It’s been a long week. I was working for a sponsor last week when I came down with the flu. By Thursday I knew it was bad but thought I could fight my way through it. That part of things went OK but I didn’t realize I had a double ear infection. That turned out to be a bad mistake.
When I flew home everything, especially my ears, got much, much worse. When I went to the doctor he told me I had perforated one of my eardrums.
He said it wasn’t too bad. If I take my medicine and do what I’m told, I should be well in a few days, and he thinks my eardrum will repair itself. Doing what I’m told isn’t my strong suit, you know, but with the “strong encouragement” of my lovely wife, Becky, I’m sure things will work out.
In all seriousness, the medicine really is a struggle. I’m not used to taking pills and messing around with drops. My doctor has me on enough different stuff to treat a horse.
The whole thing is horrible. This is a super busy time of the year for me. I have lots of sponsor commitments that I need to keep and a ton of sport shows and seminars that I need to attend. The doctor won’t let me fly.
I’m hoping he clears me by Friday. If he does, I’ll be at Oklahoma City on Saturday and at The Bass University in Rosemont, Illinois after that.
In the meantime I’m trying to make the best of things. I’ve been able to work on tackle. Frankly, it’s in the best shape it’s been in in years and I’m getting some things done here in the office. I suppose there’s always a silver lining, even when you have to look hard to see it.
This has started me thinking about things. Even if it’s cold, you’re feeling bad or the water’s hard as a rock in your neighborhood you can still work to improve your fishing skills. Every lure you clean and every hook you sharpen is one you won’t have to do later. And later is when you can be actually fishing.
Instead of looking at the negative and wishing things were different we should take advantage of what we have and make the best of things. It boils down to being thankful.
Other than that about the only thing I can say is that I’m getting excited about the upcoming Classic. I think I said in another column that I did pretty well the last time we were on Hartwell. I think I might be able to do better this time.
Next week we’ll get back to some hardcore how-to fishing topics. If you have anything you want me to talk about, let me know. You can contact me through my social media accounts or post your questions under this column. I’d like to make 2015 as relevant as possible. I can’t think of a better way to do it than with direct angler input.
Mike Iaconelli’s column appears weekly on Bassmaster.com. You can also find him on Facebook and Twitter or visit his website, mikeiaconelli.com.
