Fishing is a great equalizer. A fish doesn’t care whether you have a fancy rod or, like these men on a Corpus Christi jetty, a simple cane pole. As long as your heart is pure, your presentation good, and your hat worn just right, the fates may smile upon you. I once met a 91-year-old angler named Shorty on Bob Hall Pier in Corpus Christi. He told me a fisherman is forgiven on Judgment Day for any lie he tells about a fish and all of the time a person spends fishing is given back to him at the end of his life. “Shorty,” I said, “that means if you never leave this pier, you’ll never die.” A twinkle in his eye, Shorty responded: “That’s right. I’m going to live forever.” What is it about fishing that turns ordinary folks into philosophers?
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