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 It was just one of those things. It didn’t really
mean Marvin Pincus had lost his mind. Consider this yourself for a
minute. Marvin had opened the mail that morning and in it was the
Fenwick glass fly rod he’d ordered. Oh, it was used, of course. But
there’s a feel to a Fenwick that only a man dedicated to a life of
using dry flies can appreciate.
The weather was gorgeous. The fish were biting on Lewis Creek. But
there was a hitch. Marvin had broken his ankle the previous week and
was temporarily in a wheelchair. It was his right ankle, so he
couldn’t drive down to the creek. And there, in his hands, was the
Fenwick. He put it together, attached a reel and some four-weight
line and set it on the couch and looked at it.
Marjorie was off visiting her sister, so she couldn’t help him. But
there’s a pull, an irresistible draw to a fly rod. He had to cast
it.
Now.
It took Marvin about 20 minutes to negotiate the front steps with
that wheelchair and the Fenwick. Oh, he could’ve called a friend to
help him, but how could he possibly explain why?
Finally, he negotiated the sidewalk and then the edge of the street
itself. There were no cars coming this early afternoon.
Up came the Fenwick. A few swishes in the air told Marvin he’d done
the right thing in ordering the rod. So he ran out some line and
began casting. About halfway across the street was a large mulberry
leaf. He did a double haul on the line and sent the fly toward the
leaf. It took several tries before he hit it, but when he made that
cast, you could’ve sold tickets to it. His fly came to rest about
three feet above the leaf and then fluttered gently down onto its
target. Marvin’s smile said it all. [to top of second
column] |
Then the school bus came around
the corner full of kids heading home, and Marvin realized he was
casting a fly rod from a wheelchair onto dry pavement.
“Hi Mr. Pincus!” yelled one of the kids. “Catch anything?”
“A little slow today, Billy,” he yelled back.
“Isn’t it hard to catch fish without water?” Billy yelled.
“It’s okay, son,” Marvin said with a grin. “I’m using a dry fly!”
[Text from file received from
Slim Randles]
Ol' Jimmy Dollar
is Slim Randles' first children's book. The book is for kids
K-3rd grades and is even better when parents read it with children.
Ol' Jimmy Dollar makes for sweet dreams and if you have a dog
even better. Available now on Amazon.
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