You Get A Line. I’ll Get A Pole.

I want to go fishing.

This isn't something I've said very often in my life. But today it's true. I walked outside a minute ago and had a sudden urge to be in a boat on the water with a fishing rod in my hand. It might have something to do with the weather. It looks like we're going to have a beautiful Alabama spring day today. It's 11am now. It's in the mid 60's. and the high today is 75. Yet, here I sit. I'm in my office at work. 10'X10', no windows, sheetrock walls painted "prison gray". I've been here over a year and ½ and have not yet hung anything on the walls except a calendar. It may be time to change that. Something to think about anyway.

But for now, back to fishing. My father LOVES to fish. When I was young he would take me fishing with him often. But I never really took to it like he did. I'm sure he would have loved for that to have been a common interest that we both shared. But I just never did. His idea of a great day was to get on the water just before sunrise and come home just after sundown. I'd hear his stories of catching 60-70 crappie (pronounced crop-ie) with my uncle, then I'd go out with him and we'd catch 10-15 if we were lucky. So maybe I just wasn't a very good fisherman.

I do remember wondering from the time we got on the water "when are we gonna eat?". That was always a high point in my fishing trips with my dad. We'd anchor down somewhere, put the poles down and eat our lunch. Typically that meant Vienna sausages, peanut butter crackers, and Pepsi from a can. These were all items that could be left stored in the boat for our next trip if necessary. (Liberals and tree-huggers be warned. You're going to be shocked by the following.) I have a vivid memory of my Dad teaching me the proper way to dispose of an empty Pepsi can. You don't just throw it in the water. That's littering and would make the beautiful Alabama waterways look bad. Instead, you fill it with water, then let it slowly sink to the bottom. That way, it's magically gone from view. I'm pretty sure that's the way God intended us to get rid of them.

Now that I'm thinking a lot about fishing, I'm remembering a lot of fishing stories from my childhood that I could tell you. These include: snakes, bee hives, broken boat motors, and girls sun-bathing on a pier. These are all stories worth telling that I might share with you one day. But for now, I'm content simply saying that today I'd like to be fishing. I definitely need to find time on a Saturday soon to get with my Dad and my boys, head out in the boat, and at let him teach them the joys of fishing, especially the disappearing Pepsi can trick.