re: Official BourgsTheWord kayak/pond altercation thread

Makes me wonder about that Shad Lake trip and whether or not he even had permission.

That's all I will contribute.

Just my 2 cents:

It appears you took the popular belief that it is better to ask for forgivness than for permission. Unfortunately, you did neither as you have admitted. If you plan to base your actions on this premiss, then you need to humbly appologize and ask for forgivness as soon as it becomes and issue.

I will admit, I have fished may golf courses, gated apartement complex ponds, gated subdivision ponds, and even a couple of graveyards when I was younger. All of which, I fished under the above premiss. I made it a point to practice catch and release, always park out of the way, and tried to pick up any trash I found. Some of the places I eventually had to ask for forgiveness and stop fishing. Others I was fortunate enough to be able to thank the owners/operators for their implied permission after the fact. I however, was wrong on all accounts and should not have been there even though I usually left the places in better condition than when I arrived.

It seems in this case WO had every motivation to be pissed that someone was on the property. It certainly would have been better for him to approach it without cussing, however, you had no reason to stoop to his level. As someone who has a few years on you and has made very similar mistakes, let me suggest next time you de-escalate the situation. Simple phrases like, Yes Sir, I appologize, I understand, Is there anything I can do to resolve this, I dont want to argue about this, you dont have to yell, I am listening to you, and how can I help you with this, can all rapidly change the conversation. Slinging cuss words and threats back at the guy as he was leaving is just plain stupid. Stopping and calling out the guy working on a tiller was equally as dumb.

In this case I dont think anything you would have said would have granted you future access. However, in some situations you will be surprised where the conversation can go.

I still have and open invite to play golf and fish a particular course in Conroe after becoming friends with the course manager. The friendship started with him driving a cart right at me, then getting off, grabbing a rake and cursing me for being on the fairway fishing.



ETA: Once he grabbed my neck he would have lost a knee, a nut, or the abilty to swallow.