Gone Fishin'

I remember one summer, when I was much younger (so that means ~8 years ago), I was spending most of my free time at my grandparents' house. That's when we still lived next door to them, so it was pretty easy to just run over there during the day while my parents worked. It was decently hot out. I guess I should say it was as hot as it gets on a normal Ohio summer day. So who knows, it was probably 32 and snowing. Just kiddin'.. Kinda. Anyways, my grandpa decided we were gonna go fishing. I was so excited, seeing as though I really hadn't done much fishing in my life. My dad was a city boy, born and raised in New Albany, and my mom was practically born in a barn (sorry mom), but she was no fisherman, or woman. I remember my first thought was to immediately run out and collect worms. It probably hadn't rained in a week, but I was bound and determined to find some stinkin' worms. I think I turned over every rock, log, stump, and pile of leaves from their house to the neighbors down the street, and I got nothin'. Well crap.. How can you fish without worms? My grandpa, a man who had a solution to everything, went downstairs, and grabbed a can of corn- those were definitely not in short supply in their "grocery store" as we often call it. Off we went to state lake, corn and fishing poles in hand.

Ever heard that Trace Adkins song, "Just Fishin?" That's about how this afternoon was going. Apparently fish don't like corn.. I really never thought that corn was a normal staple in an aquatic creatures diet, but hey, grandpas know everything. Needless to say, I was getting rather discouraged. Honestly, the discouragement had probably set in after about 4 1/2 minutes without a fish, not that I had any idea what I would do if I had caught one.

We had just about decided to give up, and we were about to pack up our stuff that was sitting on a picnic table. Also on that picnic table was a fly. Of course, we spooked that fly when we approached it and it took off. However, without hesitation, or even 2 words, my grandpa snatched that fly right of the air with his bare hands before it could get away. I think my reaction was nothing short of "WHAT ON EARTH?!"

Yup, my grandpa was officially as cool as Mr. Miyagi, minus the chopsticks and the bonsai. So we put that fly on a hook, cast out one more time, and what do you know, we still didn't catch anything. 
At the time, that whole adventure was nothing but just that, an adventure. And also a really cool story to tell people cause I don't know many people who grab flies out of the air.

So, what's the point of my telling you this story now? Cause other than that fly part, it's really irrelevant to all of you. Well, now that I look back on memories like this, especially since the loss of my grandpa, I see the events play out a little differently. Sure, its still a great memory of the time my grandpa took me fishing, but its also a lesson.

Sometimes, in life, things don't go according to plan. We aren't always the bird that gets the worm, early or not. Sometimes the methods we use to achieve something just aren't meant to be. Often, we have to resort to plans B-Z in order to find a way to get through the obstacles life puts in our way. But the most important thing is to try one more time even when you think its finally time to throw in the towel. Often, that last resort is the most difficult to put into motion, but often its worth it. We didn't catch a fish with that fly, but if my grandpa had given up and packed in when the first 2 attempts failed, I wouldn't be here telling you this story today. I can't stress enough how important it is to give it, whatever it may be, everything you've got, and when you run out of steam, pause, and give it some more. You can do it.

May 3, 2013- Just short of 2 months before we lost Grandpa

Sometimes we get the fish, sometimes we don't. Either way, there's always a reason things happen the way they do. I think grandpa would be proud.