My mum and dad and cousins came running to help me pull in the whopper， one that was about the same length as me. Mine was the biggest fish caught all day， and it was worth every bit of my pain. After that， I was hooked on fishing for life.
I no longer use just a hand-held fishing line. I mastered the rod and reel so I wouldn’t suffer any more bum burns. If a fish bites， I‘m strong enough to hold the rod between my shoulder and chin. I cast by holding the line in my teeth and releasing at just the right moment. Yes， it’s true， I floss and fish at the same time！
MUSICALLY INCLINED
If you think fishing is an outrageous pastime for me， just think how people respond when I tell them I was not only a drummer in my school band but a conductor too！ It‘s true， though. I’ve got the beat， mate. I mastered the rare musical art of hymnal percussion at a young age. Every Sunday night at church I‘d set up rows of hymnals of varied thickness. I’d pound out a beat on the hymn books with my foot while the church choir sang. I come from a long line of avid drummers， including my cousin Ian Pasula， who was the first drummer in the church band. I had such a natural ability to keep a beat that a couple of my uncles and their church friends kicked in to buy me a Roland drum machine. This amplifi ed wonder transformed me into a one-man， no-limbed percussion orchestra. I started with just the snare drum and bass drum and later progressed to incorporating the closed and open high hats.
The church‘s pianist， organist， and drummers would join in and make me feel part of the band. I still play a newer version of the drum machine， which I’ve upgraded with a Mac Keys program， where I can use it as a synthesizer and even play a guitar electronically. Music is a balm for my soul. Whether listening or playing， I can lose myself for hours in waves of sound.
My love of music was nurtured in jazz ensembles and high school jazz bands. Perhaps the musical highlight of my life so far came when I quite literally took my entire high school orchestra on my shoulders. Now there‘s a job you’d never expect someone like me to take in hand. Reeediculous， right？
Well， our music teacher was having health problems， and she couldn‘t make our rehearsals， so I volunteered to be the conductor for our sixty-piece orchestra. I knew all the songs we were playing， so I stood in front of our huge group of student musicians and led them by waving my shoulders around. I’ll go out on a limb here and say that they sounded ridiculously good that day.
A RIDICULOUS CONCLUSION
Most of us have little clue as to what God has planned for us each day， each month， year， or lifetime. But each of us has the capacity to add our own fl ourishes， to pursue our purpose， our passion， and our pleasures with reckless abandon and ridiculous enthusiasm. In this chapter alone， I‘ve recounted my adventures as an airplane carry-on and an airport carousel rider， as a scuba diver and a stunt-man， as a fisherman， a drummer， and an orchestra conductor. My question to you now is： If imperfect me can have that much ridiculous fun， if I can push the limits and enjoy life so fully， what about you？
Live to glorify God， and don’t leave an ounce of energy， a trace of your uniqueness， behind. Dare to be ridiculous， and you will be ridiculously happy.
