I FEEL GUILTY

I don't fish anymore. It's a lot like golf, you know. While you're doing either they maybe aren't that fun. But when you're finished, you think about what a great time you had.

The first time I fished on a regular basis was the first year I was married. Loving to be outdoors and not having much spending money, we found fishing fun, inexpensive, and a way to be together.

What I didn't know was the my new wife just liked to catch fish--she didn't like to eat them. So we had a freezer full of fish that we had caught, cleaned, and packaged up for freezing, but didn't eat. We must have given them away; I don't recall. As a fish lover, I felt bad about making my new bride cook up something she didn't like.

I continued fishing with her and college friends for awhile. It must be confessed that I am a lousy fisherman, my largest catch ever not equaling even one pound. Oh, I could have set trot lines, I guess, but I preferred the catch, you know, fighting the fish. Of course when you're not any more successful than I, you don't have much of a fight to perform.

A non-hunter, now I've joined the ranks of a non-fisher, too. But I miss those days (and nights) of throwing in a line from my cane poles and Zebco reel. But I don't pass up a good fish at a restaurant. I can still enjoy that. And while I'm eating, just once in awhile, I can imagine that I caught the fish myself. With my trusty Zebco.