Following the appointment of Bruce Buckson of Florida to head NOAA’s office of law enforcement I asked a Florida fisherman to tell me a little about a man who is unknown in these waters. Here is the reply from Bob Jones who is executive director of the Southeastern Fisheries Association.
Several years ago, Colonel Buckson invited me to address a graduating class of marine patrol officers who the night before completed a very difficult training course at the law enforcement boot camp in Gadsden County. He asked me to tell them about the commercial fishing industry. I had on my only blue suit, a red silk tie, spit-shined cordovan wingtip shoes and a blue baseball cap with an 18-inch gray ponytail hanging down my back. The Colonel stepped outside the room and told me it was my time. He gave me a look I’ll never forget then he smiled. I put my shoulders back and marched into the classroom full of shaved faces on handsome, motivated new enforcement officers. I watched their eyes as I swished my head from side to side to make the swinging ponytail visible to all. I’m not a mind reader, but could “hear” many of them thinking, “What in the hell is a 300-pound-hippie doing here?”
Read the complete blog from The Standard-Times.