"Getting a glimpse of the man inside was a real treat. It didn't happen often, but when it did, it usually happened when we were fishing."
The son involved here went on to describe the father-and-son teamwork they had used to get a 14-foot aluminum boat on top of the car.
"After stowing the gear, we'd jump in the old Plymouth and head for our favorite lake," he said. "The one-hour trip gave us time to wake up and plan our strategy. It might be catfish, bluegills, crappie, or bass...it didn't matter, we were fishing, and that's all that counted.
"We'd flip a coin to see who would row the boat first," he continued, "then we'd ease away from the dock into the early morning mist. Except for the squeak of the oarlock, we entered a silent and beautiful world, far away from traffic, cars and telephones. Nothing was said while we watched the sun magically turn black and white into a collage of colors. Finally, the bobber and doomed worm found its mark next to the lily pads, and the stage was set."
Then the magic of a son and dad fishing together began to work in mysterious ways.
"It would begin with a lesson on knot-tying, or when to set the hook, but if I waited long enough, Dad would begin telling stories of long ago, when he was a lad growing up on the farm," explained the son. "He may have thought his stories were about pike fishing, deer hunting, or ice fishing in his dad's ice shack, but they revealed much more to me. Each story was told of relationships with brothers, uncles or friends. If you unfolded the story, you could see the love between family members. Emotions and matters of the heart were the glue that held most of the stories together. Indeed, they were not the story's focus, but they revealed something new about the man I cherished the most."
Fishing always had been more than just being in a boat together for this father-son. There truly was something magical about the experience, and it motivated the son to call a Florida guide and reserve a day on the water for the two of them.
"The guide told me we'd be using shiners and balloon bobbers in the reeds," said the son. "I always had been eager to try this, but most of all, I was looking forward to hearing Dad tell those stories again. It would be a time to be as close as a man and his son can get."
That trip, however, was not to be.
Said the son, "Dad died of a massive heart attack three months before we were scheduled to get together and go. I still am numb."
The family instead decided to still go to Florida as originally planned to see Grandma and visit Disney World.
"At first, I thought about canceling my fishing trip, since it was meant to be a father-and-son affair," said the son. "However, I decided to go through with it after all. Since I'm a dad now, I felt it would be an excellent opportunity to take one of my children out to make memories of our own.
"Besides, my dad still will be there...in spirit. He'll be in the stories I pass on to my kids. If nothing else, there will be fresh air, nature at its best, and time to relax. But more than that, I suspect my children will be touched in the same way I was as a child. The stories we share are essential in the mystery and magic of fishing.
"Whether the stories are factual or a 'whopper of a fish story,' whether they make us laugh or raise a suspicious eyelid, they reveal something about the inner person that can't help but bring people closer together."
The son in this account hadn't seen his dad in 5-and-a-half years. As revealed here, life is too unpredictable to assume there always will be time for one more fishing trip. So make use of every opportunity you have to take someone you care about fishing.
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