Friend Dave Henault, owner of Ocean State Tackle, made front page news today . . . top of the fold too. The Providence Journal ran a story about Dave’s upcoming surgery, in which his nephew will be giving him a new kidney. It’s a heartwarming story and I defy anyone to watch the short video interview without getting a little verklempt.
For Andrew Reinhardt, the decision to donate a kidney to their uncle was easy.
“It’s pretty simple math for me,” Reinhardt says. “I’ve got two good kidneys and one good uncle.”
Reinhardt and their uncle Dave Henault are scheduled for surgery Sept. 19 at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Dave has been sharing his journey on social media — along with the “who caught what fish, with what bait, and where” news — so his friends and customers are excited that the surgery is finally happening.
Our recent post about the shop involved the repainting of the trout on the storefront by local artist Bert Crenca, and all my pictures from that day were mostly of Bert. So I dropped by today for a new take. (Plus, when a person is on the front page of the paper that’s a big day.)
For friends and customers who may be wondering about the bait shop protocols surrounding the surgery:
- Conduct your business at the ‘bait express’ window. Dave is being very selective about letting people inside the shop right now. And don’t be coughing at him.
- Following the surgery, he may only open the shop on weekends.
Your best bet is to check in to the Ocean State Tackle FB page. (Bonus: Dave often posts about food. He knows where all the good Asian restaurants are and what to order. And he often enjoys breakfast at Louis’ on Brook Street.)
Surgery is never fun, but these transplants are life-changing and this couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. Best of luck to our friend Dave and thank you Andrew!
(One last note: This is great writing by Jack Perry. And I love the photo by Kris Craig.)
Ocean State Tackle, 430 Branch Avenue, (directions)
**********************************
Who’s a good boy? Prana was yapping at a dog up the street.
Dave is a practicing Tibetan Buddhist: Prana means “breath, or life force.”