Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Now we are Minnesotans

It was a parent-child ice fishing day at Fort Snelling in Minneapolis. So we go. It starts with an 80-minute presentation on ice fishing at the visitor center:
- Long safety video of people plunging into an icy lake in their cars and then struggling like hell to not die.
- Item by item presentation on ice fishing equipment. The ranger would talk about each item, tell how much it costs, and then tell you why you probably didn't need it.
- Every kid in the place was like, "uh...WHEN DO WE FISH?!"

Then we got to build our own fishing pole out a dowel and some line and a hook. Then out to the frozen lake! Where the ranger used a power auger to drill holes in the 10-inch thick ice.

And it was only then that I realized: wait a minute. Ice fishing takes forever to catch anything. That's why you sit there in special houses for hours, days on end. Also: no one in our family really even likes fish all that much.

So: "Tell you what, Charlie. Let me at least get a picture of you and then we can get out of here, knowing we are proper Minnesotans. Except without the patience."

Fine, he said.

And try to smile, I said.

Fine, he said.




**

2 comments:

Scott Chicken said...

You forgot the part where you drink case after case of cheap beer while sitting in your little house for days on end...

DK said...

He's right about the beer. Ice fishing without beer is like... umm... hunting without beer.