And here in the kayak with my headache and retrospection there are also surprises. I find things out here that I didn’t expect to find, things that probably don’t belong. And those things aren’t just myself awake at the crack of dawn, sometimes they are a pull at the end of a line. I find it incredulous that there are beings out there that can be deceived by someone as clumsy as me using a pointy object and some hair from the ass of a deer. But they exist and it is strange.
And my response to these anomalous events is probably synonymous with my reaction to an african american guy slaying it on karaoke night on a Garth Brooks song. I usually drop my beer and my mouth stands agape and I stutter and look around frantically, wondering if someone else is witnessing the same phenomena. And as the line slips through my fingers I may let out some string of syllables that may cause others to look over and even come to my aide. Eventually I will grasp the situation, control it, maybe even hold a fish. At which point my compatriots will pat me on the back and console/congratulate me with the usual words of wisdom:
“This isn’t as big of a deal as you’re making it out to be”
Yeah, it’s probably not. But that doesn’t make it any less strange.