106 BIG GAME FISHING JOURNAL |    November/December  2001    |    http://bgf-journal.com as we were having a celebratory beer. It was Patti Doster at the Irvine FedEx station. She had rallied her employees to pay for the shipping and arranged space on one of the first flights leav- ing John Wayne Airport heading to NewYork City. On    Monday,    September    17, Fish4America shipped its first 1,000 pounds of tuna, mahi mahi and mako shark  to  the  Hard  Rock  Cafe  in Manhattan.  I  received  a  phone  call while on a charter at Catalina Island the next day.They were serving our fish at the 5 p.m. meal. Everyone on the boat cheered as we toasted the success. Later, I went to the bow alone and wept. I cried tears of pride and love for all who had helped me find a way to remember the goodness in man and forget the evil of 9-11-01. In the following weeks Earl and I faced even more challenges.We had to overcome our fear of cash donations. People from around the country want- ed to be involved, too. People who couldn’t  send  fish  sent  checks. We needed to collect more fish, and get it shipped. As a result of a benefit at the Hard Rock Cafe in Newport Beach, Cal., on October 14, and the continuing generosity of the Southern California recreational fisherman, we are shipping thousands of pounds of donated fish to the ongoing effort at Ground Zero. The  food  is  being  prepared  by  the Bouley Bakery in Manhattan as part of the 30,000 to 40,000 meals they are producing every day! We are now asking the fishermen of this  great  country  to  pitch  in  and help us help our New York brothers and  sisters  so  tragically  affected  by the events of September 11.We need your help, we need your fish and we need your dollars. Please open your freezers, your wallets and your hearts, and make this very important cause your own. For more info, updates and to con- tact Chuck and Earl at Fish4America, please go to http://www.fish4amer- ica.org. God bless America. A CALL FOR HELP from page 112 DON’T MISS OUT! CALL US AT 1-800-827-4468 OR SEE US ON THE WEB AT HTTP://BGF-JOURNAL.COM CHECK OUT THE JOURNAL’S EXTENSIVE BACK ISSUE LIBRARY... AND COLLECT ‘EM ALL! © 2001 Offshore Informational Publications. Reprinted with permission. Return to Home Page ====> CLICK HERE