© Joan Currie – My Father’s Tackle Box

Growing up, my father spent every Father’s Day weekend fishing in the wilds of northern Quebec, but he would return just in time for Sunday dinner with his quota of rainbow trout!

Here is what he taught me during my formative years:

1.  How to catch and release a fish.
2.  How to win at cribbage and ping pong.
3.  How to play golf and badminton, throw horseshoes and a football, jump waves, fly a kite, waterski, pitch a tent, and paddle a canoe.
4. How to work a drill, lawn mover, outboard motor, telescope, water pump, and drive a car.
5. How to paint a room, stain a dock, and polish shoes.
6. How to spot the Big and Little Dippers, Venus, Jupiter, shooting stars, and satellites in the night sky.
7. How to live one day at a time and not trouble, trouble.
8. How to be a Renaissance man/woman and have a passion for lifelong learning that included classical music, art history, astronomy, pottery, gardening, foreign languages, and travel to distant lands.
9. How to enjoy the company of good friends, give a speech, tell a joke, shake a hand, tie a Windsor knot, break an apple in half with your hands, balance a checkbook, cut a deck of cards, and use a yo-yo.
10. The value of hard work, exercise, volunteerism, and going to church.

Thanks, Dad! Happy Father’s Day!

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