Fishme a new one

Fishing for Unity

I may be obsessed with fishing. For someone who does not fish very often, (anymore) I think about it probably 5 times per day. Some of those periods of thought are 30 minutes in length.
I used the subject of fishing at work to get the VP of Engineering to “like” me.

This guy is a tight ass teabagger. He is a self-important dude, from Texas who really loves to hear himself chat.

He thinks he has the answer to everything. He actually is a genius, and his engineering skills are immense. But I felt really harassed by this guy from the start. He would walk by my desk and flash a sarcastic peace sign. Often, when talking to prospective contractors, he would tell stories about his grandfather, who nearly died in WW2. I would hold my resentment towards him, because of his power in the company. I never told him that both of my grandfathers, plus my father and brother, had served in War for the US.

Anyway, the way I turned this guy from enema to friend was quite simple. I asked him about fishing. His eyes lit up. Political grudges slipped away. He started to tell me all about his salt-water fishing vessel.

I jumped on the opportunity. The next week I brought in an issue of Saltwater Fishing magazine which featured a picture of a Gator Trout. When he walked by my desk, I casually showed him the mag. I asked about his experience with these beastly trout. He told me how he used to catch them.

I shifted the subject to catching blues and stripers in the chilly northeast waters. He said he had pulled in a couple of small ones. My next moved turned his opinion of me, if just for an instant. I explained exactly how he could guarantee a good catch. I instructed him on different baits, chums, and lures to use. I told him why certain areas were better than others. I also helped him to understand that fishing for stripahs in the wee hours of the am was the best way to go about it.

Since that day, he seems to like me. He respects my intelligence. I am sure this is not the case, but for just a moment, I may have opened his mind up to acceptance of Massachusetts liberals.

Fishing does this. Hunting does this too. But Fishing is the uniting force in this country. Rednecks fish, Blue collars fish, Big-wigs fish. Ted Williams was a world-class fisherman. Fish is the best source of protein in our diets.
I hope I can go fishing one day.


-Patchman Fishington