Ever since there have been fathers and sons...
There have been father-and-son traditions...
Rituals that bond man to boy. And knit boy to man.
In my family, there was one tradition...
That outranked all others... In sheer gross ritual tonnage.
The tri-annual...Arnold three-day fishing trip.
Got everything?
- I think so. /- Yeah. - Ah, lemme check.
Every few years, Dad would round up the poles and boots and his old Army tent from the attic...
And pack us off for a weekend at Berlinger Falls.
Not that we had a choice in the matter.
OK. Looks like we got it all.
Everybody ready?
No.
Yes.
- Right, Dad. We're ready. - Good. Let's get started.
So, that fall of nineteen-seventy-two...
We headed off for our first expedition since I was twelve.
- I get the front seat. - I get the front.
Just get in the car!
Fine. Then I get the back seat. Sucker.
Butthead.
The funny thing is...Of all the trips we ever made...
It's the one I remember most.
Not because it was the best...or the worst...
- Are we there, yet? /- Wayne... - Hey - just asking.
But because...it was the last.
Berlinger Falls. Fresh air, trees...
A suburban outdoorsman's Valhalla.
Where men could kick back in the company of men.
Such as they were.
It was a place where dads could be dads.
And kids could be kids.
Where fathers and sons could share things.
Together. Three men in a tent.
Trouble was, to get there, first ya had to be...
Three men in a car.
Gee, Dad...you think you could drive a little bit slower?
What are ya talkin' about? I'm drivin' fifty-five.
Whoa...
Not that bickering in the bucket was anything new to us.
Still this time...
It was clear something had changed. Something hard to define.
Who thought of this stupid trip, anyway?
What's that supposed to mean?
Means why are we going?
Fortunately, when it came to questions...Of cosmic dimensions...
The old man was a pro.
Look. I took a day off, I got you two a day off...
And now we're goin' fishin'. And it's all I want to hear.
Understood?
Got it.
And, given the circumstances...
It was probably as good a reason as any.
After all...This was ritual.
This was...tradition.
This was...
Ed's bait shop. Remember?
Hi. This it?
Where's Ed?
- Ed? - You know...Ed.
Runs this place - nice old guy.
Oh...He's dead.
Boating accident. Couple years ago.
Hmmmm.
Well...send him our regards, anyway.
So...Doin' a little fishin'.
Yeah.
Fortunately, not in a boat.
We're headin' up to Berlinger Falls - a little secret spot I found.
Oh...Can't go up there, anymore.
Not by car, anyway. They closed that road last summer.
The only way in's by foot.
Eight miles.
It was a major setback. For tradition...
For memories.
Well...
We're goin' anyway.
But not for my father.
After all, we were campers...
Not hikers.
I can't believe this.
Dad, you sure you know what you're doin'?
What are ya talkin' about? It's just a few leaves.
Even though it was more like the whole forest.
Ya know...Maybe we oughtta...scrap this plan.
- Head for home. What do ya think? - Yeah, I think he's got a point.
Seemed clear to us. Some things were meant to be some weren't.
Don't be ridiculous.
We've come this far...We're not turnin' back.
But, Dad...We don't even know where we are.
Course we do. I never get lost.
And so...Thanks to Dad's... Built-in compass, and a lot of good luck...
We finally arrived. Three hours later.
Well, we're here.
- Oh, good. - Yeah. Great.
So? What d'ya think?
But what could we say?
We'd been Shanghai'd from our beds...hauled through the woods and dumped here. And for what?
It's perfect, isn't it? Just like it always was.
And the funny thing is, at that moment...
Seeing it through Dad's eyes...suddenly that stupid little spot didn't seem all that bad.
It's OK.
Not bad.
And, there was only one more thing to say.
Let's get movin'.
Time to make camp.
And so, we set to work.
Carving out our place in the great outdoors.
Following a ritual we'd known since we were kids.
It's funny...But setting up that old tent...
Was kinda like...
Goin' back in time. And somehow...
Working like that...we recaptured something we'd almost forgotten.
Beans.
This is the life, isn't it?
Don't worry. Tomorrow we'll get up early and catch us a mess of fish. Right?
Sure, Dad.
It was great.
Old times...good times...
Sittin' around the fire...Dad and me... Skinning Wayne at cards...
Gin.
What?!
It was kinda like finding out your pet hampster...Could do calculus.
- Dad...Pop me a beer, will ya? - Unhhh. /- Yeah, me too.
What the hey...It was worth a shot.
Never mind.
Ya know...
I've been thinkin'. One of these days I'm gonna chuck it all...
Find us a place to retire...like this.
We could build us a cabin. Logs maybe.
Wouldn't have to be much.
It was the same old dream Dad had talked about... Since I was three years old.
We could come here in April and stay till it snowed.
We could catch fish all summer... Live off what we caught.
It was like a litany. We'd heard it... A hundred times before.
Still, that night, for some reason...
Yeah, but what about your mortgage?
What's that gotta do with it?
Well...Don't ya like owe the bank a pile?
Yeah. I mean...is that really practical?
I mean, with...what you make, and everything?
Course, looking back...our two cents might not have been exactly in the spirit of the moment.
Gin.
'Nother hand, huh?
Uh, I don't think so.
Maybe we oughtta hit the hay...
Yeah, sure!
Sure, Dad.
Good call. After all, if things were a little rough around the fire...
At least we always had the comfort... Of the old tent.
- Hey... - Come on...
- Watch it! /- You watch it. - You can wait... /- Wayne...
Hey - that's my spot. You're in my spot.
- OK, OK. - No...
Wait! Wait a minute! Let's think this out! What happened?
But it wasn't gonna take a genius to figure this one out.
Stated simply...we were thirty-eight square feet of family...
In thirty-two square feet of tent.
Which added up to one thing.
Who thought of this stupid trip in the first place?
Knew we should have stayed in a motel.
Wayne...
- Ya know, I'm gonna sleep outside. - No - I'll sleep outside.
No...I'll sleep outside.
And of course, it was the only solution.
And I guess at that moment it was clear...
The horrible unvarnished truth.
We were caught.
Trapped...three men in a tent.
With no way out.
And not only that...
Dad.
Yeah.
There's a leak.
The next morning, the clouds had cleared.
By some miracle of physical engineering, we'd made it through the night. Alive.
And as the sun rose, hope once again sprang full-blown...
In the Arnold manly breast.
After all...
This was fishing. This was tradition. This was...
Carnage.
Does anyone have any bug-spray?
We ran out an hour ago.
Seemed the only thing biting around here were the mosquitos.
So it was time to fall back..On the oldest technique known to fishermen in times of trouble.
Kevin, ya gotta cast it out further...if ya wanna catch anything.
Give the other guy advice.
Don't worry about me...I know what I'm doin'.
Even though I didn't.
Dad! Dad, I got a bite.
- Ya need any help? - No - I got it.
And I did. I had it.
The first catch of the day.
Ease 'er in. Ease 'er in...
It was big, alright.
Big, mean, tough.
It was...
Totally...Humiliating.
Personally, I'd throw it back - it's flat.
Nah, keep it - it'll look good on the wall.
Pret-ty fun-ny...
Hey, Kev! Hey...I hear the tires are really bitin' around here.
Shut up...Butthead.
OK, then.
If that's the way they wanted to play it...
I could play rough, too.
After all, if I couldn't catch a fish, there was always a chance I might snare myself...
A hundred-and-forty-pound... Large-mouth ass.
Hey, Wayne!
Come over here. I gotta show ya somethin'. It's really cool.
- Yeah? /- Yeah, ya gotta see it. - OK - in a second.
Heh-heh. It was mean. It was rotten. It was irresistable.
What is it, Kev? Ya find somethin'?
Uh...No, Dad...it's nothing. It's for Wayne.
Wayne!
No, really - let me take a look.
Uh-oh.
No! Dad!
Dad?
I'm really sorry, Dad.
Yeah.
Ya know, it wasn't supposed to happen like that.
Uh-huh.
I hope you're not mad.
Course, this was my father.
He of all men could appreciate the humor in this.
How could you pull a stupid stunt like that?
Kevin, someone coulda been hurt!
OK...I knew what was required, here.
An honest apology.
Straight, simple and heartfelt.
I'm sorry, Dad. I tried to warn you.
You were there, and...Then you weren't.
But maybe it was the lack of sleep...
Or maybe it was seeing him standing there...In wet boxer-shorts...
And, uh...
I'm also...sorry about losin' your hat.
But, I bet it's caught a lot of fish by now.
It was aweful. The madder he got...the funnier it seemed. And then...
Hey, you guys!
I got a fish - I got a fish!
From the brink of annihilation...
- Get the net! - Get the net.
Suddenly, we knew to a man... Exactly why we had come.
It didn't matter that Wayne made the initial strike.
Oh, man - it's a big one!
We were all one unit now.
A well-oiled machine...Working in harmony to bring glory to our quest.
Easy, now!
- Yes! Yes! - We got it!
Man, look at the size of that sucker!
Yeah, it must be like a twelve-pounder.
That baby's a fighter!
Man, he was strong - I thought it was gonna rip off my arm!
Finally, we had what we'd been waiting for.
Something we could tell our grandchildren about.
The day we caught thirty-pounder.
Together.
I don't believe it. Beans again.
Let's face it. We were failures. As campers...
As anglers...
As men.
Well, I know...why don't we cook up Kevin's catch?
Nothing like the taste of...barbeque steel-belted radial.
Or how about...fillet of Firestone?
Not to mention stand-up comedians.
Very funny.
I hope you're all enjoying yourselves.
Because I wasn't. I was fed up.
Whoa...Where are you goin'?
- I'm gettin' a beer. - Kevin...
Dad...I'm tired, I'm hot, and I'm sick of soda. So I'm havin' a beer, OK?
And there it was...
A challenge even Dad couldn't ignore.
Ya know...
Maybe the problem is, we've been using the wrong lures.
The stuff ya buy in the stores is no damn good.
Tell ya somethin'...
When I get my place up here, things are gonna be different.
I couldn't believe it. I was trying my best to assert my manhood...
And this guy was ignoring me... Like I was a little kid.
And I wasn't gonna take it anymore.
- Get off it, Dad. Will ya? - What?
All this stuff about building a cabin.
You're never moving up here. Not in a million years.
I see.
It was possibly the meanest thing I'd ever said to the man.
But right then, I didn't care.
The way I saw it...turn-about was fair play.
I don't believe it! That was great!
Hey, Kev - this Bud's on you!
Get your hands off me.
- Oh, why don't ya make me, scrote? - I'm warning you, Wayne.
Oh, I'm tremblin'.
Wayne...
That's enough. What's the matter with you two?
I bring ya all the way up here to fish...and all ya do is fight!
Honest to God, why can't we all just try and...get along, the way we used to?
But the thing was...
I don't think we could tell him, any more than he could tell us.
Hey. There's foam on your head.
That's it.
Hey! Break it up!
Knock it off!
And that's when it happened. - Break it up...
Things got a little...
- Dad! Out of hand.
Dad!
It was eighteen years of memories.
And there was nothing we could do...but stand there.
And watch.
Need any help?
Nah...
I wasn't sure quite what to say.
I wanted to make things right, but...
I knew I couldn't.
Sorry about the tent.
It's OK...
But I knew he was lying.
I knew Wayne and I...Had let him down.
We'd gotten older.
And the sad thing was...it was nobody's fault.
Why'd we come on this stupid trip anyway?
Well...we planned it. You got a day off, and...
You got us a day off, so...
We came.
Besides...
It's only Saturday.
Let's stay up here till tomorrow.
Where're we gonna sleep?
Maybe the hardest part of growing up...
Is having those you always counted on...
Look to you.
I don't know. We'll think of somethin'.
Come on.
We'll see what happens, OK?
After all...We'd come this far.
No sense turning back, now.
"Fishin' Blues" - Taj Mahal
We fished the rest of that day. ¢ÜBetcha goin' fishin' all of your time¢Ü
¢ÜBaby's goin' fishing too¢Ü
We didn't catch much... ¢ÜBet your life, your sweet life¢Ü
Dad said he'd like to move up here, and open a bait shop. ¢ÜCatch more fish than you¢Ü
I told him it was a great idea. ¢ÜMany fish bites if ya got good bait¢Ü
I think he believed me. ¢ÜHere's a little tip I would like to relate¢Ü
And in the end... ¢ÜBig fish bites if ya got a good bait¢Ü
I guess we finally figured out why we'd come here in the first place. ¢ÜI 'a goin' fishin' Yes I'm goin' fishin'¢Ü
We'd come...to say goodbye. ¢ÜAnd my baby's goin' fishin' too I went on down to my favorite fishin' hole¢Ü
¢ÜBaby grabbed me a pole and line¢Ü
¢ÜThrow my pole on in¢Ü ÇÏºñ ÀÚ¸· µ¿È£È¸(http:/havy.co.kr)
¢ÜCaught a nine pound catfish¢Ü °¨»çÇÕ´Ï´Ù.
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