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November
6, 2008
“You look a little puzzled,” the always observant
Soupster noted. “Is something bothering you,
my friend?”
“Well, Soupster, when I first came to Our
Town I thought fish sticks were pretty good
fare, but since then I have learned a great
deal about the wonders of fresh, wild-caught
fish. But I’ll tell you, these fishermen in
Our Town are a strange lot!”
“What makes you say that?”
“Well, I was at Mickey’s for breakfast and
there were a bunch of very mature, experienced
fishermen in their plaid flannel shirts and
blue jeans, bragging about their recent biggest
catch. I listened awhile with interest and
then inquired, ‘Just where did you catch them?’
They immediately answered, ‘In the ocean.’
“‘Right here,’ one indicated, with his finger
hooked in the corner of his mouth stretching
his lip to the side.
“The oldest one said, ‘Sorry, if I tell you
I will have to kill you.’
“When I very politely asked them why they
were sitting around drinking coffee instead
of fishing I heard a chorus of: ‘Have you
seen that water out there?’…’Don’t you know
the weather forecast? It is going to blow
southwest this afternoon.’…’I have to paint
the boat. Besides, the wind is coming from
the east.’…’There aren’t any fish out there
today!’…’The tide is too high.’…’It is too
bright -- fish don’t bite in the sunshine.
Everybody knows that.’ “I innocently asked
them, ‘Well, if you were fishing what kind
of lures would you use?’ and the argument
commenced.
“’Blue-green number 38R hootchies.’
“’No, silver spoons with orange dots.’
“’Half silver, half bronze spoons painted
with stripes.’
“’You have to have herring for added flavor.’
“’Always add a red or yellow glass bead on
the leader and then a twinkle skirt underneath.’
“’Silly me.’ I replied. ‘I thought fish were
color blind and I also heard there isn’t any
color down that deep.’
“’Well, what darn fool told you that?’ the
older one hooted. ‘Different conditions, the
fish like different colors.’ “
I quickly finished my coffee and headed to
work.
“There’s more, Soupster. Last week I was having
dinner at the beautiful new diner at the end
of the road. We were eating with one of the
master fishermen and his lovely wife. He was
inquiring of the waitress about the salmon
special.
“’What kind of salmon? Was it locally caught?
Has it ever been frozen? What boat caught
it?’
“At that, the ever efficient waitress looked
puzzled.
“’Some of those skippers just don’t use enough
ice to suit me,’ he explained.
“They are an interesting lot, indeed!” replied
the Soupster, “but, remember - they are the
backbone of our fishing fleet. They add much
local color and they help keep Our Town viable.”
--submitted
by Rose Manning
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