Contemporary essays, fiction, and opinion offered regularly by author Anne Brandt.






Question for the week
Do all commands begin with verbs?
Ten minutes to
write.
Less time to
read.
Hooked
Posted: 07/30/08
I'm sitting in the lodge after a full day on the river ferreting fish. Tomorrow is our last day here; we return to normal life with computers and cellphones and fax machines instead of fishing rods and reels and lures. I never thought I'd miss the latter. But I think I will.

What have I learned these past few days? Well, I've certainly improved my technical skills on a scale of one to ten. I'm at least in the middle range. I've caught one of each species of fish up here, called the Grand Slam, and I have a trophy mug to show for it.

I've become comfortable with tiny fly-out planes and tinier boats and big fish and even bigger desires. For instance, when Earl catches a really big fish, he then wants a bigger one. I say to him, "Relish this fish"; and he says,"I'm relishing." But I know he's thinking of bigger trophies tomorrow. As for me, I'm still relishing the fact that I caught a fish in the first place.

It's taken Earl only a dozen years and thousands of dollars to make me a fishing enthusiast. But he's always been patient in that regard, and I think it's paying off. I can't wait to get out on the water tomorrow, our last day this year, to cast for fish, cruise in the boat, have our last shore lunch of 2008, and maybe -- just maybe -- catch a BIG one. You might say I'm hooked.


Click here to send this
mini-essay to a friend.


Previous entries
Due to the volume of entries, Anne's Ten Minutes A Day are now categorized by date and by topics. Some essays are found under more than one topic.

Click here for a chronological list.

Otherwise, select from the categories below.

2004 Election2008 ElectionAnnoyances
Changing SceneDining/FoodFlora/Fauna
Me/FamilyNostalgiaPersonal Pleas
PoliticsSmall Town LifeSpecial Events
TechnologyThings to PonderTravel
Writing