Unplugged for a while

[Riley Smith]

Life at the old house on the shore is unplugged. There is no TV and no internet. I'm sure some would find that quaint, and possibly even unthinkable for a few, but there is a reason. It allows you to hear the REAL world and understand the quiet. The thunder far off across the water that awakened me this morning, and the great horned owl grouching about things in general. And so life isn't just a background sound track to some electronic feed, but the tiny little things that almost go unnoticed in today's world. The drip of dew off the eves and the lap of the water on shore after a boat passes. The wind in the oaks or the call of the terns as they dive.
We've been unplugged for a length, watching the water and soaking in the solitude. Our own universe. And as always, there is the water outside to give you measure of the day. This morning it was viciously hot and humid and a storm was brewing over in Alabama. I couldn't do that, so I took a nap during the heat of the day. Before I did, we got buzzed by two low-level C-130s. We saw them make the turn out near Horn Island and head almost directly at us. Of course that brought all our attention and a lot of scrambling for a better view. The lead plane even altered course 100yds to head directly at us, gawking and waving on the porch. It was cool to the max.
 I awoke to a considerably cooler world and an impending rain. The raindrops sooth with their sound because you can hear it and not some Moog laying tracks down. And it brought a measure of relief to the sun-roasted grass panting on the lawns. The wind came up for a bit while the storm rained itself out, and as a peace offering, there was a rainbow afterward and a nice sunset, as if the storm KNEW this was the South and acting up will more be outlasted than tolerated, and amends MUST be made.
Elijah, who loves to fish even more than I, caught several small sharks and all manner of fish. Small sharks, as this estuary is a nursery; one black-tipped and several bull sharks. Here the fish bite at night during the hot time and the lights on the pier are tailor-made for attracting all manner of sea creatures. And almost every one of them are hungry.
The tides have waxed and waned and the view is always the same and but never repeated either. We saw the flow of the tide as it started in a few hours ago, appearing as a strange ragged line upon the water. Those lines on the water mean things and it takes a long time to understand WHAT they mean. An unusual wave pattern brings with it curiosity. What caused THAT?
So too are the sounds. The slap of the mullet or the raucous call of the great blue heron when disturbed from his place. I know the fish too, the run of the mullet when the big predators are here, sounding like far-off waves across the water, or the slap as they jump. Once, twice, thrice. 
I took my grandson Jude down yesterday and baited his Snoopy rod with a bit of shrimp. He caught three miniature sail cats and was thrilled and I admired their tiny jauntiness. About the size of your finger! My daughter relieved me on the last sail cat (Gaff-top Catfish) as he sunk the hook into my finger. Got blood he did but it's all in being an adult. They caught two decent white trout too, so it was a great time for that little man.
Sorry for the syntax. It was written over a period of several days and I was lazy and didn't edit.

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Dolphin on the flats


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We were thrilled as the C-130 roared overhead!

[Doug SC]

I don't mind your sinning with the syntax. I enjoy how you connect with the written word. Being unplugged is why I hunt, fish, kayak, canoe, sail, and camp. It's the shadow of a shell on the beach, the wet beath of a dolphin at night, a nervous doe scenting the air, the cosmos sans the artificial lights, the many small and large things that would otherwise be missed. I appreciate you taking us along with you.

[Wolverine]

Can't agree more. The 3 oldest grandsons ate visiting. 12, 14, & 17. The 12 y.o. doesnt own a cellphone, the other 2 do. We went on an overnight sail and the 2 were on their phones the whole time. Today we went to Shackelford Banks. I made sure the phones left in the truck. We had a great time collecting shells, swimming, and hiking the island.

[Riley Smith]

We've hosted several teen boys on fishing expeditions and they get PLENTY of exercise running up and down the bluff and up and down the pier. One of the kids is..ahem.....a bit sheltered and he started screaming in the night when he scared up a great blue heron and it started squawking like some pterodactyl. We were rolling on the porch watching it.

[Doug SC]

I am fairly certain those herons are using their worst cursing squawks when they take off. I'm just glad I can't do the translation.

[Riley Smith]

They're an excellent alarm system. Poor kid thought he was going to get eaten! Conversely, there was an alligator hanging around which is sort of unusual, because just like the sharks, you know they're there but rarely see them on the actual beachfront. You know that friend from up north who wants to go to the beach and run and jump in the water?
 Well, we don't do that here LOL!!!

[Ed]

The battle for the minds of our youth is real.  I am a retired high school English teacher who fought the fight against cell phones in the classroom as well as their everyday interactions with society. Now with AI it's infinitely worse. We are advocating against too much electronic use with our granddaughter, 12 years old whose parents gave her her own phone and laptop, who will text me from upstairs rather than talk to me face to face, she is always staring at her phone or computer.  The pastor of our church is doing a series exposing, with numerous biblical references each sermon, using a great book called, The Anxious Generation, just how badly we as a society are ignoring the harm that unhindered/unsupervised social media use can cause with Gen Z. Becky and I make it a point to avoid staring at our phones like droids.