I took a late afternoon bike ride out to Sachuest Point today, which I gather is/was the first day of summer. What a beauty. And I was just taking a spin through the parking lot — I had no real intention of stopping — when I saw a familiar truck belonging to a friend. It's hard to miss (the truck, that is): classic black with assorted figures and flames on the side that I suppose represent speed and power.
Just what a truck ought to be: fast and powerful.
And cool (!).
Anyway, upon seeing the truck, I decided to disembark, lock my bike and head off in search of this friend (of the longtime variety) whom I know to be a fisherman. I assumed he was somewhere nearby, as Sachuest offers a wealth of spots, secret and otherwise, that are popular with those who enjoy casting about for whatever comes their way. Especially if it might provide dinner. I had no luck finding Fisherman Friend, however, so I just looked (fished?) around for whatever else struck me as marginally interesting on the Sakonnet side of the refuge: rocks, tidepools, seaweed and vines flowing/growing every which way, the usual stuff. Then I headed back to my bike but, just before hopping on, thought I'd take one last look on the other side: the side facing Second/Sachuest Beach. I headed down the trail a little way and ... there he was.
I picked my way over the rocks to where Fisherman Friend stood, and we exchanged pleasantries, after which he changed the subject by asking, "Want to see what I caught here three weeks ago?"
"Um, okay."
"Don't look too closely though ... "
But, of course, I did. I found it kinda pretty (in a prehistoric way): a sturgeon. The tail end, anyway. The rest of him/her had gotten a little, shall we say, old.
What Fisherman Friend was hoping to catch is striper, so we talked about that a bit, not that I know anything (at all) about fishing. Nor am I willing to do what it takes to get the job done, i.e., deal with the messy part; I just like to partake of the results. So, before long, I headed back to my bike and continued on my way.
And when I got home, I had a cell phone message from FF saying, "Just wanted you to know I caught one."
Must say, it made me smile ...
