Fishing

Wow, it is great to be home by 10:00 PM on a Monday. This is the first time this year to be in my house by this hour on a Monday.

Yesterday, we celebrated Angie's (my cousin) and Dad's birthday over at my grandparents' house. My dad is an avid fisherman. Over the years, he has collected some pretty cool fishing gear - fish-finders, a fishing scope to see down in the water, all different kinds of lures, even a fishing boat. He has also had quite a few interesting stories including a truck ending up in the lake.

So it was no surprise to see him open a gift of more fishing gear. He unwrapped the box and we beheld this amazing little fishing pole and reel. It folds up and even includes a compartment for a lure or two. In typical Wise family fashion, he passed it around the circle of people gathered in the living room. When it ended in my hands, I eagerly attempted to cast the weight (no hook tied on - thankfully). I pulled the rod back and pushed the release button will casting forward. Umm, yeah, the weight flew across the entire room and into the kitchen. It just cleared the people still sitting at the table. Needless to say, this created quite a stir and my little cousin Eric laughed and laughed. (Actually, thinking about his laughing is making me laugh right now.)

I thought about this a little more though today... about casting. Without casting (over and over and over and over and over and over and over again, in some cases), it is never possible to catch any fish. I think back to the numerous fishing trips that I took with Dad... the trips in the rain, the uncomfortable times when I was seriously overdue to spend some time in the bathroom, the times that we sat for hours without even a bite. The crazy thing is that without those times, we would have never caught any fish.