FISHING IN FUTILITY

A Fish out of Water

      I remember as a boy my beloved grandfather Arty (short for Arthur) used to be almost obsessed with fishing, and my Uncle Joe even had a boat (he was fairly upper middle class, being a corrupt politician, even had a bar in his basement, to show off and grease palms accordingly). They would both often go out on Lake Erie fishing. I was very young, and the memories are cloudy, but they certainly happened.

At 12 years old, I mentioned to Christian (my foster dad, closer to a big brother though) my grandfather having a true love of fishing and Christian decided that we would go to the "foot of Ferry" one time, and try my hand at fishing with him.

The foot of Ferry was a waterfront park, lots of old worn fishermen hung out there, and hung their lines in the water round the clock, rarely catching a thing.

I never fished before, so I thought it might be fun. Christian had a fishing pole of his own he brought along. I think he also borrowed a friend's pole, so I could try my hand on my very own as well, with his guidance of course. Since they didn't own a vehicle (two could not fit on his 10 speed I imagine) we walked to the river, since it was all on the west side of Buffalo, straight down West Ferry st.

First we stopped at a small bait shop on Niagara St, and since i've never been in anything remotely like a bait shop before, it seemed fascinating to a young boy. The whole place smelled like old fish, but other earthy natural scents as well. I sniffed dirt, insects, and some smells I couldn't quite pin down. The shop was small, dimly lit, but seemed perfect for its purpose. They had lively loud crickets, grasshoppers, tiny fish, worms, and some other things I couldn't even identify. All in all, endlessly alluring to me. I remember being enthralled by all the various forms of life all around me. Like being inside a nature channel.

Christian paid a very low price I remember, for a batch of simple worms, nothing else. Kind of disgusting to look at, wiggling around, but gourmet cuisine for fish I suppose.

We walked the rest of the way down Niagara St, lots of closed businesses, and the few open were water based, tackle shops, boat sales, a tour place, but mainly just sadly closed shops.

Even back then, the City of Buffalo was in a long term decline, probably since long before I ever existed. It's amazing how many places across America are in their death throes, and they don't even realize it, either economically or socially, take your pick. Many great civilizations have fallen throughout history, some quickly, some far more slowly. America in general as a country is more on the slow side, but dying nonetheless, maybe it's for the best.

Eventually we reached W Ferry st, and ventured under the bridge to the waterfront side. This bridge actually lifts and separates, to let larger and higher boats through, and there's always a high pitched warning beforehand. I certainly wouldn't want to be walking across this bridge when it lifts to high heaven, not a fun ride I imagine, even if you somehow survive the trip. We walked across with our poles and bait, and made our way across the narrow stick of land to a halfway empty stone wall with an ancient metal black railing. There stood old and grizzled hopeful fellow fishermen, or maybe ex-captains? I was never sure.

Some of them barely ever moved, they just stood there, and would have looked perfectly natural on an old wooden fishing boat since they all wore the same captain's caps, and none seemed less than 70 years old.

They might have been ancient statues manning their fishing poles, and doing nothing else. Of course, I was perfectly intrigued. The whole area had a rotten fishy smell, and the water below us was dark, deep, and brown, not overly inviting. I was glad I wasn't there for a casual swim! Ahead of us, beyond the black railing stood the famous Niagara river, wide as a mile, and beyond that, the great misunderstood shores of Canada. Looking beyond the scummy brown water closest to us, it was surely an awe inspiring sight for a 12 year old boy to see.