A Trip Back Home
Two fishing buddies take a trip down memory lane.
Joe and Hank were taking a break from their favorite chess board to to head off on their yearly jaunt. Both loved to fish, and the pair had several "secret" spots they were convinced had the best inhabitants to entice with a trusted lure...Tinicum Island, Nockamixon State Park, the Susquehanna around Havre de Grace; all so close to Philly.
Joe always scoffed at Hank's fondness for northern pike, wryly noting how their multitude of pesky bones would spoil a guy's eating. But Hank would just smile, assuring his partner that properly filleting a pike just requires a little knowledge and and time. "Exercising patience will be rewarded by an entirely bone-free filet. If you want, I can show you the proper technique," he'd offer.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you've said the same thing every year for decades... " Insert your knife behind the gill plate below the fin, along the backgone and avoid the rear dorsal fin.. for a perfect filet'..." he mimicked with a grin. "See, I got it memorized!"
With a little practice, it's so easy," Hank broke in.
"Nope, give me a good striped bass, some walleye," Joe declared, " and maybe even some catfish for a change. And who can forget shad roe, fresh out of Gramma's cast iron skillet with a little butter, plenty of garlic, crisp around the edges with some lean bacon on the side?"
"Ah, there's an idea! Too bad we can't go noodling for some flathead catfish. I met a sheriff from Temple, Oklahoma at a child protection conference and his descriptions of that very odd sport made me want to try it."
"Well, it's a little too late for that," Joe commented. "You've gotta be pretty muscular to grab one of those huge fish and hang on."
"Guess we better get a move on if we're gonna check out a few of our haunts. I hope those Fish and Boat Commision officers have been able to stop some of the trash dumping along our Delaware and Schuylkill. If people don't take care of the rivers, there won't be any decent fishing spots left, and if they aren't careful, folks couldn't eat whatever they caught anyway, what with mercury and lead leachin' out."
"You'd think they'd care more; any dad worth his salt would surely teach his kids to respect the environment, which gives him the pleasure of fishing, enough to avoid polluting it!"
The pair travelled to several of their favorite fishing holes before returning to 'civilization' although Joe considered that a misnomer. Some cities weren't civilized at all. They passed the Pennsylvania Soldiers' and Sailors' Cemetery, whose green lawns were dotted with dozens of small fluttering flags. Hank's great uncle had lived out his days at the Soldiers' and Saiflors' Home and now rested there. They stopped for a moment at Philadelphia National Cemetery where Joe's great-great-grandfather had earned a place. Here again each grave had a small American flag stuck in the grass. The two saluted their sleeping comrades briskly.
Before long, they'd gone further south to the nation's capital, passing Le Havre de Grace on the way. Their final destination was a place of quiet and peace. Normally many relatives would be wandering its manicured grounds, but not this year with the corona virus hanging on. Even so, the area they were headed to was marked by flags, some placed by a favorite person of theirs after calling in a few favors.
Moving on, the men came to a suburb of tidy lawns and older well-kept homes. They paused by one, and entered its back yard to observe the family who lived there. A tall man was down on his haunches beside a fenced area of the garden, two children by his side.
"Hank, your goldfish and hamster are here with Christine's turtle and guinea pig. We've given your pets a nice place to rest because they brought you a lot of fun while they lived here. Today on Veterans' Day, we usually go visit Arlington to pay respect to Daddy's Army buddies, eat peanut butter sandwiches and Coke with Pops' friend James, and then drive over to put flags on Uncle Jared, Pops, and Dad. But this year we can't do that because of Covid-19. So I thought we'd take a minute to remember the people who defended our country and kept us all safe."
He stood up and the kids straightened visibly. All three turned toward the flagpole in the middle of their garden and stayed silent for what seemed like eternity to a four-year old boy.
Hank and Joe chuckled silently as the pre-schooler wiggled and his sister scowled at him. Once her daddy had lowered his hand from saluting, Christine Booth chided her little brother, "You're s'posed to stand still, Hank!"
Behind them on the porch a very pregnant woman stood in the shade, also silent and respectful, as long as her husband saluted.
"Hey, Bones! How 'bout some lemonade for these kiddos? Are those snickerdoodles ready yet?"
The silent observers watched their family head into the kitchen for snacks. A sandy-haired man standing a short distance away rubbed his eyes and nodded to Joe and Hank.
"Thank you both for your service to our country," Max Keenan spoke up. "You raised a mighty fine husband for my Tempe, and he's doing the same with those two little sprouts. They're gonna have another one here in a couple of weeks. Word is, it's another boy. Tempe thinks she knows that for sure, but who knows? God is a practical joker at times!"
Pops and Joe Booth shook hands with Brennan's father. Then the trio watched their family through the kitchen window for a few moments before the air shimmered and they disappeared.
Booth shook his head a bit, rolled his shoulders and stared at Brennan, who gave him a puzzled look. "Are you getting a headache from the sun?" she asked.
"Nope, just felt a ghost walk over my grave, as Pops used to say."
Christine looked up at her father and squeaked, "Ghosts?"
Booth smiled. "It's just a saying, honey. Means you felt someone dear to you as if they were near by for a minute. Nothing to worry about. Grams once told me it was just an angel passing by."
A/N: On this Veterans' Day 2020, thank you to all the servicemembers who put themselves in harm's way to protect the rest of us, and to the families who support them. This short story idea popped into my head this morning and I hope you enjoy it. First chance I've had to write in quite a while.