Test the waters before you leap
Sam Goodson showed up at the feed store while I was there yesterday. I hadn’t seen Sam since he sold his place and moved to a lake house in the deep South. He had always liked to fish and he was tired of tight-hided cows with hollow tails! I heard him say that many times as he threatened to move for 20 years. His family was grown and he packed up his close relative, sold to the highest bidder and left a trail of dust drifting in his wake.
I was sure surprised to see Sam at the feed store, of all places. He looked well, dressed in go-totown clothes with a good straw hat on. He was encircled by a group of locals listening to the stories, I suspected fish stories, and I had to wedge my way in. You know a fresh face is a novelty around here. We seldom have anyone wanting to vacation in the heat, ticks and chiggers.
We learned that Sam’s close relative was well, had learned to fish and cook that Cajun food like a pro. He hinted at the idea she would rather fish than take care of him or cook any kind of food! His offspring visited often, at least one bunch a weekend and usually brought extra with them for the wonderful treat of free room and board to go along with great fishing.
Gary asked Sam if he was ever sorry he sold out and there was a long and silent pause as we had all wanted to ask that same question. The answer came slowly and carefully. He was weighing each word as he spoke, and the pleasure was gone from his voice. When a feller shuffles his feet and clears his throat, you can be pretty sure something is sticking in his gizzard and making it hard to speak.
He had experienced all he ever wanted with living on the edge of the lake, he confided. He could find water moccasins in the yard anytime, day or night. Gators were frequent visitors and, if his neighbors were speaking English, he couldn’t tell it! Most of the cattle were packing a hump behind their shoulders, and his belly was torn to a fare thee well from eating hot food. Crawdads make good fish bait, but he said he hoped he never had to eat another one!
Fishing is a good pasttime if you do it occasionally, and visits from your offspring are nice, but a good thing can be overdone, according to Sam. He had an offer for his place and was seriously thinking about moving back to the hills. He mentioned something about his boots rotting with mildew and his pickup always smelling like an old dank cellar.
It is my opinion, and everyone has one, the grass seems to always look greener on the other side of the fence. Tried and proven that human kind does not at all times recognize the good in what they have. An office with central heat and air conditioning sounds like the place to be when you are chopping ice in a blizzard or stacking hay when it is 98 degrees and the humidity the same! But don’t jump until you test and taste the water!
Sam is shopping for a place, and his close relative is not happy about that. She sure likes to fish!
Bill is the pen name used by the Gravette-area author of this weekly column. Opinions expressed are those of the author.