This new wave of “true” reality shows (how true would you act at your job if someone were following you around with a camera?) provides a new level of entertainment to TV. I watch one, in particular, with the manly men in my house, with horror. The Deadliest Catch must be as close to hell on earth as you can get.
Heralded by the shows’s writers as the most dangerous job in the world, these men face the harsh reality of trying to make enough money to support their families and literally keep their businesses afloat. There is blood and cuts and stitches that go untreated…there is just not enough time in four months to worry about such trivialities.  Fishing for opilio or “snow crab,” causes the men to face some of the harshest conditions any of them have ever experienced in more than a quarter century of fishing.
Here’s what I’ve observed about these men — God love them for trying to support their families:
- No sleep. I thought nursing a newborn was bad. These men operate on no sleep, so dizzy they can’t stand up, doing HEAVY labor. And, don’t forget to watch the boom and that flying anchor, or you could loose a nose.
- Stuck on a boat for four months at a time. You CANNOT run out to the grocery store just for a break in a boat-ful of testosterone.
- Seasickness would be my constant battle… as I watch the ship toss in a cyclone of thunderous waves.
- HEAVY crates are hoisted out of the water — via pulleys, as wind and waves thrash again and again against the boat.
- Throwing that anchor out to drop the crates — did you see that poor guy that got hit on the side of his face with the anchor — his nose was moved to one side of his face. No medical support was called. Just a band-aid and time. CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT KIND OF PAIN? Makes my eyes water.
- The food. Did you see that mess? They eat like kings, in a second rate kitchen. They are ravenously hungry, and thank goodness for those men, they is an unlimited supply of vitals. They need it. Â Right after that, they showed us the clogged toilet on the ship, that finally exploded …. and then, I remember being seasick.
When I think I can’t take another second of this show, I notice myself. I’m seated comfortably on the sofa. My feet are dry. There is no wind. I am warm. I am SOOOO comfortable. I am dry. My toes are not pruned.
I am in heaven. I have seen enough… no problem in my day can match what these men are facing. I curl up in my DRY bed, that sits on a floor that is not moving, and I sleep like a baby.
Life is good.