112
BIG GAME FISHING JOURNAL
| November/December 2001 | http://bgf-journal.com
A
fter the shocking events of 9-
11-01, like most people, I
was overwhelmed with the
images of horror, the fear of,
What next?, the anger and
outrage at what had occurred on our soil,
and the urge for vengeance.
I spent the next two days dealing with
the reality that our world had changed. Life
could not be the same as it was before the
planes hit the World Trade Center Towers,
the Pentagon and that field in Pennsylvania.
How was this going to affect my children
and grandchildren? My wife? My life? I
spent two days glued to either the televi-
sion or radio.As a retired firefighter my heart
tugged at me to drop everything and get
to Ground Zero. I needed to be involved.
On Thursday morning, September 13, I
was on my way to the office and heard a
plea from the Hard Rock Cafe. The
Manhattan restaurant was supplying hot
meals to the workers in The Pit around
the clock and desperately needed food.
As a recreational angler in Southern
California at the end of a very successful season, I knew I had 800 pounds
of tuna in my freezers. I also knew my fishing buddy, Earl Durham, had
about the same. I called Earl and asked if he would give me some of
his fish to ship to New York. After some discussion, a few phone calls
to other fishing friends and a post on http://www.internetfishing.com,
Fish4America was born.
In the next 48 hours, Earl and I fielded dozens of calls from guys want-
ing to donate fish.We identified and prioritized the challenges.We had
to collect the fish, keep it frozen, get it to a central freezer for pack-
ing, acquire packing materials, and get it shipped to New York
overnight.We also had to arrange for someone to deliver it in New York,
all at a time when access to the area was severely restricted.
Overcoming the logistics involved every spare minute.The thoughts,
fears and anger of the first days after the attack were replaced with a
focus to the task at hand and a resolve to meet the challenges.We were
on a mission!
By Saturday, the 15th, there were a dozen volunteers and 2,500
pounds of fish in my front yard.We loaded the frozen filets into Earls
van and headed to New Fishall Bait Co. in Gardena, Cal., to pack and
store the fish. Kent Williams, the owner, had agreed to let us use his facil-
ity, his trucks and his network of tackle shops to collect, store and pack-
age the vacuum-packed filets.The only question leftthe flight to New
Yorkwas answered less than an hour later when my cell phone rang
By Chuck Robinson
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Chuck Robinson, left, and
Earl Durham, bottom,
need your dollars and
your frozen fish to help
the workers and the dis-
placed victims of the WTC
disaster.
Drop them an e-mail from
their website and let them
know what youve got
and theyll let you know
where they want it
shipped.
A CALL FOR HELP
© 2001 Offshore Informational Publications. Reprinted with permission.
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