Son David and his daughter Elliana. Always and still a terrific father.
American Press Travel News-Bob and Barb, On The Road Again, but remembering our dads. June 19th, 2022–What does it mean to have a dad, a true dad who gives of his time, not just his money, as a child is raised? Everything!!! A dad, and as an extension his parents, your grandparents mean a lot in the forming of a child to an adult in all stages of those formative years. The word “formative” is the operative word!
A child can grow up bereft of a true dad, but is definitely missing key elements in a healthy, mind forming benefit. We can go to the bible to see how important family is in molding a healthy individual, or not. Speaking directly, I, and research, and real world tells and shows us how damaging it is for individuals and society to have a person missing such an important component, as missing a huge portion of what family values incorporates into a persons makeup. This America has a huge amound of dead-beat dads. Family values are the only things that can turn America around. Only politicos that are real fathers and mothers, not grifters of the world should be duly elected by intelligent people!!
American Press Travel News—3/29/2021—Bob and Barb “On the Road Again”—-Why do we travel half way back to our old home, VT, to TN., from Southern Florida? Summers in Florida are humid. With my deviated septum (partially blocked nostril) I have a hard time breathing in heavy humidity. So, when the cooler winter and spring breezes, with their lesser humidity devolve into more summer-like conditions, even starting from the first day of spring, we head for the hills of TN.. In Florida we eat seafood, in TN. its beef, chicken and garden vegetables. Fishing in Florida its sea fishes, in TN. its crappie and trout, and our favorite walleye pike. I can breathe in TN., and love the cool breezes throughout spring, summer and fall.
We live on a small farm at about 2000-feet above sea level. When the summer heats up all around our plateau, we are 8-10 degrees cooler than all the other areas, cities and towns, and just about every night is a no-AC needed event.
As an author, I find it easier to work at our farm in TN. than in Florida. Florida has too many things going on, and this causes me to divert, and avert my time from putting finger tips to keys. However, the Keys is truly a paradise for a fisherman, like me. With boating, searching for marlin and dolphin fish, the schools of tuna, the occasional wahoo, I get lost in the Gulf Stream of life. My preference these days is to sight fish for permit, bonefish, seatrout, snook, and redfish inshore, in quiet waters.
My sons David and Brian were brought up in the Keys, and were my nearly constant companion on my favorite boat “The Shalom.” That is until their fancy turned to girls and cars. We gathered our own shrimp and saltwater crawfish called Florida Lobster ( I still prefer the real northern- waters kind, with succulent claws and tail). Today, my sons have a fine boat that they own and enjoy, I have my farm and when I can visit the Keys to be with my boys and their life’s experiences! STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!!!!!!
A great way to exercise your butt and casting arm!!
American Press Travel News-July 15th,-Bob and Barb at Goose Holler’ Farm and Ranch–Well, we are self-quarantined, or sequestered, or hunkered-down. Never in our life, have we ever thought, that we would be in-hiding from something we cannot see with the naked eye! So here we are, waiting for what we think we know, what the future could hold for us, and everyone else in America, and the world, are waiting for. We hope its a real vaccine that is easily available for everyone, quickly! In the mean time, what we all have to do is keep our “cool”, not let our cheese slip off the sandwich! There are several ways to keep the bulb in the socket, for light at the end of the tunnel: Number 1– Stay in touch with your loved ones and friends. Reaching out for sociality now is vital for the human psyche. 2-Stay away from the constant TV news channels that pump info on statistics and fear. 3-Pickup on an existing hobby, or acquire one. Go hobbies.com for ideas, and also do a home improvement project or two. 4-Eat and drink well! And if married, or sharing your hideout with a friend, still find alone-time, too!
If you have a pet, feel blessed! Why? Getting out of yourself, and caring for a pet is a therapy, all on its own. If you don’t have one, get one! Dogs are best, cats are great too! A dog is empathetic, and note; spelled backwards, dog spells G-D! With a dog you have to bend to feed, and pickup after it. Smile, and look into the eyes of an entity that will not judge you, love is always real. A dog is always faithful to the love it is shown! And remember; Exercise is a key component in staying healthy. Everything is connected from head to toes. Not seeing to thewhole body by forgetting to care for any part of it, will effect the whole body!
Just finished clipping thorny brush away from the fence that blocked my view of feeding bass. Got my juices flowing, as I just sat back down to my monster, flip-top, laptop. No it just has a 17-screen, but I feel like I’ve got to feed the monster every few hours-I’m a writer, eh? A few thoughts: Great exercise, a full-set of clothes, after a towel-bath, and here I am again!
I love to do exercise that allows me to look back and see exactly what I accomplished with my sweat-equity. I used to actually go to a health club. I lifted weights, pulled cables with iron attached, and rode a bike to nowhere. Yes, I got sweat equity, but always felt that I was beingtotally self-serving-just stretching muscles, pumping heart, etc. I guess, before my farm, that’s what I needed to do as a food and travel writer. Got to burn those amazing home-made desserts off somehow! Oh, and while I was out there along the fence-line, the blackberries were black. So, I stuffed my mouth with mostly sweet, vitamin C.
Our Terry as a pup. Gone now, I still mourn his loss!!
The take-away from all of the above is: Keep moving, don’t despair, stay healthy, drink, drink, drink–water, mostly and try and keep more smiles on your face than frowns.
To Carp or Not to Carp—Author, Bob T. Epstein, Publisher of www.AmericanPressTravelNews.com
There are more than 100 known species of carp in the world. The main species of carp found in the USA are silver, grass, common (German) mirror, grass, and big head.
Carp are probably the healthiest fish to eat and according to the World Book Encyclopedia, 90-percent of the world’s population subsist on the protein carp provides.
Unfortunately, carp have a poor public image in America. But, it has been getting better over the past few years. Many anglers used to bending their rods on fish, from 1-6 or, even 10-pounds, who hook a carp unintentionally, are amazed and delighted by the stamina and pull of even, a 5-10 pounder.
Some anglers are introduced to carp fishing by a friend, and then after experiencing hooking up on a carp, are “hooked”, too!
My first time was in a small pond in Queens N.Y. I cast a slice of bread with 3-hooks in its crust. I laid my Mitchell 300 down on a rock, chatting with a friend who showed me the pond, and the large carp that it held. Suddenly, my line leaked at the spool, after I heard a sucking sound in the dark of the evening. I hooked up and found that I really liked the sound of my spool drag. The carp was about 10-pounds, and the next day I skipped school to get ready to head over, on my Schwinn.
Today, the biggest problem for carp to be taken seriously as a fish to enjoy catching, is image. For decades carp have been thrown into the column of “trash fish.” Seems the over-abundance of many species has falsely condemned them as being unworthy of anything, but being used as fertilizer, or just leaving them on the bank to rot, what a giant waste of a tasty fish! Yes, a fecund carp can produce a million eggs, twice per year. Most of these are food for all manner of our dear gamefish. And no, carp do not chase out other species. Carp can live in waters many gamefish cannot, due to oxygen levels, turbidity, and temperatures, as well.
Waiting on a bite!!!
Word -of-mouth marketing, helps in educating and offering experienced information about the positive qualities of these fish. The in-your-mouth experience of eating them, are the two biggest means of getting the ball rolling, to ramp up commercial and personal harvesting efforts.
