Teach a child how to fish, and he could feed the world!

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.  Teach a child how to fish, and he could feed the world.” I like this version of the famous Chinese Proverb.  I remember seeing it in a Jim Borgman cartoon.

Growing up I thought people only had one set of grandparents because that is all I ever knew.  Unfortunately my dad’s mom died when he was very young, maybe 3 and his 4 olders sisters had to take care of him.  I think he called one of his sisters “mom”.  He even spent some time with one or two sisters in an orphanage for about a year.  His dad died in 1970? before I was born.  I often heard stories about him from my dad, stories I wish I had written down, like my stories to my girls.

I’ll never forget the times we went fishing at my grandpa’s.  My parents took us boys to “the country” in Fayetteville, Ohio to go fishing.  (Some people call it God’s Country, probably because you are that much closer to heaven out there.) For my mom, it was going home to where she grew up.   My dad taught us how to handle worms and bait a hook without pricking your finger on the hook.  He showed us how to pull a fish off a hook without getting poked by one of the spines.  We would also catch frog for frog legs.

I love to take you girls fishing at “Uncle Jim’s”.  Catching minnows, salamanders, crawfish, snails in his creek with your butterfly nets.   Finding worms and letting them crawl on your hands and arms and tickle you.  I love making you girls laugh, especially the laugh you have when tickled… <sniff>