Posts Tagged ‘mustard hooks’
The Old Man and the River
When I ride my bike through the crowded, bustling city streets, I occasionally miss the simplistic ways of country living. When I’m feeling especially nostalgic, I pedal over to a local suspension bridge, where fishermen cast their fishing hooks into the roiling depths below, hoping to land a city-dwelling trophy fish. Sometimes I even stumble upon old men with waders who are waist deep in the river.
On one day in particular I stopped to ask an older gentleman if he’d had any luck so far. He trudged up out of the murky riverbed and onto dry land, water streaming off of his waders all the while. I noticed he was wearing a fly-fishing vest in lieu of carrying a tackle box. He undid one of the front buttons, reached in and cupped some object in his hand. “Here ya go,” he said, “Have a look at what I’ve caught so far.” I looked down into his palm and saw a tiny minnow wriggling around. “Just kidding,” the man said. “That’s just one of my bait fish.”