Playground

August 22, 2020

It has been cooler this week (in the high 80’s!) so I thought the fish might be more active.  I went to a lake that has always seemed perfect but has never yielded many fish.  I fished for over an hour using both worms and stink bait and never got a single bite.  This is the same place I had fished last year without any luck.  As we were getting ready to leave, we saw a snake swim across our path about ten feet from the bank.  It had a good sized catfish in its mouth.  I thought, “Perfect! Even the snakes are better fishers than me.”

While several private schools have already started back, the public schools in our state are set to open next week.  The Governor also opened the public playgrounds this week after being closed all summer.  The park where I fished has a playground and I saw the tape that had encompassed the gyms and swings had been removed.  There was a family of small children happily climbing the gyms and sliding down the slides.  There were also three young girls playing on the swings.  They had arrived in a car.  It reminded me of when I was in High school and still enjoyed swinging at the playground.  This was something they all lost during the summer of covid-19.

Melissa texted me as I was preparing to leave.  I was in the midst of responding when I got a massive bite, taking my bobber completely under and keeping it there for several seconds.  I fumbled to put my phone away so I could retrieve my fish.  The bobber surfaced and then went under again so I was sure the fish was on.  When I pulled in the line, the fish was gone.  I got no more bites so I changed lakes.  Melissa again sent a text and as I was responding I got a bite on my cat pole which I again missed.  I almost texted Melissa to say to keep texting as it seemed to be acting as a fish call.  Or maybe fisherpeople are just superstitious.

THOUGHTS:  The pandemic has forced many changes on our country this summer.  It began without Proms and graduations and moved into closed parks and playgrounds.  Even while elderly and high-risk persons have stayed behind windows and locked doors, there are others who refuse to distance and wear their masks.  Large groups of unmasked persons have been seen at beaches, pools, bars, and parties.  Now that schools are reopening covid-19 cases are again on the rise.  Other countries heeded the advice of experts, locked down or wore masks, and are now reopening safely.  We decided to ignore the experts and are now reopening despite the rise in numbers.  We are told it will magically go away.  I wonder if we are being superstitious.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.