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The two continued in silence as they made their way towards CLE 24/7 Storage Incorporated, an around the clock self-service storage facility located in a former underground parking garage near the Westcott Hotel.
What used to be a parking garage was now a series of storage lockers located where the parking spots once were. The access drives enabled the customers to drive right up to their unit and access it 24 hours a day via an electronic keypad where the parking attendant used to sit.
Once inside, Coop directed Rahul to his unit, which was a 10’x12’ locker on the second level. Coop used this to store the majority of the items he was able to salvage from his father’s house in Pass Christian after Katrina.
Most of the items housed inside the locker were damaged to some degree from the storm: Family pictures in water damaged frames, his late mother’s favorite blanket that kept her warm as she battled the cancer that eventually killed her, and many other items that Coop was able to gather from what was left of his childhood home.
Perhaps the least damaged items that Coop was able to rescue after the storm were he and his father’s fishing gear, which had been in a tall plastic storage locker in the garage when Katrina wreaked its havoc.
Jeffrey had taught Cooper how to fish at an early age and he loved to tell people that his son had landed his first bass while he was still in diapers. The two would often sneak off to various fishing spots in and around Pass Christian, both freshwater and out on the Gulf of Mexico.
While Coop loved going after Black Tip shark in the Gulf, his favorite spots to fish with his dad were the small inland channels and lakes where they would go after largemouth bass and catfish. While landing a big one was always the goal, they both seemed to find the most joy in just spending time together.
Coop selected the two fishing rods that were in the best shape and also his father’s tackle box, which was his father’s before him. It was an old “Firestone Deluxe” metal tackle box that was greenish in color and had two trays inside it. Firestone, who had long been a giant in the automotive tire industry, made a brief foray into the world of fishing in the 1940’s.
Inside the old box was an array of lures, hooks, weights, bobbers, and everything Coop would need to catch a fish with Cara. Some of the rigs were likely older than Coop and probably even his late father.
It’s like a time capsule…
Coop took a deep whiff of the contents of the box before closing it.
Smells like home…
Coop flicked the switch to the storage locker light and rolled the door back down in place.
“It looks like you are ready to catch the fish!” Rahul said as Coop locked the storage unit door.
“Just don’t let the fish know…” Coop laughed as he and Rahul placed the fishing gear into the trunk.
“I will take you home now?” Rahul asked.
“Yessir, I suppose I should sleep for a couple hours before I pick her up.”
