Bridging the gap and a reflection of a fisherman's life

 

Fisherman scooping cockles and crabs near Penang Bridge

Recently, I had captured on my camera this fisherman who went out to the sea near Penang Bridge to scoop up cockles, crabs and mantis prawns.  It is tough for most of us to beat the traffics to get to our offices in the city and industrial estates daily across the channel.  Have you ever fancy that your office is located in the middle of the sea? There are no traffic lights to halt you along your journey.  Instead of driving an automobile and an air-conditioned car complete with radio and digital media players while listening to your favorite deejays spinning your chart topping songs, why not get into a boat like this man for a day and experience the transformation at his floating office along the busy bridge? If you ever get caught on the snarls when some pile ups occurred on the bridge, we can only think of getting onto the speed boat to get to our destination.

Bigfoothill salutes the fisherman for his unfailing toils to bring the harvest for the day to shore and into our kitchen daily.  It is a very risky profession that many of us will not switch to considering that many of us are academically blessed and qualified for the cool office jobs.  Moreover, their jobs are lowly rewarded monetarily. They are facing the same social and economic crisis no less like us due to the rising fuel cost for transportation and increases in prices of other consumer goods.

Think for a moment... can we survive a day without seafood in our diet? How many times we complained that the seafood prices are highly expensive or it is not fresh for our palate?  Can we survive a day as a fisherman with our academic achievements? Or we need the physical and mental strength?  Do we need to learn to "drive" steer our boat before we can jump into the boat?  Do you know how to swim? Can you repair a leakage? We need to be skillful and plenty of skills to be a fisherman.  We need to know the time to go out to the sea and the time for low tides and high tides. Where are the winds' blowing direction and how deep is the sea by just looking at the water. Can we withstand the searing heats of the Sun, and the wet and cold showers of the rain and thunderstorm. Where are the schools of fish to be found.  When to cast our net and how to pull it up without getting it entangled?  Which spot can catch what type of sea creatures? Have you heard of tales of how fishermen have saved how many human lives that fell into the seas in the past and those that "fell" from the bridge and were rescued alive or dead? They responded to our SOS. They are the sailor, captain and rescuer of our lifeboat.

Did the fisherman learn all these skills in the comfort of a conference room like many of us in our calling? Is there a fancy party to celebrate their graduation ceremony?  How nice are the smell of the flowers and the  graduation "robes" that we will happily wear, hug and kiss our heroes and heroines, take memorable pictures with our loved ones? Hopefully, we do not complain of the fishy smell or distance ourselves from them the next time we walk pass a humble fisherman.  Let us be reminded of their sacrifices and passion for the noble and lovely jobs they did out there in the dangerous seas they call their workplaces and offices.

Let us greet and thank them from the bottom of our hearts like we do when we see our teacher and master. Wave to the fishermen the next time you meet them or when you see them on the boat out in the seas. Let us honor their friendships that are unsinkable in time of crisis. Let us cheer them on in moments when they are in solitude and in need of our solidarity.  They embrace a charitable profession with life, blood and sweats, love and passion.

Thank God for the safety of our family and the jobs we keep for we do not have to do the hard and risky labor like the fishermen and do not have to suffer the agony of anxiety like their families while waiting for their daily safe return home to bring the food  and to put on our dinning table. May God bless the fishermen and their families bountiful harvest, abundance of wealth, passion and happiness, and keep them safe and in good health.