Navy Commander Looking Forward To Georgia Fishing

Blogger Andrew Curtis (right) and his cousin AC Wood.

“Fishing. That’s one thing I’m looking forward to when I retire from the Navy. Fishing.”

My cousin looked at me with longing in his eyes. “Will you take me fishing on the Alapaha?”

This question came from a United States Naval Academy graduate and recent commander of the guided missile destroyer USS The Sullivans, but it just as easily could have come from the mouth of a child. That look in his eyes was like what I see in my kids and like what I feel in me still when I think about hunting and fishing. It’s a feeling that connects me to my youth. Though Commander AC Wood has sailed the seven seas, that surface warfare officer craves the tannic waters of the peaceful, undisturbed Georgia Alapaha River.

Amazing.

I began to think about how powerful the outdoors can be, how therapeutic, how essential for emotional healing it is for many people. No matter how down someone might be, hunting and fishing hold the magic to turn any negative mood around.

“I never realize just how much stress I’m under when I am deployed,” AC explained. “But then when I get home from months and months at sea, I feel the strain come down on me. I’m in charge of everyone and everything that goes right and wrong on my ship. I never have a day off. I never have a full night’s sleep. But it’s the thought of slowing down one day that helps get me through the hard times. Sometimes, I let my mind wander to fishing.”

And so, for a brief period in that busy man’s life while a hoard of people mingled about at a party in celebration of his lengthy military accomplishments, he and I talked of casting a white Beetle Spin on the sandy banks of a small south Georgia river. The tension on his face melted away as he imagined himself in a simple jonboat in the shade of a tupelo tree arching over a quiet bend of the redbreast rich river. No crew to look after. No sea storms to navigate. No terrorist ships to intercept. Just fishing in a tiny boat on calm water.

Humility hits me hard often at unsuspecting times. I can get caught up in the stresses of my own life, and yet there are so many people with more on their life plates than I can imagine facing. I have my stress-blaster nearly in my backyard, with the awesome grace of the Alapaha River just a golf cart ride away whenever I need it, while others, like my cousin, are half a world away from what they love. And, I have an outdoor group to support me, no matter how down I may get. Georgia Outdoor News is an incredible community. I’m proud of what I am a part of, and I want to share it. It’s the type of lifestyle that I need and one that gives me a sense of purpose and belonging.

GON has some absolutely outstanding people in its ranks, and I’m happy to add another to the community, the 23rd  commanding officer of the USS The Sullivans. Borrowing from that ship’s motto, I know the GON community can say, “WE STICK TOGETHER.”