Good Intentions

My intent was only to fish for a few hours one afternoon. There was really no way of knowing the impact that one afternoon would have on me. Two weeks later all I can say is, “I had good intentions.”

It was a last-minute decision to go. One of those fishing trips where you’re just happy to be on the water. With zero expectations, I paddled in to an area I hadn’t seen in a few months. What happened in those few hours has had a huge impact on my ability to think rationally.

There’s a mountain of laundry my kids are playing king of the hill on top of. Its aroma is a nice addition to the funky fish smell I carry on me. I’m pretty sure I took a shower this week but maybe it was last week. There isn’t anything to eat in the house. But the good news is, I saw food at Walmart while I was there picking up some lures. It’s safe to say my family is ready for the pre-spawn bass bite to end (that’s the PG version). I’ll spare you my wife’s, less than enthusiastic, state of mind.

In the past, I’ve tried to explain the “pre-spawn” bite to those that don’t fish. The message never gets delivered accurately. I think it’s because I’m talking about the fishing and they’re expecting a science project. This year I went a different direction.

Since pictures are worth a 1000 words, I showed everyone pictures of the bass I caught, hoping they’d explain my situation. This might be the one time when pictures were not helpful. I went back the next day and guess who was in my fishing hole? Now his family is mad at me!

I reassured everyone this was just a phase and it would soon pass. It would be a whole year before I checked out again. The message was returned to sender with a “failure to deliver” note attached. What I’ve concluded is you either get it or you don’t. There aren’t any words that can explain my affliction and pictures just infect others.

I honesty wish there was someone to do the laundry, buy the groceries and keep the kids from falling off cliffs. Until cloning is acceptable the only excuse I have is, did you see the pictures…