Story Two
Just Hav-ta Fish!
Dear Samuel,
There is a spiritual current that draws me to oceans, lakes, ponds, rivers, and creeks. The sight and sound of many waters is contentment for my soul! I unite with fisher people, and care for them. I listen to them and they listen to me. I have made many good friends fishing with people I think are “Salt of the Earth”. These people seem to understand me and remind me that “Little is great when God is in it”. I enjoy nothing more than catching my lunch and sharing a meal of fish with friends! If I am fortunate I have another soul to dine with me and I feel blessed, but if I eat alone, I still feel blessed. I think fish are beautiful and have always hated to see one die. But I have not become a vegetarian yet, so I still eat them with a grateful heart and thank God for an excellent food source. Often I think of a Bible story about at boy who provided two fish and five loaves, so that Jesus could feed a multitude of people. My heart is invested in this ancient parable because it reassures me the provisions of God have likewise, been multiplied in my life!
After I cook a meal of fish and clean up the kitchen, I relax, and sometimes enjoy reading and writing. I have worn out a book my parent gave me as a boy. This special book is Fish and Fishing, by Maynard Reece. Many times I have reflected on this book and believe it is like a spiritual marker that in many ways corresponds with the beginning of my fishing pursuits. This tattered book is among my most treasured material possessions. I remember drawing almost all of the fish illustrated by Mr. Reece when I was a boy. Later as a student of Chinese brush painting I learned to communicate the essence of a subject as well as depict a likeness of it! This is the twenty fourth year for me to exhibit my paintings in the annual fall faculty art exhibit. This year Samuel, I will show all new paintings. I painted my amazing summer of fishing experiences. On October the16th at 1:00, I will offer a gallery talk. I am trying to explain how my memories of the wonderful time I have spent with friends fishing also motivated me to preserve the special memories by painting them. I wish you were old enough to come to the art show and see what I have painted! Another reason I have invested my time painting my memories of the great outdoors is because I was never completely happy indoors and when it was the only place I could be, I sketched creatures of the streams and woodland places I loved.
Now in the form of these stories I share memories of years past like this story from 1963:
This is a very special story Samuel; it is about a summer long ago in Rhode Island and about the perils of adventurous boys on the rugged rocky shore of Narragansett.
There are sun-filled memories of salt water, crashing surf, and rocky places your great uncle Gregg and I climbed, just to drop a line into a promising fishing hole. There is a very scary memory too. I remember being caught in an ocean riptide and swallowing a lot of salt water. It was a near death experience that taught me how much I love life and how much I love my brother! Since that time of throwing up salt water, as a young boy and finding my brother alive on the beach and breathing in fresh air and life, I have really celebrated it! I hope you will be a strong swimmer because it can save your life if you swim in oceans. My brother and I were supposed to be on the beach, but we had a Styrofoam surfboard. It was not a full sized board and it was not very sturdy, but we wanted to surf. The New England coast is rough and not a good place to swim or paddle-board if you are not a strong swimmer. But the Martin brothers tried anyway. We sat on the board, paddled out a little too far and were up- ended by a wave. Both of us were in the undertow of a big wave and could not swim out of it. After what seemed like a long time the wave took us up on the beach. I spit out saltwater first and ran to my brother who was choking for air. Finally, he coughed out foamy surf too and we returned to our parents, hungry and glad to be alive. Oh. we did not go back to the beach to find our paddle board!
Today, I cherish every sunrise as I cross the Missouri River on my way to work. I sometimes imagine my boat on that the river, cruising unimpeded to the Gulf of Mexico.
But, I am not a boat captain; I am a professor of art, with an old kind of homemade boat, which is good enough for fishing. I have invested years in specialized training to excel as an artist and teacher of art. I enjoy life in the academic world, and exhibit drawings and paintings. While the art is a vicarious substitute for natural world, I count my blessings, and imaging a life among the ranks of fishermen. If I cannot fish or be near the water I too lose my peace. But I also enjoy also teaching and creating art. I Paint fishing themes and writing about them too. It satisfies something inside of me and brings me inner peace!
There is a spiritual current that draws me to oceans, lakes, ponds, rivers, and creeks. The sight and sound of many waters is contentment for my soul! I unite with fisher people, and care for them. I listen to them and they listen to me. I have made many good friends fishing with people I think are “Salt of the Earth”. These people seem to understand me and remind me that “Little is great when God is in it”. I enjoy nothing more than catching my lunch and sharing a meal of fish with friends! If I am fortunate I have another soul to dine with me and I feel blessed, but if I eat alone, I still feel blessed. I think fish are beautiful and have always hated to see one die. But I have not become a vegetarian yet, so I still eat them with a grateful heart and thank God for an excellent food source. Often I think of a Bible story about at boy who provided two fish and five loaves, so that Jesus could feed a multitude of people. My heart is invested in this ancient parable because it reassures me the provisions of God have likewise, been multiplied in my life!
After I cook a meal of fish and clean up the kitchen, I relax, and sometimes enjoy reading and writing. I have worn out a book my parent gave me as a boy. This special book is Fish and Fishing, by Maynard Reece. Many times I have reflected on this book and believe it is like a spiritual marker that in many ways corresponds with the beginning of my fishing pursuits. This tattered book is among my most treasured material possessions. I remember drawing almost all of the fish illustrated by Mr. Reece when I was a boy. Later as a student of Chinese brush painting I learned to communicate the essence of a subject as well as depict a likeness of it! This is the twenty fourth year for me to exhibit my paintings in the annual fall faculty art exhibit. This year Samuel, I will show all new paintings. I painted my amazing summer of fishing experiences. On October the16th at 1:00, I will offer a gallery talk. I am trying to explain how my memories of the wonderful time I have spent with friends fishing also motivated me to preserve the special memories by painting them. I wish you were old enough to come to the art show and see what I have painted! Another reason I have invested my time painting my memories of the great outdoors is because I was never completely happy indoors and when it was the only place I could be, I sketched creatures of the streams and woodland places I loved.
Now in the form of these stories I share memories of years past like this story from 1963:
This is a very special story Samuel; it is about a summer long ago in Rhode Island and about the perils of adventurous boys on the rugged rocky shore of Narragansett.
There are sun-filled memories of salt water, crashing surf, and rocky places your great uncle Gregg and I climbed, just to drop a line into a promising fishing hole. There is a very scary memory too. I remember being caught in an ocean riptide and swallowing a lot of salt water. It was a near death experience that taught me how much I love life and how much I love my brother! Since that time of throwing up salt water, as a young boy and finding my brother alive on the beach and breathing in fresh air and life, I have really celebrated it! I hope you will be a strong swimmer because it can save your life if you swim in oceans. My brother and I were supposed to be on the beach, but we had a Styrofoam surfboard. It was not a full sized board and it was not very sturdy, but we wanted to surf. The New England coast is rough and not a good place to swim or paddle-board if you are not a strong swimmer. But the Martin brothers tried anyway. We sat on the board, paddled out a little too far and were up- ended by a wave. Both of us were in the undertow of a big wave and could not swim out of it. After what seemed like a long time the wave took us up on the beach. I spit out saltwater first and ran to my brother who was choking for air. Finally, he coughed out foamy surf too and we returned to our parents, hungry and glad to be alive. Oh. we did not go back to the beach to find our paddle board!
Today, I cherish every sunrise as I cross the Missouri River on my way to work. I sometimes imagine my boat on that the river, cruising unimpeded to the Gulf of Mexico.
But, I am not a boat captain; I am a professor of art, with an old kind of homemade boat, which is good enough for fishing. I have invested years in specialized training to excel as an artist and teacher of art. I enjoy life in the academic world, and exhibit drawings and paintings. While the art is a vicarious substitute for natural world, I count my blessings, and imaging a life among the ranks of fishermen. If I cannot fish or be near the water I too lose my peace. But I also enjoy also teaching and creating art. I Paint fishing themes and writing about them too. It satisfies something inside of me and brings me inner peace!