Jolly Mon Rocks The Dock at Ocean Isle Fishing Center

It's Jolly Mon Tournament Time, and this year Capt. Brant added a new 

Fishing Tournament category for the youngest ones.  

Thanks to Rickey Beck and Chris Campbell, we have candid photos 

...and Grandson Brayden 

can show you what a Big Time he had 

at the 

"Rock The Dock" Tournament! 

He caught a Flounder within the first few minutes  - the competition was keen!

Capt. Brant weighed the many fish caught by excited and Very Serious youngsters, just like in an adult SKA Fishing Tournament.  

The young anglers had to walk the length of the dock and present their fish to the Weighmaster - and then hear the news and go back to fishing.  

They had one hour to fish, and every child fished every minute of that hour in 95 degree heat and blazing sun.  

There were No Quitters!

At the Jolly Mon Captain's Meeting on Friday night, all the little anglers received their awards - 

 along with the thundering applause of the crowd.

Champs!

Are you ready for THIS?

Catch a Poagie out of a tank without using your hands. 

Brayden didn't catch the Poagie with his teeth, but did the next best thing:

Is this kid  a winner, or what?

A Miracle Plays Out On The Ocean

While Captain Brant has continued his journey back to healthy wholeness, I've been very busy rearranging my life priorities.  As we all so painfully learned with Brant's accident, life can change forever in the span of one short second.  

In the blink of an eye.

When one escapes the worst imaginable outcome of an accident, the first thought that  becomes foremost in your mind is that life is short, and life is precious.  

We tend to ignore that crucial fact during our daily routines.

I don't know which group of people on Earth appreciates their surroundings and relationships the most...but I do know that certain folks spend more time on that than I have.  Perhaps it is impossible to be constantly aware of the miracles around you and still be able to do the laundry and shop for groceries, but I will be doing a better job of that now.  I'm honing my "quiet" skills so I can get rid of all the unnecessary distractions in my life - so that I can re-learn how to acknowledge and appreciate the daily miracles all around me. 

Like this one:

Yesterday, September 27, 2012 a very common activity took place out on the Ocean.  Some guys went fishing...but see, it was actually one of those miracles I'm talking about...

Two months and three days after falling 42 feet to a concrete driveway, Captain Brant levered himself onto a friend's boat, braced himself in a chair, and with the help of his brother Barrett and some good friends, left the dock at dawn and went to the Blue Waters of the Gulf Stream for a beautiful day of fishing. 

He took a picture of the sunrise and posted it on the OIFC website: 

After returning to the dock, he posted this report about the trip.

He may not have reeled in a fish, but he was back on the Ocean.  

Now THAT is a miracle to appreciate.

The Universe of Pain

As Brant continues his journey back from the edge of the abyss, I can see the veneer of a deeper wisdom beginning to develop on his face and body.   

Once you have been transferred (very unwillingly) out of your own comfortable existence and into the Universe of Pain, you don't get out of there very easily.  There are, oddly enough, no road maps.  As you roam around looking for a way out, you become familiar with some of the Planets that revolve around the main Pain Planet, and the different atmospheres and types of Pain they have to offer.

There is Broken Bone Planet, Damaged Nerve Planet, Surgical Pain Planet, Bruise Planet, Torn Ligament Planet, Scraped Skin Planet, and more.  Each Planet in the Universe of Pain has its own exotic Pain Levels, but thankfully Brant wasn't given a tour of all of them. 

It is a scary trip, and those that successfully navigate through that Universe always arrive back in their own Universe different than when they left it.  

They are wiser. 

 They are stronger.  

Pain is no longer a shadow Demon, because they have met him face to face.

 They arrive back in their own Universe with a new depth to their soul.

The Price of all that new knowledge is steep.
While you are deeply unable to care for yourself, others who love you step in to take over.  While you are touring the Universe of Pain,
 they are there to soothe in whatever manner it takes.

I watched my Dad do this when my Mom was completely debilitated by heart failure brought on by too many pain meds and the ensuing pneumonia.  In a nutshell, 
he took over her life for her, and did the best he could to bring her relief and rehabilitation.  He lived at the hospital for months.  
Months.

After Brant's accident, his wife did the same thing.  He was helpless, and although in a good hospital, the nursing staff could only jump so fast.  Amy did what was needed: she transferred her life over to the hospital, and did her best to get him what he needed,
 when he needed it.  We sat with her, and him, 
through surgery after surgery, and tried to help him 
fight his way through the Universe of Pain.  

In the end, the fight ends where it began.  With the wounded person.  In the end, Brant took over the navigation through those mysterious waters on his own, and freed Amy up to 
return home to their children.  

Brant took back the helm from the Dragon that roams the Universe of Pain, realizing in the end that the Dragon had almost gained control.  That oily beast had sneaked in when no one was looking, and put his talons right into Brant's wrist and arm, 
but we caught him.

Captain Brant kicked him overboard, 
charted a course back to his own Universe, and throttled up, steering with his good arm.  

He docked at the Rehabilitation Center at New Hanover three days ago, and we are amazed at the difference in him.  Yesterday, he had his first shower, and daughter Caroline regaled us with stories about the "real car" they had there to teach you how to get in and out with the big old injuries her Daddy has.

Last night,  she was in her own bed, Mommy was in hers, and Brayden was roaring around the house with Fin (remember Fin?), and they were all settling back into their routines. 

Life is returning to a new normal, and we will take it.

All the damage will be healed - both psychological and physical, in Brant and in his family.  Life will be different for them in the upcoming months, but everything will smooth out
into a new rhythm.

Brant and all of the family cannot thank you enough for your prayers and support, the gifts of food, flowers, balloons, cards, and phone calls.  

It has been an amazing outpouring of love and respect that helped light the buoys that led out of the Universe of Pain...

 and back home again.

Thank you all, so very, very much.

The Best Medicine of All

Brant is continuing to recover, one careful step at a time.  

Amy has taken him for a couple of spins out in the Fresh Air...

For a man who spends most of his waking hours on or around the ocean, 

you know how good that felt!

And besides the great work of the surgeons, nurses, Amy and the hospital staff, he has been strengthened immeasurably by the outpouring of love and support from all of you.

 But the Sweetest, Best Medicine of All?

I don't think I need to say another word!

A Time For Thanks

For those of you who don't already know, my husband's oldest son, Capt. Brant McMullan, had a horrific accident on the afternoon of July 24th.  While installing a new billboard wrap with his brother, he fell about 45 feet from the top of the billboard down to a cement pad.  He was badly injured but survived the fall, which broke multiple bones and scraped off a lot of skin - but thankfully did not result in injuries to his internal organs.

He has already undergone a long surgery by the meticulous Dr. Neil MacIntyre to rebuild his crushed hip socket and pelvic damage, and tomorrow will undergo surgery to put his arm back together properly.  He delighted us all by moving his toes on command yesterday morning, so he WILL walk again.  He may not run marathons, but he'll be back on that boat and Tournament Fishing before too long.  He and the rest of  Team OIFC have their SKA reputation to defend, after all!

Brant is very strong, and very determined to make the fastest recovery possible and resume his position at the helm of the Ocean Isle Fishing Center.  He doesn't "sit" very well, and although he is in terrific pain, he is already planning how to get himself up 12 feet of stairs so he can get back to work.

For all of you who have sent messages of support and love during these past three days,

 Brant and all of our Family cannot Thank You enough.

Your prayers, emails, and phone calls are a fountain of strength; a sweet net of support for Brant and all of us, and helps so much to hold him and all of us up through this time.

Updates on his recovery will be posted on the Fishing Center site under the Fishing Reports.

Please keep those positive thoughts and prayers coming!

I would be remiss if I did not send a huge Thanks to The Big Guy up above,  who undoubtedly (as a family member suggested) provided Brant with a Guardian Angel who took the fall barely ahead of him and cushioned it enough to save his life.

It is truly a Time For Thanks. 

Puppy Fin Settles In...

As promised, here is an update on Puppy Fin's new life with the McMullans and his difficult task of bonding with reigning Top Dog, Doppler.

All is well.  Doppler got fairly ferocious with little Fin when he got too close to him a couple of days after arriving, and Fin now has all that straight.  To the Hilt.  To the point where he travels around the perimeter of the room to get past Doppler.  And Fin's new buddy?

Little Boy Brayden, his new favorite brother.

Which is just about the way we figured it would settle out.

This is going to be a fabulous friendship.

Photo courtesy of his Daddy, Capt. Brant at Ocean Isle Fishing Center  where, incidentally, young Brayden was supposed to be helping with the Sunday morning shift.

All in good time.