An admirable man

Never having met lobsterman Doug Goodale, we have no way of knowing what he thinks about in his private hours. But the man who recently lost an arm in about the most horrific way possible recently said something that anyone facing obstacles in life would do well to recall.

Mr. Goodale late last month had his right arm chewed apart by a trap-hauling winch on his lobster boat while he fishing alone on a wet morning. He struggled for several minutes, was flipped over the side of his boat, dragged himself back aboard, and it was only when the winch had torn away most of his forearm that he was able to cut away his oilskin, the winch line and part of his arm to free himself.

Screaming in pain and operating his boat one-handed in waves running eight to 10 feet, he made it back to Wells Harbor, got help and, later, doctors amputated part of his arm. Mr. Goodale is already training himself to live life one-handed. Asked about a future without most of his right arm, he told the Maine Sunday Telegram the following:

“What this boils down to is it’s another setback. It’s like going down to your boat and your motor gave out. Or the pump doesn’t work. Or the bait man didn’t come. Only this time, the setback will take more time.”

Have more admirable words been spoken?