Nelson walked carefully as his loafers squished in the half mud, half grass boggy area next to the river. "Well, this is the end for these shoes."

"I could have told you not to wear those kind of shoes." Gabriel said as Nelson eyed his hiking boots which appeared to be amazingly dry and had yet to get so much as a spot of mud on them .

"Thanks for the tip." Nelson mumbled.

"Don't mention it." Gabriel patted him on the back.

"Son, you are always saying that you think we should spend more time together. This should be fun." Dr. Cassidy said as he took his rod from Gabriel. "Thanks."

"Yeah, fun." Nelson said with a hint of sarcasm as grabbed a rod.

"At least we are not cutting open a dead person now." Dr. Cassidy commented.

Nelson's face contorted into a look of disgust as he gazed at the wiggling creatures in the Styrofoam container Gabriel extended towards him. "This is only marginally better."

"You can pick out the next activity that we do." Dr. Cassidy said.

"Really?" Nelson asked, his voice rising in surprise.

"Yes, but today we are expanding our horizons." Dr. Cassidy said reaching in and grabbing a worm.

"Here, grab one." Gabriel said.

"I didn't realize expanding my horizons would mean sticking my hand into a can of worms."

"Did you know that an Alligator Snapping Turtle attracts its prey by lying on the bottom of riverbeds and swamps with its mouth open? It wiggles a fleshy appendage that looks like a worm. An unsuspecting fish swims by. Wham. Lunch." Dr. Cassidy clamped his hand on his son's shoulder. "

"Been watching Animal Planet again, dad?"

"It's quite informative and entertaining."

Nelson glanced down once again at the wiggling mass. "Don't they make a plastic, non-wiggly version of these things?" Nelson asked Gabriel.

"Yes, they do but I wanted you two to have an authentic fishing experience. The same way I did growing up."

"Authentic, huh?"

"Yep. Just you and nature. Frees the mind of all the clutter."

Nelson swatted at a bug. "Hmmm. That is something coming from you."

Nelson saw the glare he got from his dad. "Okay, shutting up now." He reached in grabbing one of the squirming creatures. Nelson glanced over to watch the proper procedure to put the worm on the hook.

"Okay, all you have to do is make sure you have some slack in your lines and then cast it out into the water aiming for the middle of the river." Gabriel instructed.

The babbling water was the only sound that could be heard for the next several minutes. The silence was broken by Nelson asking. "Okay, how do I know if I have something on the line or I'm just succeeding in drowning a worm?"

"Well, first your bobber will go under the water for a moment and then come back up."

Nelson glanced at the round plastic thing and swore that he saw it go under.

"Then you should feel a slight tug on your line."

Nelson definitely felt something on the end of his line.

"Then when you are sure you have a fish you begin to reel it in."

"Guys, uh, guys." Nelson pointed to the sunk bobber. "I think I got one."

"What do I do now?"

"Gently, begin to reel in the line. Don't go too fast or you may lose the fish."

"Like this?" Nelson began to yank the reel backwards.

"Keep the line in front of you and reel in it. Okay, you can go a little faster."

"Oh my gosh, I have a fish."

"Just a little bit more." Gabriel instructed.

Suddenly a medium sized striped bass burst out of the water. "I caught a fish! I actually caught a fish!" Nelson grasped the slimy creature, but didn't notice. "Hey, you didn't chip this fish or something just to make me feel better did you?"

"You can't chip a fish." Gabriel said.

"I caught a fish!" Nelson exclaimed.

"Good job, son!"

"See, I told you fishing was fun." Gabriel said grinning.