Todays Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul

[Guest guest]

Once Was Enough

By Karri J.

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? "