I sat with an elder fisherman
down at the shore the other day and as we looked out on the water he said….
I got the fish blues,
Not bluefish, fish blues
But real giant tuna-sized
fish blues
But tuna aren’t blue, I said
to him …..
Nor are bluefish for that
matter. They’re more sparkly and shiny…. both of them… really, he said.
Without looking away from the
water, I nodded in agreement.
I should tell you why I have
the fish blues, he said
“Even tho fish aren’t blue, I added.
Yes, he replied.
You see I was born a
fisherman and I will die a fisherman
I started as a son of a
sailor you know? And he died a sailor.
Sailed the bright blue sea
his whole life…he never got the fish blues.
Okay, I said. But what does that have to do with you having the fish blues? Not the bluefish fish blues but the real giant tuna
sized fish blues.
Even tho fish aren’t blue, he
stated
Yes, I said, impatiently.
Well, I’m getting to that, he
said.
And as he picked up a piece
of frayed rope from the dock with his frail gnarled hands, he continued , "Well
even though I was a son of a sailor I always wished I was a
fisherman."
And not being a fisherman, I
felt the fish blues, not the giant tuna sized fish blues, mind you but the fish blues none-the-less. I had to do something because no one wants to
be fish blue for too long.
"Okay so you became a
fisherman to not have the fish blues?" I asked.
"Yup!" he said.
"But you just said you have the fish blues now,
not the bluefish fish blues but giant tuna-sized fish blues."
"You see," he said, "I got into fishing
like everyone else. I crewed on a boat right here in this harbor and earned
enough money to buy my own boat. And every day I’d set out on a dark
morning fishing for cod, haddock, pollock, halibut, monk, skate, mackerel, anything
that swam in the ocean. And every night
I would bring my catch back to this small community. I took a lot of fish from
the sea."
"Oh , okay. So you got the
giant tuna-sized fish blues, not the fish blues or the bluefish fish blues because
you didn’t never caught a giant tuna?" I
asked, confused.
"No, that is not why I have the
giant tuna fish-sized blues, not because I didn’t catch a giant tuna, I caught
many."
" In fact, I had an abundance of
catches, millions of pounds of fish throughout my career. I was a free man
working the sea."
" I had a good life, because the sea
was the provider. I worked hard and I was able to marry my love, buy a house,
raise children, send them to college, live in this beautiful seaside town. "
" When fish weren’t running
like the good old days, I made adjustments.
And when the government told me
how, when, where and what to fish and I became less free, but I adjusted and kept
fishing."
" So that’s why you got the
giant tuna-sized fish blues, not the fish blues or the bluefish fish blues, you
weren’t as free? ", I asked.
" Nope," he said. "Never had the fish blues, not
the blue fish fish blues nor the giant tuna-sized fish blues when I was at sea."
" Than why old man? It sounds like you had a successful life going
out to sea, you caught a lot of fish, met a lot of challenges, created a good
life. That doesn’t sound like fish
blues, not the blue fish blues nor giant tuna-sized fish blues to me."
He turned and looked at me with his
steel blue eyes and as they started to water he turned away, looking out over
the harbor and said, "With all the sea gave me,
everything I needed and wanted. My way of life. My fortitude and bravery, strength and dignity. My wealth and place in my
community. I can never, ever, give anything
to the her in return.
And with that he pick himself
up, and walked away from the shore.
