Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Life Imitates Art and Art Imitates Life, but

My Life Imitates Fishing!

Last Saturday a friend treated me to my first-ever experience of fishing. While it was not a successful day as far as catch was concerned, as I recounted the afternoon, I was struck by its similarity to my current lifestyle.

  • We were in a small boat, in shallow waters, driving slow, close to the protection of the mainland. (Yup, that's me, cautious.)
  • We weren't overly restrictive but would have been happy with redfish, snook, grouper or nearly anything that would have made a good dinner. (Can't be too restrictive.)
  • We came armed with GPS coordinates of locations where our sought-after catch was said to be. (That would be my list of the ten best happy hours in Naples and Bonita Springs.)
  • We brought a small supply of good bait to attract the fish. (Comparable to my smile, good attitude, coordinating outfit, snacks, beer and wine for us.)
  • We baited the hooks and cast the lines. (Yup, do that every happy hour.)
  • You must keep your eye on the bobber that indicates where the catch is. Blink for a moment and the bobber, the bait, and the catch are gone! (Sound familiar?)
  • My first catch was a stingray. Nasty looking thing with beady eyes. Best way to get rid of him was to snip the line, taking care to stay away from his body, lest he sting. Lost bait on that one. (Thankfully, I haven't yet encountered the human equivalent of a stingray.)
  • Next numerous catches were all catfish -- big ones, small ones, fat ones. Some captured all the bait, some just part of it. We could have kept any or all of them but released them as they were not what we were hoping for. (Real life scenario here.)
It began to storm, concluding the fishing experience. Back home, soaking wet, no fish, attitude a little wonked, but nothing that a warm shower and a non-fish dinner wouldn't fix. By bedtime a new list of the ten best happy hours is compiled, and this time, Estero is included. I'm expanding my horizons. I know the preferred catch is out there!

No comments: