Getting results

 I took my son fishing when he was old enough to hold a pole. Down by the river in a spot I've been fishing for a long time. There were good-sized rocks all around us, and being a kid, he liked to explore everything around him. I noticed him getting bored with just standing there in one spot and tuning out whatever it was I was talking to him about, so I turned him loose, and off he went. A little while later, he came up to me holding a stick he had found and asked if he could make his own fishing pole. Why not, I thought to myself, he didn't know I spent a small fortune buying him the best rod and reel available. He took a spool of fishing line and wrapped it around his stick, then tied on a hook and a bobber. He baited the hook and tossed his line about ten feet offshore, then jammed the stick between two rocks, and once satisfied, he wandered off again.

Alone with my thoughts, I glanced beside me and noticed I didn't see his bobber, and the line was taught. I yelled for him to come check his line, and as he unwedged the stick and gave it a good tug, a good-sized trout showed itself. He held on tight as he walked backward until the fish was on shore, and he wore a smile that's forever etched in my mind and my heart. I suppose there is a moral to this story that it doesn't matter what you use to get results as long as you have fun getting them.

Mike 2026