We're drifting on the river, leaving a trail of ripples though I
have to keep the skiff aligned and steady. We say we're bass fishing,
which is true , but we'll consider the worthiness of whatever we catch.
Keeping the boat straight on the river is a far easier task than trying
to paddle in a still lake filled with vines, grasses and lily pads. A
hot south Georgian sun beats down on our necks, forearms and fishing
caps. Perpetual redneck is one of my permanent fears. How did I come to
learn that graceless epithet anyway? Is there no escaping labels? I spy
the wandering water creatures over here over there as they manifest
themselves determinedly. Their little two cents' worth of planetary
existence maybe. What's ours worth, I ask--four cents? The creatures
are mostly water bugs and fleas. What kind I don't care for I have a
high school biology teacher whose sadism at exam time would drive an
alley cat away from fried fish heads. There are three or four bream in
the Igloo cooler along with an ugly 3-quarter-pound cat. All quite
tasty once scaled, skinned and cooked.
We have a slight breeze from the east that helps. The lure gets snagged
now and then. I have to paddle over fast so we can free it. It's
usually attached to a piece of tree trunk, but sometimes a bit of
garbage is the culprit. My thoughts flit among friends, school,
relatives, TV shows, items back home in my room. Right now I want to
eat. Will it be a packet of Lance peanut butter and cheese crackers or
another Snickers bar? Both delectable to a teen like me.
The live oaks, marsh grasses and Georgian slash pines are sprinkled
splendidly along the banks and are in full beauty this time of the
year. Spanish moss lilts high in the breeze as if building momentum to
grab for something come nighttime. We hear the mimicry of a mocking
bird upriver. I think how life will never again be as easy for the kid
I am, one whose parents work assiduously to provide as much as possible
for their clan. I wonder if I will be as brave, sober and industrious
with my own clan one day. The road upon which I would fail seems a
fearsome route. Fearsome indeed. The fear gives me some hope and determina-
tion.