The first time my father and I ever went fishing became a family legend.
We spent hours waiting for a nibble. The sun was blistering, and this was back in the days before sunscreen. We were hot, sticky and mad that the fish refused to suck up our night crawlers.
Being only seven years old, I observed that perhaps the worms were the problem. Maybe the night crawlers only wriggled at night, and now they were just lying there limp on the hook. Dad ignored my assessment of the situation.
We began to pack up to leave. As we headed back to our truck, we heard tires spinning in the distance. Getting into our truck was a grim affair. Having sat in the boiling sun for six hours, the seats were blistering. Naturally, I was wearing shorts.
I shifted from side to side in the seat so as not to cook my backside. While driving out we saw a truck with a boat trailer and boat that was stuck in the mud. That explained the sound of spinning tires we"d heard.
Being a nice guy, my dad helped pull the man from the mud. In return, this fellow gave Dad some fish for being a Good Samaritan. As Dad climbed back into our truck with a brown bag full of fish, we waved good-bye to our newfound friend.
On the drive home, we agreed to take in the fish as if we had caught them. We were sure there was no way for Mom to know the difference. It was just a little white lie.
We arrived home hot, sweaty and smelly and went to clean up while Mom prepared the fish. We made a big deal out of the fact that we had already cleaned them and put them in the bag so as not to make a mess.
After showering, Dad and I met in the hall and exchanged conspiratorial grins. Sitting down to freshly fried catfish, hush puppies and coleslaw, we dug in heartily. In the spirit of embellishment, we both went on about how good something tasted that we had actually caught ourselves. Mother looked suitably impressed.
As we got up to do the dishes, Mom cleared her throat. "I just have one question of you two great fishermen," she said. We looked at her expectantly, thinking we had another opportunity to regale her with our great fishing ability. With a tiny smile, Mom asked, "How was it again that you two managed to not only clean your fish, but also freeze them before you got home?"(：夏根建)
