Fishing one Saturday evening on Smithville Lake, north of Kanas City, Missouri, back in the ‘90s, my rental outboard-boat ran out of gas. Having fished all day, and having caught nothing, I silently rebuked myself for being such a dodo!
Untying my boat from a tree limb where it had been moored, I began to drift with the current toward a group of fishermen in boats. As I floated ever closer, I noticed that they were all busily catching fish. Entering into their midst, one of them laconically remarked, “Might as well tie up and catch some crappie.”
“Don’t mind if I do,” I rejoined. Not believing my luck, I swiftly tied up again. Sure enough, the crappie, the crème de la crème of Missouri lake-fishing, were biting so hard and fast, I soon ran out of the little bait that I had left! Another fisherman looked up and said, “I’m over my limit. Here, have some of these. I’ll pull you into dock.”
True to his word, that fisherman pulled me halfway back to the pier, when the water patrol came along. He passed me off to them. We both were within our 15-fish, legal-sized limit, so the hand-off was without incident and a mutual blessing.
The lessons to be drawn from this real-life fishing story are multiple:
First, your success is a function of many factors including your own!
Second, where the fishermen are, the fish are.
Third, respect all limits, because you never know, do you?
#30
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
FISHING AS METAPHOR
FISHING AS METAPHOR
By Rev. Dr. Larry Delano Coleman
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Fishing one Saturday evening on Smithville Lake, north of Kanas City, Missouri, back in the ‘90s, my rental outboard-boat ran out of gas. Having fished all day, and having caught nothing, I silently rebuked myself for being such a dodo!
Untying my boat from a tree limb where it had been moored, I began to drift with the current toward a group of fishermen in boats. As I floated ever closer, I noticed that they were all busily catching fish. Entering into their midst, one of them laconically remarked, “Might as well tie up and catch some crappie.”
“Don’t mind if I do,” I rejoined. Not believing my luck, I swiftly tied up again. Sure enough, the crappie, the crème de la crème of Missouri lake-fishing, were biting so hard and fast, I soon ran out of the little bait that I had left! Another fisherman looked up and said, “I’m over my limit. Here, have some of these. I’ll pull you into dock.”
True to his word, that fisherman pulled me halfway back to the pier, when the water patrol came along. He passed me off to them. We both were within our 15-fish, legal-sized limit, so the hand-off was without incident and a mutual blessing.
The lessons to be drawn from this real-life fishing story are multiple:
First, your success is a function of many factors including your own!
Second, where the fishermen are, the fish are.
Third, respect all limits, because you never know, do you?
#30
Fishing one Saturday evening on Smithville Lake, north of Kanas City, Missouri, back in the ‘90s, my rental outboard-boat ran out of gas. Having fished all day, and having caught nothing, I silently rebuked myself for being such a dodo!
Untying my boat from a tree limb where it had been moored, I began to drift with the current toward a group of fishermen in boats. As I floated ever closer, I noticed that they were all busily catching fish. Entering into their midst, one of them laconically remarked, “Might as well tie up and catch some crappie.”
“Don’t mind if I do,” I rejoined. Not believing my luck, I swiftly tied up again. Sure enough, the crappie, the crème de la crème of Missouri lake-fishing, were biting so hard and fast, I soon ran out of the little bait that I had left! Another fisherman looked up and said, “I’m over my limit. Here, have some of these. I’ll pull you into dock.”
True to his word, that fisherman pulled me halfway back to the pier, when the water patrol came along. He passed me off to them. We both were within our 15-fish, legal-sized limit, so the hand-off was without incident and a mutual blessing.
The lessons to be drawn from this real-life fishing story are multiple:
First, your success is a function of many factors including your own!
Second, where the fishermen are, the fish are.
Third, respect all limits, because you never know, do you?
#30