I've Been Fishing (Today's Topic)

[StrollerStrider]

I have very fond memories of fishing with my Daddy when I was a little girl. Sometimes my brother would come, but a lot of the time it was just Dad and me. We'd get up really early in the morning, and he make breakfast and his special homemade hot chocolate that always went into a tall green thermos. After he packed lunch and snacks, he'd help me fasten my button-fly Levi's so I could be like him. We'd climb into his old Jeep Wagoneer, and head for the lake before the sun came up, and spend allllllllllllll day out there. He never let me bait the hooks, but I got to choose the night crawlers or the color of power bait.

I can remember catching a flounder once. And one time, we were in the Delta, and as a hunk of fog cleared, we looked up... and up... and up the side of a huge barge that was practially right on top of us and our little aluminum fishing boat. Dad let the "s" word slip, and we reeled in as fast as we could to get the heck out of the way... luckily we did! Another time, I remember being so excited to set my hook on a big bite that as I jerked my pole up and back, I whacked my dad right in the head. :) And then there was the time that he forgot to put the plug in the boat. Boy, was that an experience! He realized it pretty quickly, and yelled for me to sit down and hang on. We went racing around the lake as fast as we could, and it was FREEZING with all that wind. But he got the water out and I put the plug in... whew!

It's been many years since Dad and I have gone fishing. Neither of us really have much time for it anymore. But the memories and the bonding from those experiences will last me a lifetime. On Mother's Day, Dad gave me Billy Crystal's book "I Already Know I Love You" (I collect children's books), and it mentioned that the grandpa was looking forward to taking his grandson on fishing trips. Just a couple days later, we found out that we're having a little boy, and my dad is so excited to be able to teach my son how to fish, and camp just like he taught me.

This isn't a fishing picture, but it's me and my dad. I think I was probably in 8th grade, and we were visiting the Chinese Gardens at Micke's Grove.

And this is just before he walked me down the aisle... my Daddy's a pretty special dude!