Fishing
There’s a lot to talk about in this photo. It was the summer Lisa was riding all over Long Island. She was exercising and training diligently. I hadn’t caught the passion yet. She would ride all different routes and explore roads one might not ordinarily wander. She found a small body of water. I don’t quite know what to call it, river, lake, cove, inlet or what.
We piled the kids into the Volvo wagon with an inflatable raft stuffed into the back. We brought the dog and some fishing poles. No bait – more about that later. I launched the kids in the raft and let things play out. Ok, not exactly poles, the gear had spinning reels and bobbers. I think we probably had them from my brother John, the real fisherman in the family. Who knows if there were any fish? For bait I made an executive decision. I could have dug around for worms. Who knows? I could have found some in our rock garden. But then who’s going to put the squirming worm on the hook? And, if the kids catch a fish, then what? We weren’t going to be eating the catch. Hence, no bait. Funny?
Well the kids didn’t notice and didn’t mind one tiny bit. It wasn’t about catching fish for them either. The whole deal is about nature, camaraderie, peace, and solitude on a summer day that stretches lazily forever. Of all the things I did with my kids this was one photo of a memory that I cherish. We never did go back to that spot. There are times when a special moment has come and gone before you know it. Like I said before, I have been lucky to have preserve the memory of some of those moments.
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