Story O' Day: Go Fish

.one of my favorite pictures in my parents house = a toe-headed little boy sitting on a rough wooden T-shaped pier with a cane pole between his legs. 

one of my earliest memories = walking out to my granddaddy's shop where all the men stood in a long assembly line. .orderly they beheaded. gutted. scaled. and .fried. enough fish for our huge family. 

.these two stories, of the millions of other memories, set the stage for my love of fishing. .a love claire had confirmed we held in common on our early dates.  .then came the testing time.

.it was memorial day weekend and claire's good friend ashley was getting hitched in the mountains outside hendersonville, nc. .i promised to attend based on a few conditions. .i didn't have to wear a shirt except to the wedding. and .i could fish on memorial day. .she agreed.

.so the wedding came and i brought my fishing gear. .mid-day claire joined me after her bridesmaid breakfast. .it was beautiful. .about ninety degrees. .sunny. .fish were everywhere under the trees on the banks. .i brought her an extra fishing rod with an effective lure. .she smiled and said she'd rather watch for a while. .no problem. .she sits down in the front seat of our two-person kayak (in retrospect a canoe would have worked better) and we paddle out. .fifteen minutes later i hook my first blue gill and reel in a little prize. . i slide the rod beside me and hold the fish to free the hook from its mouth.

!WHAT IN THE ?! GET THAT THING ?! OFF OF ME ?! WHAT ARE YOU ?! OH MY GOSH ?! claire has a bonafide freak out right in the boat. .as she screams unfinished words in an inaudible high pitch voice and attempts to turn around in a narrow boat. ?! WHAT !? i.m holding the fish in my left hand but she was convinced i had dangled it all down her back.

.trying to compose herself. .she proceeds to explain that she loves fishing. BUT .she hates baiting hooks. .hates seeing fish. .hates catching fish. .hates touching fish. .hates gutting fish. .hates cooking fish. BUT she loves fishing. 

.interesting.

.since then she has mysteriously been busy every time i've been fishing since.  .wonder why.