Lessons from an old man

-
I remember watching the old man in the sea with my dad. The movie was about an old man and a big fish. The old man (played by Spencer Tracy) set out to prove to himself and to everyone else, that even though he was old, he wasn’t weak, he wasn’t washed up and he could still land the big one. All he needed was one day and this was that day. 

Hook line and splinters


How long the day and how long the fight would last, he had no idea.  The game was tug of war and war it was. The old man skillfully played the fish reeling in the slack but ready with the drag when he could feel the beast burst through the surface of sea.  His calloused hands now bloodied from hours of fighting, were wrapped with shreds of a discarded sweat-stained shirt, meant to be a bandage and did nothing to stop the pain, only to slow the bleeding. How many hours had gone by it didn’t matter.  Neither one surrendered, knowing well that weakness awakens the sharks.  The night came and the fight was over. The old man thanked the fish for fighting so hard and felt sorry for it at the same time. 

Surrender isn't always sweet


Too big and too heavy to put in the boat, it was tied down to the side of it.  He could see the lights shoreline and headed home. But the night wasn’t over neither was his battle. One fin slithered by than two, suddenly the water erupted into a frenzy. I remember feeling exhausted watching the shark’s taring away at his trophy and seeing my dad fighting back the tears saying, "You know son, this story is about life" All I could see (being a kid ) was a skeleton. My father seen much more. He was now the old man. He had lived his life. He had seen dreams come and go but he knew it was all about the journey not about the prize. Sometimes that journey clings to the side of a boat a mere skeleton of what we hoped we could protect, left to the imagination, a big beautiful fish.

What did the old man teach me? 


He wanted his moment. He was seeking justification and appreciation but this was a baited hook. He was both fish and fisherman. Trying not to get fooled and hoping to fool at the same time. There are many fish swimming in the sea of contradiction and many are hooked because of it.  Life is not a be all end all wall mounted trophy, it's an adventure. I am older now but I think I'm beginning to see the hidden truth in the words of the old man.

Climb aboard the ocean awaits and don't rock the boat. 

 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fishing Bug

-
I like nature. I really do. Nature doesn’t like me. Okay just the bugs. I think God knows about this and whenever he or she and his angels need a laugh they just dial up f bombs and tantrums. Apparently, my channel in heaven.   Fishing in near north Ontario.   I don't know why they call it the near north. It’s like north had a meeting and decided you can’t call yourself north,  w e will give you near north, because you are just up to it. Near is all we have left. Take it or leave it. Somewhere on a lake in the Canadian shields in the near north, is a man on a boat wondering about such things. Is there a near south? What happened to near center. F it, near north. We the north. We from Toronto. We the center. WE don't know! The Near North Buzz. The near north have black flies. Hey, I didn’t name them . They should have been called them ass flies, because they are a pain the ass and have no problem taking a chunk out of your ass. Oh, and their dear cousin, the de...
Read more

Baby Boomers

-
  I am a late blooming baby boomer. That just means I didn't get busy until I almost couldn't get busy.  What a weird name. Baby boomers. What if they all instead of dying from cancer and heart attacks, they just one day died of natural causes. You know. Exploding. Just random people walking down street. Just exploding. Zombies you can outrun but that overweight bald guy walking beside you. A ticking time bomb.  Nothing but booming boomers everywhere. No mask is going to save you. Better pack a slicker. The hell with the weather, you got bigger unnatural natural disasters waiting for you. And walking down the street is no walk in the park either. Hey look! there's my old pal George. You shake George's hand and he explodes. The only thing left of George, is in your hand, his hand. Texting while driving suddenly doesn't seem like a big deal. Waiting a red light, a bit bigger deal. Especially, if the windows are down. Suddenly, the punk with the boom box is tolerable...
Read more

The Rest Stop

-
  I am getting older. I don't want to admit it, but I am. If you are older, you need to plan rest stops. Especially, if you drive for a very long period of time. Don't worry though, your old body will tell you when it is time and listening to your old body is a good thing. Not listening, well let just say, a bad thing. However, you can listen to your body but urge to purge could be stuck between the bladder and your little friend. Okay your big friend. Your average friend? Your friend in low places. Sometimes the flow don't want to go. You want to sing oh what a beautiful morning but the song is different when the flow don't wanna go. Maybe sometime this morning would be better choice. A very long old American standard sung by a very old urinal crooner. Really, sometimes it's like pushing an avocado pit through a straw. Luckily, I still have a good flow. You didn't need to hear or care about that but wait, something good is going to come out of this or that, h...
Read more