11.09.26 Finally caught a few fish...

 

     While I've been focused on the incoming flood tides I switched it up and went with the old reliable outgoing. The idea of finding tailing redfish hasn't happened so I went in search of those areas where the water exits the flats after the high tide, and it paid off. 

     No doubt bait and predator fish move out of the deeper waters to feed but they've been hard to find, and when I have, the window is quick as the water moves in which adds depth and gives the fish an opportunity to spread out. When the water ebbs it moves quickly out of the flats, into the feeder creeks, and out into the bigger water. So, to me, that window is small.

     Above is a picture from an hour or so into the dropping tide. The main river current, top arrow, is moving from left to right, The middle arrow is water leaving a feeder creek hugging an oyster bar on its way out. And the bottom is slower paced water just receding on the dropping tide. 

     Depending on the moon phase the tides can range from 6-1/2 to a 9-1/2 feet on high to a -1 foot on low. And when it moves, it moves quick, so being at the right place at the right time is important. I made some blind casts around the fastest moving water and found a spotted seatrout set up outside. 

      They say when you find one you usually will find a bunch but it was a one and done for me. I did see what I thought was a redfish as it blew out as I inched my way towards the creeks exit. 

     As the time went on and the water really started to drop I decided to take a long walk back to a spot I scouted the other day on the low tide. I never saw any tailing, or even big wakes from patrolling fish, but the birds were up, or sitting on the water, at each place where the feeder creeks emptied. 

     I've learned while on foot you have to have a good plan in place. On a low, or lower tide, you can walk amongst the mud and shells, but then the water isn't there, and if it is it way off color, as the bottom of the barrel is getting dragged out with the tide. On higher water, if the wind isn't shitting things up, is much better, and yesterday it was almost clear. 

      I fished into the water getting pulled out and the below picture gives a good shot at what I'm talking about. If you can, you can see the darker and muddy water below the surface. No doubt there's bait in there, but I just don't know if fish would set up in that.

     So I worked my fly in and around that and found fish #2 of the day. It was a southern flounder that was sitting off an oyster bar that I had my way out onto. These are cousins to the summer

flounder I'm used to back in New Jersey. Down here they're Paralichthys lethostigma, where back home the summer flounder, or fluke are Paralichthys dentatus. I guess winter flounder, or pseudopleuronectus americanus, would be second or third cousins.

      Back home I was used to finding the sand bars and the cuts in between them. Down here, in areas where's there's no sand, there's oyster bars, and not the kind you eat and drink at. I have seen them termed oyster reefs. Free swimming oyster larva attach themselves to both living oysters and dead shells. They can go on to form mounds in the deeper water or along the shore dead shells become tightly packed with the ebb and flood of the water and become a permanent structure.

       From what I have seen the feeder creeks are usually lined with ouster shells on one side, with mud and grass on the other. At times the depth and force from the creeks can extend the tightly packed shells out into larger creeks or the main river. 

      Reading the structure and how the water moves around it is part of fishing, especially when learning new water. While it would be easier to be in a skiff and just running the shore and fishing in, doing it on foot brings additional challenges. There's a small window that you have to open. You have to figure out where and when you can get to a spot depending on the tide and if the fish might be there. I would say fishing the outgoing on this beat would be best two hours after high to two hours before low. 

     Several times I've stood there and contemplated if it's worth getting wet to get through deeper water to get to higher ground, which would open me up to a long stretch of fishy water. And then there's the unknown missteps when you don't fully know a beat. Does it get deeper? Is there a big drop off? And I going to step into pluff mud up to my waist? 

     I'm tempted to repeat what I did yesterday today. I learned some things and would do some things differently. I would spend less time at spot X and more at another. One thing I can take away is that along the shore some creeks are higher than others, and empty out quicker. I watched the birds hit an exiting creek to my left first, then hit one two creeks down, before heading back up to one at a higher elevation. Having scouted those oyster reefs at low tide will enable me to get out there even on higher water knowing that by the time I leave it'll be an easy retreat. 

      And in the bummer category for the day. Last night I saw a post on Facebook. It was from Captain Brian Vaughn of Off the Hook Fishing Charters. He's one of most popular and experienced guides down here in Hilton Head. Well he's looking to add a Captain to his crew. 

     If I was only; younger, in better shape, had a running boat, and knew the fishery down here....I'd be a perfect addition. Charter operations in tourist destinations call for a jack-of-all-trades kind of guide. I've seen the photos from Captain Vaughn and no doubt he's on them, on all of the species around the calendar year. But it's not all fly fishing. Many of the clients are kids and 

families out to catch fish, by any means necessary. So knowledge of the bait and artificial game is a must. But boy does that guy find them good. Redfish, jacks, cobia, sharks, and tarpon. His portfolio of catches, and happy clients, is very impressive. I don't think my catches of yesterday would make paying customers happy. 

     Theresa said, "You should reach out to him", but I explained that's out of my league, which kind of bummed me out. But it what it is. Maybe in a year or two I'll be in a different place, and will jump at the opportunity if it arises again. So today I'll run out and trudge through the mud and shells for a bit before yet another interview, this one more in my wheelhouse. This ones for a mobile mental health crisis position out of Beaufort. That's not going to help me learn the fishery but it will help pay the bills. 

11.07.26 Still thinking about the Fall Run...

     The fall was always a favorite time of mine. Besides the season that leads up to my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, it was the time of the big southernly migration of striped bass as they made their way past New Jersey. When I lived in Monmouth County it was a 24-hour a day obsession. Trying to figure out where the bait and bass were, and putting in a lot of time trying to find them, was a part of my daily life. The passion was still there when I moved to Mercer County, but the distance eliminated the chances to run down and check things out, or jump when I got a call from a friend. 

     But like everything else in the world, even the fall runs have changed, as have the striped bass. Yes, we always had big fish, or so it seemed first, followed by the rest of the biomass, which were "normal" in size and behavior. And then just as winter came, and our fingers would freeze off as we fished, the micros would arrive around the first of the year, and then it would be over until the spring. 

     The striped bass are in, and in a way, and have been for some time. But those slot fish, or 28-31 inches, and in and around that size, just aren't there in the numbers we used to see. And while the bunker still swims around the New York Bight, people in the know the numbers have been decimated by the reduction fleet. As my friend Paul always said, "No bait, no bass". 

     While there are flurries of bass hitting the beach, it has morphed into a boat fishery. Common these days are consistent catches of bass from 40 to 55 inches, which used to be a unicorn, and not the norm. And one of the problems with just big fish around is that that's what people are catching, and then either properly handling and releasing them, or not. It's big fish being caught on big baits, with big hooks, on big boats. The fish are hauled up from the bottom taken on shads or metal, or dragged in after failing to a large multi-treble hooked plug. The hot thing this year are those glide baits, where some are cheap knock-offs, loaded with shitty undersized hooks that make removal more difficult, and swallowing them much more easy. 

     And the snag and droppers are still snagging and dropping. Yes, some are still using illegal snagging treble hooks, some are playing by the rules, others are bending them like cheap hooks. 

     The law calls for using circle hooks when using live baits. Single circle hooks. But after the laws were written guys found a way to skirt the intended purpose. The AMSFC put out the 

above in 2021, soon after the boards decision. In it, we see words like "hooks", and "A circle hook..." which, depending on who's reading it, or looking to skirt the intended purpose, can interpret it to their liking. So now we see snagging set-ups with two, or three, circle hooks. 

      And while a perfect photo, not like the one above, can show proper technique and well being for the fish, so many are left fatigued, damaged, or near death. And then there's the fly rodders, from the "fly or die" crowd to the "Grab the fly rod" part timers. We who fly fish never harm striped bass, and are never part of the F, or catch and release mortality. I'm kidding, we kill them, inadvertently, as well. 

     So then there's the anglers fishing from the beach. I have always enjoyed the hunt, from picking where I'd start a day, how long I'd hang in an area, to where I'd end up. I never had a big group of friends and wasn't part of the fishing cell phone network, so it was always more luck then anything else. Sometimes I would hear they had them in Lavalette the day before, and would go the next day, only to find guys up to their necks on the sand bar casting big plugs out a quarter mile. Yes, they had fish, but not fly rod fish. There's a difference. 

     The new generation of anglers may not know what we used to have, and I only caught the tail of end it. Even during the spring and fall we used to have fish that came, and stayed for a bit, before moving north or south. When the fish were at 8th Avenue, they were there for a day, or days, or even a week, not like today, where blitzes last 45 minutes and they're gone. I blame a lot of that on the changing beach structure, or lack of it, from the constant dredging and beach replenishment, which ruined places that hold bait and bass. It's now a north to south highway along the Jersey Shore, and they just pop in from time to time. 

     So in a time when a fall run lasted the fall, at least on the beach, where you had a shot of finding and catching them for an entire season, it's now just pure luck to have a few good days, or at least one day. The chances of that happening are less these days, with things like where the fish are, what the weather is doing, and where you are and what you're doing. Today guys at work, especially those who work around computers, keep the tabs on the beach cams open, ready to run if they can, if the action starts to build. And sadly, that's not the way it used to be. 

     I enjoyed the hunt, and running around, sometimes it worked, many times it didn't. I have friends, like Leif or Richie, who just stayed put and fished the same waters each morning, knowing that one day the stars would align, and they usually did, at some point. But that takes dedication, no ADHD running through your brain, with a lot of time put in. But the rewards were great, only if someone behind you didn't call a friend, or 100 of them.

     So writing this from the Lowcountry I can only speculate what's going on, and is going to happen, back in New Jersey. Soon those big fish will move on, and the, "There's a ton of fish up north", will only be a hunch, like it alway was. The big questions will be, is there plenty of bait in the back that hasn't come out yet, and will there be any "normal" sized fish to chase them around. 

     A lot of the success of the timing has to do with the weather. We've already had our big nor' easters for the fall and now guys are waiting for the temperatures to drop. And this might be the week. The water is still warm, in the 60's, so things aren't moving yet. Yesterday my son Sean sent me this video of what he woke up to yesterday.

He just moved into his new first place near the Manasquan Inlet and I'm sure the landlords didn't tell them that their street is one of the first to flood out when the weather goes sideways. But events like that don't really come into play with the fall run, other then ruin a nice day out fishing. 

     This week the winds will be, "West is best", bringing the bait into the beach, before it comes out of the north which will drop air and water temps. Maybe that'll be the impetus to get things going. That's not to say there's no fish around outside of the blitzes everyone wants to get in on.

     I got a text from Leif with a perfect fly rod bass he got fishing, to me, some boring looking water. Each fall he and I would come together and have at least one good day fishing alongside each other. If I remember correctly most of those times where we had them good were up on The Hook, where it required a long walk and time committed to those spots.

     The above is some video I shot when we fished together on November 9th, 2023. The best part, besides landing a bunch, was that you could get away from the tightly packed spin crowd, and go and find your own fish, which at times, were at our feet. You can read about that day, HERE.

      I'm sure today the ocean will be chocked full of boats, running through bunker schools, all adding to the shit show we have come to see as normal behavior. There will be the usual pit stops along the beach where there's more guys waiting and watching like Shepards rather than with lines in the water. Soon the cell phones will be blowing up and the guys will begin the chase from Sandy Hook down to Island Bech State Park. And tommorrow's reports will be like, "They had them up north", for like 20 minutes. But whatever they had yesterday, or even 2 hours ago, will be history, as the fish, these days, move with lightning speed down the shore. So, images like below, of a guy just going out, finding his own fish, tossing a fly and catching, will be a thing of the past. 

11.06.26 Hit it at low and high...

     Hit the river at low tide. It was more of a scouting trip than anything else. I must have walked four miles through the grass, mud, and oyster shells. It was good if for nothing else that I was able to scout the structure and get to places I wasn't able to all the times I went for the flood tide. 

     They say that in October and November fishing switches up to a better low than high tide fishery. Redfish, and sea trout, start to go into their winter holds and behaviors. They congregate at the creek mouths and deeper water, although they still venture into the skinny water if the conditions are right. 

     The times that I have gone I'm usually perched on the banks, above, looking for fish cruising the drop offs. I can now see why tailing fish aren't seen as there's a multi-foot difference between where I'm standing and the bowl that sits in front of me. I think redfish tail in the grass and on the flats, but cruise when the water is deeper, rooting for crabs in the mud and pinning shrimp and baitfish against the drop offs. 

     There's a tremendous amount of water that pushes in on a flood tide to fill in those acres of flats that I see as I drive around. Those feeder creeks and lower elevation flats fill in first, and dry up last. On a high tide you could easily wind up over head if you don't know the lay of the land before you step off. 

     These spots have to be highways where forage and predator fish travel. I have to think that on the outgoing tides, at some point, the big fish just sit outside where the creeks meet the main river and just feast on what's getting pulled out. But I rarely ever see birds working or signs that fish have found what they are staged up for. 

     I know one day I'll be in the right place at the right time but in the meantime I still go and learn, which I do every time. One thing I think I've deducted from my time is that redfish don't root amongst the oyster fields and beds, they do that in the mud and grass. And the fiddlers spend their time in the muddy environments as well. I see that as the bottom changes and from shells to mud, always finding an army of crabs in retreat around the soft bottoms, rather than one that is tightly packed and razor sharp.

     And after I was done it was time to hit The Fly Barn. On the way there my truck started to blink and cough. For a bit she's been acting out of sorts, a combination of something electrical and something fuel/EVAP related. But this time it was electrical.

      This is the Sammy, the Suburban, I'm talking about because if it was Scarlet, the Silverado, you would see vomit on the cluster. Seeing that would have made me nauseous. My thinking has been to park the Suburban at The Fly Barn, get her straight, and use the Silverado in the meantime. Rotating them will lessen the usage and mileage on each of them, which hopefully will extend their lives. As of now Samantha is 22 years old and her sister Scarlet is 16. 

      Each of them will have their purpose and today Scarlet had her first visit to the county dump. While we don't have a northeast fall season, there is a fall down here as the temperatures drop. A lot of the leaves fall and the amount of acorns that cover the ground from all of the Southern Live Oak trees is staggering, and at times, could be ankle breaking. 

     Scar comes with a 5 foot 8 inch bed, standard with a crew cab, while extended cab trucks have the 6 foot 5 inch beds. To me the first looks tiny, the later normal, and a long bed way too long. But better to have her rather then filling up the back of the Suburban. 

     On my way home I stopped back in to see if there was anything going on with the tide change. The wind had changed through the day from the southeast, then just east, before going just south after I left. Winds from the south bring the warmer temperatures and humidity with it. It'll stay south before it comes out of the north starting Saturday, which will drop air and water temps. I'm sure the striper fishermen in New Jersey are welcoming the change. 

     They say if you find the bait you'll find the fish. Well I found the bait, those fiddler crabs, but most of them were skating around the advancing water and then retreating as I walked along the edge. They are a hoot to watch, almost like watching pedestrian traffic in a large city from the vantage point of a high rise building. 

     I didn't last that long in the afternoon but it's always worth my while. I have to say my right Achilles is still killing me and whatever I did alters the way I walk. It's almost like I have foot drop. It's Friday, two days away from basketball with the boys on Sunday. I don't know if I'm going to make it this week. That's what happens when you try to do 25-year old things in a 58-year old body. 

11.05.26 Now it's a party....

 

     Spent the day at The Fly Barn which was just good for my soul. I got to drive the new ride up there and she, she's s female of course, fits in there. Theresa asked me, "How's the truck?", and I told her it was great, it's just that with every mile I drove it I was just waiting for lights on the dash or the engine to just blow up. The thing is if this was just a couple thousand dollar old beater I would just drive it into the ground. But this one is nice, has really high miles, an unknown history, and wasn't cheap, at least compared to my previous battle wagon purchasing history. 

     And the worst part was to get this done I went with their financing, which is basically predatory lending, so I have payments to make, which I haven't had, I think, since I was in my early 30's. But I did my due diligence in researching her history, took her to a mechanic to once over, and had them fix the fixes that she needed. So, I guess we're good. Today will be her first trip to the dump. 

     Before I purchased her I spent about 1,000 hours on Facebook Marketplace and the internet looking for an older Chevy Silverado 4x4. I searched from Bradenton, Florida, where my Mom lives, to St. Augustine, were the kids live, to New Jersey, just in case there was one around when we were back in Cape May. From time to time I would see one in a used car lot, of course never a real dealership for me, and would stop and check it out. Much to Theresa's, "What are you doing now?", response. 

     As I drove through Ridgeland yesterday I came across a similar truck in a corner lot that always has something on wheels for sale. What it was was a 2011 Silverado 4x4 with 168,000 miles. This one had far less miles, 39,000 actually, but is mileage alone a difference maker?

     I took a peek inside and it was well worn with a cracked dash, not pretty in any means. Outside wasn't much better, and those rear fender flares are just horrible. Besides this one is an extended cab where mine is a crew cab.

     The asking price was $11,250 which was higher than the $10,800 I paid for, Scarlet, named after the Grateful Dead song, "Scarlet Begonias". So that made me feel better as I drove away. The thing about the south, people hold onto trucks, they mostly never have rust, and 4x4's aren't easy to come by as they just don't have the salt and snow like we have in the Northeast. Ok, enough with all that, I'll report back when a cylinder explodes through the hood. 

     Last weekend I took Theresa for a ride, a long one, following a post on Facebook to a place called, The Broken Bread, which was allegedly close to The Fly Barn. I asked Siri for help and she 

took us, I guess, the shortest route was there. It was a short drive on the pavement before a miles long journey on a long dirt road. Theresa and I have watched enough 20/20's and Dateline's and I had to reassure her we were going for sourdough bread, I swear. 

      We criss-crossed the back country roads looking and even passed the place because we kinda came in the back way, but eventually we found it. We got there at 11 am and the bread drop opened at at 9, and we had two left to choose from. There was also a fresh egg drop, but we passed on that.

     So who really cares about our romantic rides, me buying more stupid things, and job searches and the like? Do people who read this really care about what I ate and that I twisted my ankle playing basketball? I thought this was about fly fishing? Well, it is, trust me. All of this, these posts of the journey where life meets fishing, will hopefully morph into just fly fishing one day. And that will be fly fishing the Lowcountry, from boots and boat, to still hitting the Delaware River in the spring and Jersey Shore for part of the fall, to those great weeks up on the Vineyard. But it's a process to get there, and until I am, you have to suffer through the journey. Hey, somebody out there besides my family 

reads this shit because 534,792 of the 3,000,000+ who read this chose to read it last month, which was mostly about heading back to New Jersey, attending weddings, and closing up Cape May. I'm sure most of you just tune in to see what train wreck happens next. 

     Soooo..... Why did I write about going to a farm stand? As we drove, and were waiting for the guys from the movie Deliverance to stop us as we said to each other, "What is out here and who would live here?". Well, that's why I wrote it. A week ago I sent an email to a hunting lodge down here in the Lowcountry. 

     It's called Almost Heaven Plantation, and it sits on 2,000 acres, which ironically butts up to that trailer and farm stand where we were the other day. I emailed asking if they had any job opportunities, unbeknownst where it was located. Now, I'm no hunter, not a hunting guide, not really a perfect dog owner, don't know shit about quails and ducks, but maybe there's something out there that I could do. I'm a decent hand, I can sprinkle feed on the fowl and pick up branches. So sign me up.

     The place is pretty sick. It reminds me of the West Branch Angler Resort on the West Branch of the Delaware River. The WBA was a place I stayed a bunch of times and guided out of from time to time when they needed an extra boat on the river. Almost Heaven has lodging, 

a restaurant, bar, pro shop, and, fishing. They have a 85-acre pond that's chock full of huge largemouth bass and crappie. So I guess if guests are interested in a cast and blast experience, or just want to throw a line in between hunts here's a place to do it. 

     They have a lake and boat house and I'm sure they offer guided trips on the lake. So I circled back this morning and sent over my resume. With all they offer at the plantation surely there is something I, or maybe Luke and I,  can help out with.

       The best part is it's not all that far from The Fly Barn, where soon, I hope, I'd be able to crash in between two long days working in the woods. Maybe they'll hire me and Luke as a pair. You know, hunting guy and guide dog, although we'd have to do some training before they let us out there. We currently do our best work together on the couch or on the carpet.

     Luke is a Springer Spaniel, which is kind of a bird dog I think, and him going back to the South is kind of full circle for him. He was a rescue from Georgia. He and his brother were found cowering in the woods in a place where bird dogs in the making are tested. They take them out, fire off some rounds, and if they past the test they go on to train, or they're shot and left for dead, or just let loose, and left for dead. 

     We adopted him on January 6th, 2019 and he's been a good dog ever since. We have tested his anxiety disorder in more ways then one and he always been there and comes back for more. All he wants to do is be around, and be loved. Pretty simple. I'd love to give him a haircut and bring him to a place where he can run and chase birds around. It must be in his DNA because he points from time to time. Plus, chasing birds are better than chasing the alligators here at Sun City. 

     But if there was somewhere I'd rather be today it would be in Brooklyn sitting across from my daughter Juliet. Todays the big 3-0 and I've had the pleasure of knowing her since she was 12 years old. 

I'm so proud of the woman that she has become. My only regret is not being able to spend more time with her. I might have to jump on a plane one weekend for a quick visit, even if it's for the day. That's one drawback of living hundreds miles away, you lose the opportunity for those impromptu visits, so you have to make the effort, which would always be worth it. HBD Jules♡ 

11.04.26 Big day at the polls, and at the used car lot...

     I almost talked myself into not voting today. It wasn't that I'm not a voter, it's just that I didn't feel like I had a good feel of all the different races and candidates down here in Jasper County, South Carolina. 

     When I was on the computer early yesterday I saw the above image and I said I had to go either way. Voting is a freedom, that comes with American citizenship, one that so many have fought for, it's our right, and our duty, to our country, and each other. 

     Lucky for us Sun City is a big enough community so there's multiple places inside to cast your vote. What's nice about that is, while it's public, it's kind of protected from the outside, no signs, no posters, no jokers, to make you feel uncomfortable. Just go and throw the lever, well there's no levers anymore, at least where I've been voting. 

     Before we went I did my best to check out the different candidates that were running. The big races were for the Senate and Congress seats, and for Governor. In addition there were county and local positions up for grabs as well. Surprisingly there's the option to just vote straight down a party line, which I found out a lot of people do, which I find too easy, and in a way alarming. I'm an independent, and would cast a vote for a Democrat, Republican, or other, freely and without explanation, or a fight.

     For me, just voting Red or Blue, would be like always taking the side of your kid, or the cop, or any person, solely based on their affiliation, or blood, or even gender, or race. I never liked the two-party system. It's too easy to hide behind an ideal which doesn't allow for civilized conversation and debate, and individual thinking. It's all or none, winner takes all. 

     I tried to watch the results reporting into last night but found all of the different telecasts swaying one way or the other, as usual. There wasn't much reporting to be found, yes they gave you the numbers, but there was a palpable bias when the polls closed and the winners were predicted. Some relished in the results, like "they" had won. In the end it looks like the citizens of America have spoken, and what some say, was a message sent to the sitting President, Donald Trump. 

     As with past elections I'm never excited when landslide victories occur. Since I'm a middle of the road thinker, going to the extreme Right, like it did, and then to the extreme Left, which it did last night, isn't a good thing. It's an over-correction to where things stand at the moment, in both politics and the lives of the Americans they serve. I always say, and it kind of relates to everything, where things were, and where things are now, would be better if they were a mix of both, and would exist somewhere in the middle. To me, things were always better back in the day, maybe I'm just getting old and can't adjust to change. I still prefer riding in firetrucks with open cabs, ironworkers walking the steel without having to tie off every two feet, and handwriting nursing notes rather then staring at a computer screen the entire shift. And I think we've lost something by not using cash anymore, so you see where I'm stuck. 

     South Carolina made the news in a big way as Democrat Annie Andrews defeated Republican Darline Graham, the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham. She, a rehabilitation counselor, without political experience, was appointed to her brother's seat after he died in July of this year. Regardless of how you vote, name recognition and party line, shouldn't get your vote, on either side of the aisle. But then again, it's your vote, and that's why we vote. The Palmetto State will be sending a Democrat to the Senate after a 30-year run of Republican representation. I see back in Jersey Jeff Van Drew conceded his seat to Democrat Zack Mallot. I wonder if Cape May County has shifted to the Left or is this just an anti-Trump reaction. 

     So I'm always left wondering if these big swing elections are a true representation of political shifts or a peoples reaction to who's currently in office and how the state of the lives of American's are going at the moment. Like, is this how we really feel in our gut, or is this a knee-jerk reaction, which will only change during the next election cycle. And then there's always those who say, on both sides, "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it". 

     And these polarizing swings just prove to me how divided we are as a people and a Country. Basically, we really don't like each other. We can't even have civilized conversations, or debates, with each other about our similarities and differences. We live our lives putting ourselves, and like minded, and looking people first, and before others. Yes, we fake it, and maybe even at times do something noble, or heroic, for someone different than us, but really we don't care. We want ours, and want what we want when we want it. 

      While people may blame President Trump, or the Republicans, for everything that is wrong with the United States at the moment, we really show that we are all short and small minded. Were things better with President Biden or Obama in office? Or with President Bush? Remember, we have short, well long  term memory loss, when it comes to remembering how things were. These guys used to be criticized and gutted everyday during their terms in office, but looking back, everything was just peachy. Will this "Rout", as The New York Times puts it, and a Presidential election in 2028, which will probably go to the Democrat's, going to change us as individuals and as a Country? I think not. I will just be a pendulum swing from one extreme to the other. Remember,  "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it". 

     Of all the stupidness, and pretty witty stuff, that will be out there I have to tip my hat to Charlotte, North Carolina realtor Nakia Womack. She wins for the best and first out of the gate.

     Remember when all those famous people who claimed they were leaving the United States if Donald Trump won the Presidency? Well, above is her take after yesterday's election. Well played Nakia. And, to be honest, although not a fan of Rosie O'Donnell, she did put her promise into action, she actually moved to Ireland after the election. Give props to where they are due. She put her money where her mouth was. But she will no doubt be back.

     For me, who's not a fan of politics, the real threat is germinating right in front of our eyes, and we're too stupid to see it. It's not the social issues, not the gas prices, not the over development, not the wars and meddling in things around the world, it's what we are creating that is going to hurt us the most. Well, the truth is, there's no more creating it, we did it, and now it running on it's own and will destroy us worse then any power a political party could hold.

     And what is that? The threat from China or Russia? No, that's old news, and childs play. Could someone hit the button and end it all abruptly? Of course, that threat has been around since World War II. The threat is our need to be satiated immediately, to have and know everything, to level the playing fields of who knows what and when, that we're all equal and have the same things, and the need to create an image and lives that don't exist. Technology in the end will kill us all. It already has. Look at what we've created with the generations that came after us. And you can't fight it, it's here and it's already past us. "If you can't beat em', join em'. "

(Surely, AI generated)

     I do believe technology, specifically AI and ChatGpt type things, will be, or are the demise of humanity. As you wake up and grab a coffee and turn on the TV, or iPhone, or your tablet, to watch post-election coverage, the "computers" are already hard at work. And their work is to know everything about everything, including about you, and know more than you know about yourself, and can control. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but everything we do, and think, and every move we make, is getting broken down into an algorithm, and bits, which will be used against us in the end. And those nerds, or even this generation of workers who are feeding the beast everyday, won't be able to put the breaks on it when it spins out of control. You think the Great Depression was bad, just wait, it's coming. We're one malfunction from a data center away from chaos, and destruction. 

     But in the meantime we'll relish in the victories of a political election. Too dumb to see the big picture. Too selfish to fall victim to the false promises that people in power spew to us to get what they want, and what we want, when we want it, which is always now. They say America is hurting now, but boy do I see a lot of new homes, grey boxes if you will, being built, cars being purchased, and restaurants full every night. We scan our phones for $6 coffees and pay people to shop and bring us our food, even from fast food places, which were once a refuge of nourishment for those struggling a juggling. We spend a billion dollars a month on Only Fans and streaming services, sports and concerts, and forget about on-line gaming, but yet, we complain about high gas prices and the cost of groceries, which no doubt, is legit.

     The kids are still going to private schools, where they can go exist with like minded, and looking peers. Most aren't there for the religious education, let's be honest, is religion, or faith, even a thing anymore? Most people who believe are in for the benefits, always asking a higher power for some help, or a miracle, when things are going sideways. And then there's the big kids, our kids, who are feeding the "beast", that is technology. They're being paid big money to manipulate data and move money around, in services, or in technological advances. In the end most of them are "training" the things that will take their jobs one day. And the companies they work for? Here today, gone or changed tomorrow. They jump on board, get paid big, and then leave to make more money, before said company goes belly up, or reinvents itself. They have lots of money on hand, but shitty insurance, and no pensions. It allows them to afford $3,000 a month rents or mortgages now, but won't help them when they want to retire or need long-term care. And I've said it, those gray boxes of today will be the public housing projects from the past.

     And while there's some "kids", those Millenials, or Gen Y's, that get it, most do not. They didn't get that it's basically 18 and out and then it's on you. How did that happen back in the day? People took jobs that paid them well, and most of them, back in America, was physical labor, like a trade, or a civil service position, cop or firemen, or say healthcare, like nursing. No, now they take jobs were they work from the neck up, and I can't even with this, work from home. Most stay in the nest well into their twenties and when they do venture out they hook up with a like minded person. Work all the time, living separate lives under the same roof, only coming together for a latte on the corner, a fancy dinner, a walk in the park, or conjugal visits. Throw in a destination wedding or an exotic vacation once a year and they think they're living the dream, and then the kids come, after the $100,000 wedding. 

     Both of them work, of course, to afford a lifestyle they can't afford, which always includes a vehicle leased rather than owned. And that means the grandparents, who should be entering the times of their lives, are relegated to raising another set of kids. And it works for them, as being an empty nester, and not thrilled with their spouse anymore, gives them new life, and a new meaning. In the end they feel wanted and needed again. For the kids there's no more cheap first apartment above a set of retail stores. No first clunkers. No stay at home parent, either guy or girl, when the kids come. And you know how I feel about that, women are the best Mom's, stay at home Mom's that is. Hey, I'm old school, sorry. Remember when you were a kid and your Mom was there everyday and you couldn't wait for Dad to get home? Or pick you up on those divorce decree visitations? Yes, my single Mom worked but she was somehow always around.

     The politicians that are in office now, and the one's that are coming, aren't the problem. We are. We've allowed ourselves to stray from the things that matter and just rollover and get caught up in the fray, always trying to keep up, get more, and live above our needs, and means. Just an example before I finish this 3 am rant. I had a solid during student who was taught all the good old school things about nursing. She went on to take a bedside position. Hard work, good foundation, and great pay. But soon she was tempted by easier, and "better" work. So now she injects botox into people's lips and foreheads. How long will that be fulfilling, and is she following her dreams and passions?

I wish I could shut it all down and it could all go away. But truth be told, I'm here, writing this for some unknown reason. Just another person who's part of the problem. Feeding the "beast" with content and images that in the end produce nothing meaningful. But he truth is I wouldn't know how to exist without it all, even this dumb blog, as I've been lured away from what life used to be, in the good old days.

     And now I can put the pick up truck saga behind me. I have to say I have two feelings on this, glad it's over, and sick to my stomach that it's over. It's been going on for two months and it's been a bigger deal in my life then it should have been. I've dragged Theresa in on it, and even the people from the used car lot, who in the end, were glad yesterday was the last day they'd ever see me.

     This is a big purchase for me. Over the course of the last few months it's come down to, "Do I really need this?", to "Is this a good truck?", to, "Will this thing even last?". Well, there's no guarantees, except for the new transmission, that a 16-year old truck with 209,000 miles will last, but I think it's a good truck, and yes I need it, for no other reason, as I told Theresa and my elderly neighbor last night, would be to save the neighbors during a hurricane and flooding event, "Hey, no one on this block has a four wheel drive vehicle". To which they both shook their heads. 

     Then I have to question myself if I'm just fighting this whole life changing downsizing thing. Am I continuing the chaos I created and existed in back in New Jersey? Probably so. But she does look good in the driveway! And then there's the question about what to do with the Suburban. Both can't stay in Sun City, and making the pick up a daily driver with 209,000 miles, not a good move. So one of them will be parked at The Fly Barn.

     I have to tip my hat, and thank, and apologize, to Theresa for bringing more of the same down here to South Carolina. And for having to park her car in the street in front of the house, even just for a bit. While she does admit she likes the look of the pick up in the driveway better then the Suburban, she did hit me with a valid question last night, "Do you need anything else?"

     Well, I do, I need to get back to work work, need to go through the stuff in the garage and organize it, finish up the work at The Fly Barn, and need to brace myself for the upcoming change in American politics, all before the world as we know it ends after AI runs wild and implodes.