"For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?"  - Jesus Christ from Matt 5:46

Down south the wind blows warm, cradling a song fresh as the morning dew
But the summer rain is starting to fall, leaving me with nothing to do

But go inside with my friends and hang out for a while
Well it's catfish and cheese grits, they be set'n southern style
And telling me to come in, take my seat at the table
Eat all that I want or at least what I'm able

Well the talk turned to Blacks, like in a Black house it would 
They started talking about Malcolm and I thought I understood
Till I opened my mouth and my X fell to 0 
When I told the whole room that Uncle Tom was my hero
From the looks in the room, well I guess you could tell
Everyone staring at me saying, "Hey, what the hell?"
I said the man gave his life just as easy as they would take it 
He knew, when your already strong then you don't have to fake it

Down south the night starts to fall, leaving me looking for some place to go
Down South I like it down town, the streets filled with people I don't know

So I work a 40 in a bag as I head down the street 
Till I hit Scruffy Murphy's for a long island T
Where the girl with the dreads dances all through my mind
And keeps me searching for words that I can't seem to find
So I'm on my way out and some skin hails me round
He shows me a sign, and I let him know I'm not down
So he flips another sign and what's left me to say 
I remember, Uncle Tom, Oh yea, Jesus loves you anyways

And down by the St. John's at the end of the day 
I see the old man and stop to say hey
Uncle Top drop a line, good Lord gonna send Mr. Catfish your way
Good Lord gonna send, Good Lord gonna send, Good Lord send Mr. catfish your way


We may rise, we may fall, might find the courage on my own
And if you don't like what I'm saying then don't pass me the microphone
But if you want me to apologize, well the check's in the mail
Just remember catfish and cheese grits; it's a southern sort of tale

And tell the good Lord I said hey
I've been fishing for answers all day
Keep'n on,tell the good Lord I said hey
Uncle Tom drop a line and tell the good Lord I said hey
Just tell the good Lord I said hey

                                                              _ Calvin "Cheese Grits" Yerke

"But I don't like doing dishes."  - ScaleLily

I was finishing my dinner and everything was great
From the meat loaf and mash potatoes 
To the green beans on my plate
When Mom stood up from the table, and said, "Who's turn to do the dishes?"
My brother Calvin pointed at me, and said, "Im pretty sure it's his."
"But I hate to do the dishes,' I said with great protest, 
'And on Friday nights I must confess, I like it even less."
My dad looked across the room at me with eyes all set and stern
He didn't have to say a word though because after all it was my turn
As I started clearing the silverware I mumbled, "there has to be a better way"
"Someone has to do it,' Calvin said, 'and I'm just glad it's your turn today"
"What I need to do then is find someone to do them for me, someone who doesn't mind"
"Good luck,' my brother stated,' I don't think anyone is that kind"
And then it came to me out of nowhere, an idea like no other
"I know who will do them for me"
"Oh yea, who's that,"asked my brother
"Well fishes like water, right? And there's plenty in the sink
I'll just train my fishes to do the dishes, I think.
As they swim through the water they'll swoosh and they will swish
With their fins and their tails, they will clean every dish."
"What about the pans that are greasy and hard to scrub?"
"Easy, big brother, they'll use their tough scales to give those dishes a rub."
"Ok, little brother, but first let's make this bet,
That your fishes can't do dishes cause they're just little pets.
And the loser does dishes for one whole month after dinner
Without any grumbling, or complaining, or hard feelings towards the winner."
So I agreed and ran off to my tank
Thinking, this is too easy, like money in the bank
As I looked at my fish, I saw each one had special traits
Like the angel fish was tall and flat and would be perfect for the plates
For the bowls, one goldfish, all fat with bubble eyes
Four guppies and three swordtails for the spoons, forks and knives
And for the real detailed work, like mom's special glasses
My ace in the hole, my sucker mouth catfish
So I told each one their job, all in great detail
But when your smart as fish, then how can you fail
                                                                               Calvin "Cheese Grits" Yerke

Early last spring I got that sort of itch that only time on the water can scratch, probably after too many episodes of River Monsters. So Lily and I loaded up a kayak and headed down to John's lake. It was afternoon when we arrived, probably close two 2pm if my memory serves me well, and some of  the early day anglers were pulling up in their bass boats finished for the day. They said the fish weren't biting and they were throwing craw fish jigs and worms, but with little to no response. I guess they were hoping that the fish were in their spawning areas. My daughter assumed from this and the 30,000 dollars or so that these men had invested in the pursuit of bass that we were not going to catch anything either. I admit, the first few tactics I tried seemed to reinforce her theory, and she quickly lost interest. 
"So change it up,' I said out loud to her or maybe to myself, 'lets go small." 
She tied on a small, white Rooster Tail, and I went with yet another crank bait yet smaller. As we approached a new cove I noticed she had completely lost interest and was just sort of trolling the spinner bait behind us with the rod hanging over the side of the kayak. She was bored. Then it happened, either she snagged a big clump of weed or hooked a fish but either way she was awake now and turning the reel handle. "Fish on, dad," she exclaimed. We watch way too many fishing shows, but it quickly becomes your favorite expression especially when its your little girl. Somehow seeing them catch fish is even better than when I do, and I love to catch fish. 
At first the bass were small but as the afternoon wore on they became more and more consistent. Every once in a while we broke the 3 pound barrier and I had started fishing an in line white spinner myself on my ultralight. It was a rooster tail but a size bigger with a hammered silver blade. My daughter was now almost tired of catching bass, you just can't please them, when she hit into a nice pickerel. This was a gorgeous fish and got her interest going again. We boated 4 more pickerel that afternoon and on the way back I busted well over the 4 pound range with my little ultralight spooled with the 4 pound mono. What a day, and maybe this will help someone else when the bass forget their lines and aren't playing to script. 
When we got back to the ramp more boats were there and they were telling us how it wasn't worth it today just as my little girl was hooking up on another one. "Well, I guess she doesn't know any better,' I said to the man,'so she just keeps catching them." 

"What's so amazing about really deep thoughts?" - Tori Amos

Have you ever been fishing with someone who offers to take you to one their "spots", where they always "catch 'em", only to have that same person on the way to said spot inform you that they really don't care whether they catch anything or not? They speak of things like just getting away, communing with nature, or say, "I just enjoy being out there."

Maybe I'm just shallow, but I have never been able to approach fishing that way. Yes, its about being out there obviously because that's where the fish are, and fishing surely turns into a meditation of sorts but ultimately those means if done properly or with any luck should culminate into a fish at the end of your line. What do you think?