Wish for fish

“What makes fire?” Kathie asked as we sat around a small bonfire in our back yard, watching the flames and the stars overhead. I began to form a reply, thinking about sparks, chemical reactions, and the latent energy needed to feed a flame when her thoughts moved on. “I think I’ll write a story about sparks rising from a fire up into the sky and they make the stars.”

“That’s an idea,” I told her. “It sounds like a Native American legend. I think I may have already heard a story like that, but you could make up one of your own.”

Kathie had just come home from a week of swimming, canoeing camping, and singing new songs at Girl Scout camp. Her creative juices were flowing even though she was physically tired. It was the first time she had had to be responsible for herself and her belongings for any length of time – a whole week. Her experience was not only memorable but life changing because she would never be the child she had been after tasting that first independence from our family.

Since she is the only one of us who doesn’t eat seafood, we had fish for supper several times while she was away. A fortune of fish smiled on us this summer when my husband’s boss caught a salmon – twice, and he gave us both of them.

Sliced into steaks about 11/2 -inches thick, it was wonderfully easy to cook. I broiled it for about 10 minutes on each side, keeping on eye on it, peeled off skin, pulled out bones, sprinkled with lemon pepper, and it was ready. Delicious.

Many people who think they don’t like fish have never tasted it freshly caught and cooked soon after. It’s so different than frozen, it’s like a different species – especially salmon if you are used to it from a can.

Salmon, sword fish, and tuna are readily available fresh. Fish meals are healthy and long-term studies show that eating fish at least once a week increases your brain power. Let’s go for it!

Remember that clean water and good fishing are inseparable. I hope you share a concern for the future of this precious resource and guard our woods and waters with care.