‘There are always new places to go fishing. For any fisherman, there’s always a new place, always a new horizon.’ –Jack Nicklaus, American professional golfer.
I am not a busybody by nature and normally, I don’t give advices freely to strangers.
But recently, I could not resist giving a piece of advice, which I deemed important, to a 23-year-old male youth I had just met. This happened at a petrol station in the city.
I was on my way to the counter to pay for my petrol when the young man indicated I could pay him at the pump. So I followed him back to the pump. After he had filled up my petrol, I asked him about his working hours.
He told me those on morning shifts had to clock in around 6.30 am. They would work until 2.30 pm. Since he was on morning shift that day, he would be clocking out soon that afternoon.
“So what are you going to do after work?” I asked him. Now, if my niece, Ah Hong, had been with me, she would have reprimanded me for being nosy in a nice way. She would have said, “Auntie, why do you have to ask so many questions like a reporter?”
But the young man did not think I was nosy. “ Maybe, I will go out fishing with my friends,” he said.
“Fishing? Have you ever caught anything and bring it home?” I asked him out of curiosity.
“No. I just followed my friends. I don’t even have a fishing line and I cannot stand the sun,” he said.
“How can he go fishing with someone and never brings any fish home?” I asked myself.
“Never mind. You can buy a simple fishing line and a big hat. You can start saving some money now,” I told the young man.
“I am sure your mother will be happy if you bring home some fish. At least, she can cook some Assam Pedas (Sour and Spicy) Fish for the family.”
As I spoke to the young man, I remembered how my younger brother, a fishing fanatic who is two years younger than me, used to bring home catfish when he was a teenager. In the evenings, my family would have catfish with fermented bean paste for dinner. That was aeons ago when my siblings and I were still in school and life was hard for my family.
Suddenly the young man said to me, “There are fish in the river at the back of my house.”
“Have you ever caught any?” I asked him. He responded by shaking his head.
“Adik. Next time, you go out fishing with your friends, bring some fish home for your mother. I am sure she will be very happy,” I told him.
As I drove away from the petrol station, I recalled my conversation with the young man and shook my head.
I hope he will invest in a fishing line or a simple fishing hook soon and bring home some fish for his mother.
If I were his mother, I would be very proud of whatever he catches. Never mind if the fish are big or small.
With the prices of food escalating these days, housewives, especially from the B40 families that earn less than RM850 per month, should look for innovative ways to feed their families.
If the young man brings home small fish, his mother should be thankful she does not have to pay a single sen for the valuable sources of protein. She should strive to cook the best dishes with the fish he brings home.
In his younger days, when Kii, my younger brother was working in a small town, he used to spend his days off fishing. He would dry the fish he caught and send them home.
My friends, do you know that fishing is a good pastime?
A full-body sport, it can help to increase your strength, flexibility and endurance. Because you are constantly casting, reeling in and moving your line, you are working out different muscles in your body.
Fishing also helps you to improve other skills like your listening skills, analytical skills, critical thinking skills, navigation skills, physical stamina and physical strength.
There is no doubt that fishing has contributed tremendously to my younger brother’s superb physique. A retired cop, he is tall, lithe and still runs everyday.
He has now graduated to deep sea fishing. Every now and then, he will go out to sea with his friends, who are also fishing fanatics, and come home with big expensive fish. They will then pay restaurants to cook the fish they catch, one fish at a time.
They will go deep sea fishing again when they have finished eating all the fish they store in the freezers.
What an enjoyable life, my friends!
