F is for Fishing
One of the settings that I love in stories is the sleepy fishing village. They are found near the water, where the sound of the waves hitting the shore is a very calming sound for me. The primary industry for the people there is fishing, not just for the commercial side of things, but also for their families.
As a kid growing up in the suburbs, I had never fished before. About four years ago, Sam took me out on the lake where his family cabin is. I bought a fishing license and felt pretty cool to see my name on it. Got to feel like I was part of the outdoors gang. I did the best I could to put the bait on the hook. I caught a couple of fish that day, mainly sunfish. I’ve also had the experience of fishing from an icehouse and sleeping out on that same lake overnight. The fish we caught while we were out there coming at two and three o’clock in the morning. Being woken up by the clanging of the bells on the rattle reels was exciting. Made the ice fishing experience complete.
Fishing is one of those great American pastimes that kids have done with their dads and Grandads for years. I hear the stories and see the pictures of how much bonding the boys have done with Sam through fishing. We also took the kids and their sister fishing one time up at the cabin and had the best bonding experience as a family.
As we come upon the annual fishing opener this weekend, the fraternity of fishermen will have the stories to tell about how big the fish really were, exaggerated or not. They’ll also have a weekend where they can get away and enjoy ‘just being one of the guys’.