Through the Power…

Sitting in the safe confines of Pond Boss world headquarters on a mild August day, I’m awed. Nature does that. Our temperature tops today at 85, not our normal 100+. We watched a solar eclipse a few days ago, people over the nation reveling in it.

We’ve had 10+ inches of timely rains this month in north Texas. Our grass is greener than normal. But, I sit here writing this letter as nature’s sheer power and fury is unleashing along the Texas Gulf coast. Hurricane Harvey is wreaking its wrath and reminding us, once again, who’s in charge.

Our workload is churning at a feverish pace as we finish the last few details on this issue of our favorite magazine and get it to the printer. It’s also go-time for Pond Boss VII Conference and Expo, and marketing is moving at a fast clip. We need more people to come! That means you, too! There’s a great program lineup in store. The conference registration form is in the middle of this issue, and online, too. We also have the program 99% finalized. See it inside the pages.

With all this stuff going on—writing, thinking about the conference, getting the magazine to print, and that hurricane boiling—I’m torn and distracted. My heart races every time I peek at my Smartphone, a little electronic device for crying out loud. I look at an app, MyRadar, and see that hurricane spinning, that Harvey, covering most of the Gulf of Mexico. As the storm prepares to hammer Corpus Christi and points along the coast, rain bands are dumping huge amounts of water on New Orleans, 500 miles away. That storm looks at least 700 miles tall, and 500+ wide.

Stunning. With Harvey’s awesome power, I’m humbled and anguished, because I know people will perish. People can’t control the weather, but they can leave and get to safety—and yet I just saw a post on Facebook about a woman who’s decided to ride out the Category 3 storm on Padre Island, a barrier island, and do it in a travel trailer. She chose to miss the busses to San Antonio, and safety.

I also reflect on how disheveled our society is. Removing statues, tearing down monuments? Makes me wonder how our parents made it through the 60s with that decade’s upheaval: young people protesting war, music genres against what our parents believed. I was born in 1955 and remember curiously watching as young people became what they still are today—hippies. Back then, all hippies were young, pony-tailed people with flowers. It never dawned on me they’d still be hippies today, but they are, except now they’re old. Seems our society rarely settles down in an attempt to get along. Left versus Right, media chasing ratings to influence the masses, terrorism, and general divisiveness that’s fundamentally Class F junk, with little to no meaning or significance. 

Stuff like that makes me glad I do what I do for a living. Today I spoke with a guy that had a fish kill, much to his surprise. He’s making big decisions based on information mostly gathered online, like many of us did early on with our land and ponds. What he lacks is that feel for the land, that innate stewardship thought-process that some people fight to learn. While he’s got some of the natural puzzle figured out, he lacks experience and seasoning needed to avoid some preventable mistakes.

Calls like that make me glad you have land and chose to take care of it. Stewardship is such a big deal. It’s our duty to be caretakers of our land and its resources. That is important, because it’s folks like our Pond Boss family who can hold proverbial hands and do things of significance, instead of tearing things down for the sake of some temporary sub-culture belief that blows with the next wind. No one is tearing down monuments along the Gulf coast right now. They are taking care of each other, holding hands, and escaping Harvey’s wrath in a calm, organized way.

This moment is a cause for pause.

So, here’s the shameless plug. Sign up and attend Pond Boss VII Conference and Expo. Yes, it costs money. Yes, it’s a commitment. We’ll thank you now and at the conference. We literally have a “Who’s Who” quality line-up of brilliant experts on the program. We also have a full house of vendors, those people who have technology and products to efficiently help you take care of your precious land and water. Better yet, we’ll have a room full of people just like you—people there to learn, share ideas, and meet new best friends.

Yes, the venue is outstanding. So is the food. Plus, we have some exciting news to share at this event. You won’t want to miss it.

Okay, enough of that, Lusk. People get it. They just have to choose to come—or not.

This issue of Pond Boss is loaded with nuggets; golden knowledge to absorb, wear on your sleeves, and share.

So, sit back, grab your favorite snack, add some Serrano Pepper Jelly (see this issue’s recipe) and enjoy what you are about to read.

And, although we’re now looking at Harvey through the safe side of a rearview mirror, please say a prayer for those people and communities affected. And, while you’re at it, say one for America. She needs it.

Fish on!