Life must go on, and Connecticut has much to appreciate Charles Walsh, Correspondent Published 06:25 p.m., Saturday, September 10, 2011
Writing a fishing column that will appear on Sept. 11, 2011, 10 years to the day since almost 3,000 people perished in the worst terrorist attack in history, seems, well, more than slightly presumptuous.
Right now, hundreds of boats are vying for the $25,000 first prize in a Long Island Sound bluefish tournament sponsored by a Bridgeport radio station. Some of those boats will drop their baited lines in areas where, 10 years ago, a strange column of ugly gray smoke could be seen twisting above the New York City skyline to the west. That was a weekday morning, so there were fewer boats on the water, but occupants of those boats must have wondered what the smoke was coming from. Maybe someone on a nearby boat that had a radio shouted over that a plane -- no, two planes -- had crashed into the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. Suddenly, the fishing that once seemed so important was utterly trivial.
The anniversary of the 9/11 attack will not stop people from fishing, nor should it. Life must go on. But we hope that the competitors on those boats today will pause in their frantic search for the heaviest bluefish to take a few moments to gaze toward that western skyline to think about that terrible day when so many innocent people, so many of them from this state, died because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Rather than writing about the ins and outs of fishing today, I thought it would be more appropriate to point out something everybody knows, and that is how lucky we are to be living in a state as beautiful as Connecticut. Here are a few ideas for outdoor activities that might increase appreciation of what our fabulous state offers to the fortunate survivors.
1. Visit one or more of Connecticut's 64, yes 64, state parks. Better yet, get a tent and go camping in one.
2. Watch a sunrise from any Long Island Sound beach. Watch a sunset from that same beach.
3. Visit a state historical site like Nathan Hale Homestead in Coventry.
4. Cross the Connecticut River on one of the two car ferries in Glastonbury and Haddam Neck. Afterward, write a letter urging Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to never again even think of cutting funding to either of these great resources, no matter how anachronistic they might seem.
5. Hike a section of the 700 miles, yes 700 miles, of the state's Blue Blazed Trail System.
6. Visit one of the state's many greenway trails, like the Oxford Four Mile Brook Greenway that includes the Rockhouse Hill Preserve, Seymour's Mitchell Forest Open Space and the Seymour/Naugatuck segment of the Naugatuck State Park.
7. Hike the trail to the stone lookout tower in Kent Falls State Park. Along the way, take a gander at the spectacular 250-feet-high falls. If you want to know what Connecticut looked like before the European settlers arrived, the observation spots on the trail are where to do it.
8. Visit The Mark Twain House in Hartford. Even if America's greatest writer had not lived there, this beautiful piece of 19th century architecture is worth seeing.
9. Take a trip on the Valley Railroad in Essex. The steam locomotive chugs along a 12-mile track north along the Connecticut Valley.
10. Ride up Route 7 to Falls Village with its time-warped collection of art and antique shops. Have lunch or dinner at the recently reopened Falls Village Inn. While in town, take a look at the white water rapids of the upper Housatonic River where Olympic champions train.
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