[Vikingj]

I entered the ICU to visit my friend, Big Rich and when he saw me he smiled and raised his index finger - our inside joke meaning “just one more fish”. My thoughts went back to our last fishing trip to Port Hueneme pier. But before I go on, let me tell you a little history.
My father-in-law, Richard, was born in 1918 in Pt. Hueneme. Starting when he was about 10 yrs old he would spend summers and most weekends fishing on the old pier with his buddies. He loved to fish! The only days he missed were when he ran out of tackle and would hoe the lima bean fields to earn enough for another several weeks of fishing. He would tell the story of how one day he caught a sizeable halibut that he could barely carry. He paraded down Main St. and all the shop owners came out to see his big catch! As he got older his fishing was greatly reduced when he joined the military to help chase Nazis out of No. Africa, got married, worked, settled in Oxnard, and raised 5 kids. When he was 59yrs he was talking about future retirement and the chance to do some fishing. Unfortunately, he awoke one morning to discover that his arms and legs were paralyzed from Guillain Barre Syndrome. He regained use of his arms but his legs never fully recovered and he hadn’t been fishing for 35 years and always had excuses whenever I brought it up. So, one day last year my son and I “kidnapped” him and pushed his wheelchair out on the Hueneme Pier for one more fish! After a while with no bites his eyes got big as his rod started to jerk like crazy. He fought that mackerel like it was a big game fish and broke into a giant smile as it was landed. He was thrilled and talked about it for months.

pics:Big Rich, his grandson, and me at Hueneme Pier,Big Rich going for one more fish



Big Rich was happy and content when he passed away a few days ago at the age of 94 . After looking at the picture below I wonder if he was trying to tell me that he would soon be going “up stairs” and waiting for us to join him to get just one more fish!