Gone Fishin’

When I was writing POP’S PERFECT PRESENT, I wanted to get as many ideas about father/child bonding as I could, so I asked my friends how they would spend a “perfect” day with their children (or father). More than one person mentioned fishing. Because of this, not only do my main character and her father head out to the lake, but it also made me think a lot about my experience fishing with my dad.

The Memory

I was probably about six or seven when my father took me fishing. I remember him talking it up for weeks, so that I was just DYING to go with him. Finally, the big day arrived, and it was NOT what I had expected.

First of all, he woke me up before the sun came up. This is early in any context, but during the summer in upstate NY, dawn comes very early, so this was probably 4:30am or earlier.

I then remember a disjointed and bumpy series of stops as we got our equipment loaded up, bought bait and snacks, and then made our way to…I want to say the boat, but we might have just found some rocks on the banks of our lake.

What followed next was the tedium known only to a very young child undertaking a task that requires vast reserves of time and patience. I remember the bobber hitting the water, and my father telling me to let him know if it ever dipped below the surface. And then, I remember staring at a red-and-white plastic ball that never moved, for like three-and-a-half weeks. (it was probably about ten minutes). I don’t remember if we caught anything that day, but I sincerely doubt it.

The last memory I have was heading to the diner after we were done for a pancake breakfast.

The Meaning

So all told, it was a dull morning that started way too early with nothing of note happening … and yet I remember it as one of the best days of my young life.

What I understand now (and my main character of POP figures out at the end of the book) is that sometimes, what makes an activity special is not the act itself, or whatever thing you do or do not accomplish, but rather who you’re doing it with, and the time that’s dedicated to doing it together. I didn’t want to go fishing that day (and if he’s being honest, my father probably didn’t want to either), I wanted to spend some special time with my dad, and vice versa.

 Sometimes, some time is all it takes to turn a “boring” day into a lifelong memory.