Chapter 14
We were out on his fishing boat; I was nine years old, or ten. He was teaching me how to hook a fish and reel it in. When I caught a ten-pound bass, standing up in the boat to help balance my leverage with the squirming fish, fighting for its life, my father made me sit down. He reached for the fishing pole to take control of the situation, and to prevent me from falling into the lake as he reeled in the large, writhing fish.
I watched my father wedge the pole under our seats, fitting it in place, as he leaned over the edge of the boat for the fish splashing and struggling at the other end of the line, wiggling in my father’s hand, fighting to be let go.
As my father disengaged the hook from inside the fish’s mouth, I shook my head, turning away, but the fishy smell in the he
