Fishing: I Miss Fishing, God's Therapy - J Hall

I sure do miss fishing. As a kid and on through adulthood, both alone and especially with my late dad, I fished a lot. Therein is the problem: My "late dad."

Like so many other "guy things," I simply lost interest in fishing after my dear daddy died. It just did not seem right for me to fish or watch baseball without him around. In fact, the few occasions I tried within the first 6 or 8 years of his death, it made me awfully sad.

For men, fishing is not just "fishing," but rather a reflective and philosophical thing as well. A young man or old man can have a load of things upon his mind, go fishing, and subconsciously they seem to work themselves out without purposely thinking about them. It's therapy.

In the past year, I have actually gone fishing a few times - that instinctive attraction to the water and what's in it drew me as my mother lay dying in a hospital. While not there or drowning my sorrows, I went to one of two local lakes or ponds to sort life out and hope for a big one. 

The normal sadness of participating without dad took a background: I actually thought he would be proud of me for fishing and thinking about mother's situation and my future life without either of them.

At any rate, I fished a bit, and now actually want to do it more. Sure, it will be sad, given what has happened - but alone crying at a lake or pond is not such a bad thing for a grown man whose world has changed so dramatically. Fishing is God's therapy, and I think I need it again....

~ Jimmy Hall is a writer, and owner of JIMMY HALL WRITING SERVICES (404-580-1501). He prepares resumes, business plans, obituaries, web content, and most types of written material.