While we are on the subject of fishing, I had caught the bug. Not so much for eating the fish, but for catch and release. This was something I could do on my own that didn't cost any money. I had found an old cane pole in the garage. I'm not sure if it had belonged to my dad or the people who lived at the house before us. It was really jammed in the rafters and I had to use my climbing skills to reach it. Up the piles of old tires, step on the even taller stack of old newspapers and finally balance on the top of a couple pieces of wood.
Getting down is always easier than climbing up. I grabbed hold of the beam and dangled until I had steadied myself right over a pile of old clothes and landed safely into their waiting folds.
OK, I had a pole. I checked the rusty hook and removed the dried up piece of bait that was still attached. It looked good. There was a nice piece of line wound around the pole - I only needed a bobber and bait.
I went with the easy step first - the bait. I grabbed a shovel and ran outside to a muddy area that used to house our turtle.
Quick segway to the turtle story. We had found a snapping turtle on the way home from swim practice so we carried it to the yard and made a nice cage for it. We named is 'Snappy' and kept it until the day it escaped, at least I think it escaped, the kids up the street could have taken it - that happened all the time, but I'm not sure so I'll say Snappy escaped.
OK - back to bait. I didn't have to dig long before I found a number of fat, juicy earthworms. I had an old plastic oleo container (kids, oleo was fake butter before 'margerine') that I filled with dirt and put the worms inside. I cut a few slits in the lid and covered the container before any escaped.
Finally, a bobber. I didn't have any ideas at the moment, so I figured I would check on my way to the park. I jumped on my purple schwin bike and headed to the pond.
I dropped my bike near the drive that lead to the pond. It was there for the winter months when it was an ice skating rink, but during the summer it was a good place to park your bike. I laid down my pole and bait and began walking the banks of the pond, looking around for a bobber, I was in luck - there was one stuck in the weeds near the edge - not to far into the water. I could walk out and reach it. Since it was summer I wasn't wearing shoes or socks so I waded in to the bobber. The bottom was pretty mucky (yes, that's a word) and my feet made a sthwip sthwip sound as I walked out to the bobber.
I grabbed the line and freed the bobber from the weeds. I sat on the bank and untied the knot. BONUS! It also had a hook! Now I would have a spare.
I ran back to my pole, attached the bobber, baited the hook and tossed the line into the water. "Plop" went the bobber, what a great sound! After not to much time I felt a tug on my line and successfully pulled out a small (really small) blue gill. Cudahy did a good job of stocking the pond with fish and I'm positive they are 90% small blue gill.
I removed it from the hook, tore another piece of the worm and added fresh bait. "Plop" went the bobber a little further this time. Again another small fish took the bait. This continued a few more times. On the next cast my bobber went a little further than I had sent it before. Just beyond the bobber there was something floating in the water. I squinted my eyes against the sun reflection but I couldn't quite see what it was, 'bloop' went the bobber and my attention went back to my line. I pulled in a good sized pan fish this time. It almost filled my hand!
As I was tossing the fish back into the pond the clouds covered the sun and I was finally able to make out what was floating. It was a fish, a HUGE FISH! OK, it was dead, but I could grab it and take it home to show my family the big fish I caught. I mean, I was a good swimmer and if I swam out to grab it, it would still be like I 'caught' it, right?
I put my pole down next to my bike and started walking into the water. The bottom was firm at first since the blacktop drive went a few feet into it, then back to the sthwip, sthwip of the bottom.
You know that feeling you have right before you hit your head, as if your brain knows its going to happen so it is preparing you for pain? Well right before I stepped down the next time I felt that electricity go right through my body. I had stepped on something in the water and at first I was in a bit of momentary disbelief, and then 'OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWW!
I backed up so fast that I fell backwards. I did the crab walk back up the side of the pond and looked down to see blood pouring from my left foot. My second toe was laying backwards in a weird way. I completely forgot about my pole and bait and grabbed my bike. I was going to need some help.
The week before my sister, Judy had stepped on a piece of glass and had cut her right foot. My dad had applied gauze and wrapped it up. She hobbled everywhere she went. I knew I was in trouble, but I didn't care. My foot really hurt and I could feel my toe wobbling left and right as I peddled. It was hanging on by just a piece of skin.
I got to Lake Drive and had to wait for cars to clear the way, I think I shocked a few of them since at this point I was crying loudly - my voice must have sounded like a siren!
I went as quickly as I could, the blood was making my foot slip off the pedal making it difficult to ride. I chose the alley since it was closer to the place that I crossed, I finally made it to my backyard screaming so loudly that the neighbor came out of his house. Mr. Case jumped the fence that separated out yards and made me sit on the ground. He grabbed my foot and yelled to the house for some rags.
The next few minutes was fuzzy. Someone from my family brought out some rags and Mr. Case wrapped my foot tightly. An ambulance came and took me and Mr. Case to the hospital. I'm sure I was bawling the entire way - and thankfully you don't remember the pain. They took me into a room where a group of people were gathered, The nurses cleaned away the blood from my toe so they could see what they were up against. Then, and at the moment I didn't care, they jabbed a needle into my already throbbing foot and 'froze' it so it could be stitched back up. I had cut clear through the bone and I was lucky that the piece of skin had held or I would have been missing it for the rest of my life.
Shortly before they finished my dad showed up at the hospital. Mr. Case filled him in on my injury and he came back to the room.
My foot was professionally bandaged and he carried me out to the car and back home.
I was set up on the couch with my foot elevated for the next week. Poor Judy was still hobbling around with her cut, unprofessionally mended toe. She said it was because I was the baby that I went to the hospital instead of being bandaged up by my dad. I think it was because I was lucky that my dad was at work and Mr. Case was at home.
In any event, I can show you the scar - it's one of many that I have, but it definitely has the best story.
Oh, and I never did see that fishing pole again.
No comments:
Post a Comment