A few weeks ago, my granddad’s old fishing buddy Henry and his wife came into my restaurant to eat. I can’t recall seeing him since I used to go fishing with the two of them when I was 15, although I’m pretty sure he was at my granddad’s funeral several years ago.
First of all, he must be in his 90s and still rocking strong. He immediately recognized me and asked if I had been fishing lately. Seeing him almost brought a tear to my eye. I sat down with him and his wife for a while after they ate.
He told me grand stories about fishing trips with my granddad. They seem to have had the “Grumpy Old Men” type of relationship, with my grandfather playing the role of the stubborn, guy who is rarely wrong. Now, it made sense how I turned out personality-wise. I must have had more in common with my grandfather than I thought.
Of course I had a fish story of my own to contribute. I reminded him of the time the three of us went fishing of the Pamlico Sound. I was probably in middle school at the time. Granddad and I were having pretty good luck reeling them in off the pier all day, while Henry wasn’t catching anything. Granddad and I razzed him a bit, but before you know it, he was reeling in a nice sized flounder.
Henry got the fish onto the pier and took the hook out of its mouth. However, the fish slipped out of his hands and begin flapping about on the pier. Once again, Granddad lead the razzing charge. The fish was almost home-free, close to hoping back into the water. Henry, being a slightly portly fellow, not to mention in his mid-to-late 70s at the time, pounced on the flounder. He made sure it was not going into the water! I laughed so hard I nearly rolled off the pier and into the water myself. It was one of the funniest sights of my youth!
Henry started laughing when I told him the story. He added that when he got home, he cleaned the fish and ate it for dinner.
It was great seeing him. I was surprised to see how well he was getting around, considering his age. I was glad they got to see me make something of myself.
Well, at least for now