleans, through June. It is a rural area sort of like southern Maryland where you are, but there are more swamps, and bayous, and alligators. This is an interesting area. There are descendants of french settlers, so there are family and place names in french, and the speaking accents of the locals are different from what you hear other places.

Back on Terra Firma

I'm back on land, very aware of my underappreciated usually low risk life...

As it's all double top secret confidential stuff, I have no new pix from my latest adventure. But imagine lots of big amazingly powerful and intensely colorful fish (bright blues, purples, and yellows) manhandled on a slippery deck, big deep indigo waves, clear horizons (moving in all unpredictable directions, sea spray, rich red meat, and decks awash in bright red blood... and me staggering around on a pitching deck in white shrimp boats, bright orange Grundens foulie bottoms and blood splattered old white college t-shirt with a tape measure and buck knife - and of course regulation PFD and survival packet. Up at 5 for a haul?

I had an accomodating and helpful crew that could use some multi-species sensitivity training, and it's amazing that there can be so little fresh air 100 miles off shore in the Gulf, but overall it was a hearty experience. I just need to screw up my courage to do it all again in a week or so.

Maybe it was just something I ate? More fluids next time.

E