Inasmuch as I am a non believer it might be surprising but I do enjoy the format of the old prayers and rituals in the Book of Common Prayer. I would like the well worn verses of the prayer for the dead read as I my ashes are scattered at sea. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust...
When I was out at sea on my sailboat I was frequently reminded of the sailors ditty, said by some to be a prayer conceived by Irish fishermen in their coracles: Dear Lord, be good to me as your sea is so wide and my boat is so small..." a prayer that comes to mind when I look out and watch people standing on small boats drowning worms.
In the event food were in short supply I'd like to think I could take to fishing as a tool for survival but the little fishing I have done in my life makes me quite certain that it is not a sport I ever feel I shall take up for sheer pleasure.
Bobbing around in a small boat on a bumpy ocean seems like a mug's game to me, yet I am in a tiny minority among my neighbors, who live to fish, most of them. 
When I was a youngster I was taken trout fishing in Scottish streams one summer and I vividly recall plucking a sparkling trout from the water, with some adult assistance and landing the struggling fish which we killed and ate later that day. It seemed a long long time spent standing on a rive bank to pluck the bright living thing from the water to kill it and watch the sparkle leave it's skin as quickly as a light going out. 
I suppose I should be a vegetarian but it's not the eating I mind, quite the contrary, it's the standing around waiting for something to happen.
The challenge of putting to sea in a modern coracle, dipping a hook and waiting for something to happen. That is what defeats me.
And yet I find people in exquisite agony waiting for their next chance to come to the Keys, buzz around in small boats and chase fish from the water. It makes me feel embarrassed that I find no pleasure in what pleases so many others. I apologize for my failure to appreciate.
When I was out at sea on my sailboat I was frequently reminded of the sailors ditty, said by some to be a prayer conceived by Irish fishermen in their coracles: Dear Lord, be good to me as your sea is so wide and my boat is so small..." a prayer that comes to mind when I look out and watch people standing on small boats drowning worms.
In the event food were in short supply I'd like to think I could take to fishing as a tool for survival but the little fishing I have done in my life makes me quite certain that it is not a sport I ever feel I shall take up for sheer pleasure.Bobbing around in a small boat on a bumpy ocean seems like a mug's game to me, yet I am in a tiny minority among my neighbors, who live to fish, most of them. When I was a youngster I was taken trout fishing in Scottish streams one summer and I vividly recall plucking a sparkling trout from the water, with some adult assistance and landing the struggling fish which we killed and ate later that day. It seemed a long long time spent standing on a rive bank to pluck the bright living thing from the water to kill it and watch the sparkle leave it's skin as quickly as a light going out. 
I suppose I should be a vegetarian but it's not the eating I mind, quite the contrary, it's the standing around waiting for something to happen.The challenge of putting to sea in a modern coracle, dipping a hook and waiting for something to happen. That is what defeats me.
And yet I find people in exquisite agony waiting for their next chance to come to the Keys, buzz around in small boats and chase fish from the water. It makes me feel embarrassed that I find no pleasure in what pleases so many others. I apologize for my failure to appreciate. 
2 comments:
Just stopped by to say "hello"... might see you in October!!! Be well... Ara & Spirit
I look forward to seeing you both!
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