I agree with both buckeye crappie and mister Dan. We have so many memories and the ability to go and get enough for dinner easily. I had no grandpas and only one grandma that I saw very few times so little was handed down to me. Dad planted the seed of the outdoors but we didn’t fish much. Now here I am a grandpa and having to wing it, and y’all teach me well. One story that stands out in my memory was at woods reservoir in one of the cooler months. I had a cooler of fish and was loading up when an SUV pulled up with mom and dad in their late seventies at the youngest, pulled up to watch. Dad got out and came over to talk, a very nice old school gent he was. Seems he and mom used to fish together a lot but due to age and health issues, they could no longer. We talked a while and I really enjoyed his company. I interrupted him and asked if he had a bucket in the back of the car. He said no. So I asked if he had something to put some fish in their nearly new very clean car. He said “why would I need that?” I said because I’m going to give you some of these fish. He looked up at me, hesitated a moment and asked “you’d do that for me?”. Then I realized why he hesitated. He had a tear running down his cheek and had to gather himself before he could speak. I’d touched him deeply. At that point I was going to give him everything in the cooler. Never before or since have I been taught something in so short a time. I told him yes and that I had the ability to get what I needed anytime. To shorten this, he went to look and came back with a heavy garbage bag that I began to fill with my catch. Most of these were over 12” and he became tickled, thanking me repeatedly. I got to about 8 or 10 and he told me to stop and reached for his wallet. I didn’t let him get it out and told him that it was my pleasure. We talked a while more, all he cared to, and we shook hands and parted ways and I never saw him again.
I’ve been treated well in my life and adopted the “pass it on” way of doing things long ago.fortunately I’ve never needed a tow but have given a few. It must be a bad feeling to need help like that and there be no one around. Mostly I’m glad to be around all of you that make me smile and teach me something every time I log in. To think that this thread is this old and still relevant and revived is cool also. I still share my catch but it’s become harder cuz I don’t keep much. The smiles from those receiving make all the time and expense worth it. God Bless and have a good day.