936 Sundays

Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me. - Mark 9.37

936 Sundays is a collection of reflections, thoughts, and stories of great childhood experiences. 936 Sundays is NOT a parenting handbook, a child development guide,  nor a political forum. 936 Sundays is a place where people can recount positive experiences they had growing up or as an adult who is involved in a young persons life. Many of the stories and themes involve family activities but adults  outside of a child's family can be a huge positive influence and those activities are important to highlight as well. 936 Sundays is about 18 years. Each day in those years is a precious opportunity to take time to be an active part of a child's life and to appreciate the special moments that occur when one pauses to simply "be there."

Fishing for Generations

May 03, 2015  /  Ben Smith

“And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’”
— Matthew 4.19

Some of my earliest memories are of fishing. Some of my best memories are of fishing. I hope that I have many future memories of fishing. As I write this first entry it is spring time. School is winding down and summer activities are being planned. Fishing is an activity that is an integral part of almost all our family activities. It is truly an activity that everyone in our family enjoys to some extent (or at least the obsession that some of us have with fishing is understood by other family members). The purpose of this site is to share meaningful experiences that one might have had as a child, as a parent, or as a special person in a child's life. I have definitely had memorable times spent fishing as a child, a parent, and adult fishing "mentor." 

​Mima's Pond

​Mima's Pond

One of my favorite childhood memories was fishing with my "Mima" (grandmother). My grandparents lived on twenty acres that had a small pond. My brother and I would spend hours fishing in that pond. To this day it amazes me the number and variety of fish that little pond supported. Catfish, perch, and bass were all possible on any given cast. As much fun as we had nothing matched the times that Mima joined us. To this day I have never fished with anyone who became as excited when a fish was nibbling on a bait as Mima did. Even as a young boy I appreciated her enthusiasm. 

Mima's fishing exploits reached legendary heights on a trip to Colorado one summer. We were all fishing for trout in one of the many national park lakes. Mima was the only person who was catching fish. I was very young but I can still remember her little giggle when she was getting a bite.  Many other people were noticing that she was catching fish and someone finally asked her what her secret was. She simply said that she spit on her bait. Right then I knew that Mima had "magic" spit because I tried spitting on my bait every possible way that I could think of but she was still the only one catching fish. I don't remember many other details from that day or even from that trip but I do remember how much fun it was fishing with Mima and her magic spit.

Mima enjoyed fishing her entire life. She even had my grandfather cut holes in the floor of their house boat so that she could fish and watch tv at the same time. For me fishing can best be explained by the song Lay My Burdens Down written by Max Stalling. 

“I’m going down on the Nueces River
Gonna call my brother, ask him to meet me there
On the surface will be two men fishing
Down below we are brothers with a love to share

I’m gonna lay my burdens down now
Gonna ask the Lord to watch them a while
I’m gonna walk where the sun is shining
I’ll be home when I have found a smile

There is a salt cedar tree that I know of
It can take a breeze and make a melody
I’m gonna climb up in those branches
And ask if it would whisper its secrets to me

CHORUS

There’ll come a time when the world is level
There was a time when the mountains grew
Then there is all that is here in the middle
And how it’s spent is up to me and up to you

CHORUS”
— Lay My Burdens Down - Max Stalling
​Our youngest fishing on his Granny's pond

​Our youngest fishing on his Granny's pond

Fishing has been an activity that I have been able to share with friends, family members, and my children. Fishing came full circle when my two oldest children caught their first fish in Mima's pond. I suppose a little of Mima's magic spit was on those baits. I encourage everyone to take a child fishing - you might find that you catch more than fish.

Comment