The salmon were running. My brother had caught a 25 lb king salmon – his largest salmon ever – not a month before. But when he called to invite me to join him on his boat, it was less about catching fish than catching up.
He’d been to my wife’s graveside. And he came to her memorial service. He knew I had a tough time then saying goodbye to my life-long traveling companion of 50 years. And in the five months that have since followed he also knew I was struggling.
Not a week before our fishing outing, my doctor had given me a clean bill of health at my annual checkup. But he was concerned about my broken heart.
So was my brother.
It rained out there. There were rough sections of water that tossed his light craft about. He was used to it but I had to hang on.
‘Hanging on’ is in part the focus of the book “Adventures in Education: One Teacher’s True Story” by Stephen T. Doyle. He observes that there is a “link between human connection and healing.”
Doyle references the critically and popularly acclaimed book by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk entitled “The Body Keeps the Score.” The ability to “process the reality of what has happened” – to ‘hang on’ – happens within “the context of relationships… The role of those relationships is to provide physical and emotional safety.”
We caught fish. My brother let me reel in all three. Only one was a keeper.
As the evening drew on, the rain dissipated and then stopped altogether, giving way to wispy clouds, blue sky, and a beautiful setting sun.
“I needed this,” I said aloud as I looked over the stern, drinking in the serenity of sea and sky.
My brother didn’t say anything. But I bet he was smiling.
