Today marks another passage for many of us as the season turns to summer and we cope with the realities of our lives and our circumstances.

The final days of May are when many of the species of fish we pursue move into their summer patterns. Daylight lingers longer, our weather is shaping up nicely and we look forward to the things we love to do in June, July and August.

Except, of course, the pending arrival of June this year is full of uncertainty.

For me and for a couple of hundred other people, today would have been the day we went to Aqua Ohio’s Evans and Pine lakes for the annual bass tournament that the fishing community has supported as a fundraiser for our United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley.

Known as the Muransky Companies Bass Classic, the event has been on local bass anglers’ calendars for more than 20 years. It has grown thanks to generous support from competitors, volunteers and sponsors. It’s been one of the key fundraisers for the United Way here, and today would have been the day when it pushed the amount raised during the 20-year run to more than a half million dollars.

Today, however, the anglers will be fishing elsewhere. The volunteers will be doing what they do on Saturdays these days. And the United Way’s staff will be preoccupied with the enormous challenges associated with serving our friends and neighbors who need a boost during these difficult times.

Six weeks ago, the Bass Classic planning committee made the tough decision to cancel this year’s fundraiser tournament. The event’s format puts three people in each boat and includes a big dinner party the night prior to fishing for all anglers, officials, sponsors and guests. The uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic left no doubt that the Bass Classic could not be staged safely and successfully this year.

The coronavirus may have taken the Bass Classic off anglers’ calendars this year, but it does not cancel the needs that the anglers and volunteers helped local agencies fulfill.

It strikes me that this weekend’s passage of spring to summer, of the fish transitioning into their warm-weather patterns, has special significance.

Our world moves forward even when it seems to have stalled. We still have a journey ahead, even though our lives are different.

We all want to return to “normal,” but we also know change has become inevitable. Consider the new things we do today compared to two or three months ago. Some of them will become permanent fixtures in our lives.

For the people who read this column regularly, of course, fishing is one of the things they will continue to do as close to the way they’ve always done it as possible. Anglers are resilient in their resolve to go to the water.

The cancelation of the 21st annual Muransky Companies Bass Classic is just one tiny piece of fallout from the disruption wrought by the coronavirus.

But it’s also a symbol. Before the virus, a couple of hundred anglers and volunteers gathered annually to do something good for their community.

We can still do that. Let’s do something good for someone other than ourselves. It can be whatever we want it to be. Call a friend to say hello. Mow a neighbor’s lawn. Buy lunch for a nursing home staff. Volunteer for a service. Wear a mask. Write a check.

We’re getting through this. I’m confident we’ll be OK. And then a couple of hundred people can convene at Evans and Pine lakes the last Saturday of May in 2021 and put fishing to work again to help those in need in our Mahoning Valley.

Wollitz is a writer and angler who has enjoyed fishing throughout northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. He appreciates emails from readers. Send a note to Jack at jackbbaass@gmail.com.