Carpe Diem

Steven and his fishing buddies

Last Saturday it was time for Fish With A Kid Day again, sponsored by the AIM Marine Foundation.

Professional bass fishermen take the kids from San Diego Children's Hospital Hematology/Oncology clinic out on their boats for the day.

They let him drive their boat.

We did it last year and it was a lot of fun.

And it's my kind of fishing, no chicken livers to pour onto the hook, no live bait, no fuss, no muss. And these really nice bass fishing boats with the whisper-soft motors.

One of the things I really like about Steven is his patience, as patience is definitely not one of my virtues.

When we went out last year, Steven was out there for hours and didn't catch a fish. It was the same this time, although there were several nibbles and fish jumping on all sides of us while we were out there.

And when we went fly-fishing in Montana last summer, same story.<.p>

Steven doesn't lose his cool. I know he gets frustrated, but he rarely lets on.

Steven teeing off in Tijuana

Similarly with golf. He has small moments of greatness, but except for one tournament this year, he rarely plays consistently well enough through a full-size course to win points in the tournaments.

But he almost never gets frustrated. He doesn't quit. He hangs in there.

Sean won a trophy in almost every tournament he played in last year, this year he won only one, in match play.

Sean and Brandon

Sean was one of two left after everyone else was eliminated, but he lost the final round, putting him in second.

Steven, despite his own woes, is genuinely happy when Sean wins.

Steven didn't catch any fish, but he had a great time.

- Kathleen