Today, my father, Jimmy Jewell, turned 112. When his wife turned 109, July 26, i was overwhelmed with medical issues and administrative demands. Consequently, i just put of a post celebrating her, of which i am embarrassed if not ashamed. i don’t think she ever went fishin’ with him. She supported his passion by never complaining. They were a great husband and wife couple. i was lucky. But today, this is about that man.

Fishin’

he backed the trailer down the boat ramp
to the water’s edge;
nightfall had set in, the new moon and stars
were hidden by clouds over the tennessee lake
the cows had not lain down all day:
good for night fishing they say;
he stepped into the boat, walked to the stern;
sitting next to old Johnson 25 horse outboard motor,
he worked the choke and pulled the cord to start it;
his fishing buddy of which there had been many,
backed the trailer a bit furtherinto the lake 
where the motor’s screw could take purchase;
he backed the 14-foot alumacraft off the trailer,
circling round until
his buddy could park the truck and trailer
to join him at water’s age.
he took off at top speed across the lake
to one of his favorite fishing spots;
they dropped the homemade anchor
of several window weights to the bottom;
they lit several Colman lanterns,
and
hung them over the larboard side
with reflectors to beam the light
unto the deep black waters.

as scrores of shad minnows gathered under the lights,
they used his seine to scoop them up,
storing them in a bucket of water
except for the three they put on their fish hooks – 
he nearly always and two rods out –
they lowered their lines with the appropriate weights
below the swirling shad pool;
waited;
on a good night it would not be long
before a striped bass struck and reeled up
into the boat and placed on a stringer;
then more of the silver fish would be
added to the stringer.

he claimed he and his buddy
caught 120 one dark night;
when i was the buddy, he would catch many
while i was lucky to land one or two;
often he would have a bite on both lines,
the rods bending suddenly;
he would move back and forth between the two rods,
holding one steady while reeling the other
until the bass was landed,
putting the reel and fish
on the bottom of the boat
to turn his attention to the other reel
until that bass was also brought aboard
when he would unhook them both,
adding them to the stringer.

he would have left home around eight or a bit later
after a full day’s work;
they would pull up the anchor
as first light ruined the lantern’s appeal;
he would get home several hours before work,
clean all the fish
before giving them away –
he didn’t like to eat fish –
before going to work.
some weeks, he would go two or three times.

you see, fishing was his passion

right along with his family and his church.
it was wonderful to watch him go fishin’.