Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Eli 5.10: Fishing, Humming, Acting, and Building



"Dad, fishing is really relaxing," Eli 5.10 said, just before I took this picture.

Our fishing experience, so far, is very much like the Cheese Shop skit in Monty Python--it's certainly uncluttered by fish.

This is the third time we've gone fishing in the last two years. Total fish caught: zero.

I know how to fish in salt water, because that's where I grew up. Wade out almost anywhere, use a live shrimp under a popping cork for bait, and you'll catch something.

Freshwater fishing is different. Some ponds and creeks just don't have many fish, depending on where you fish and what bait you use.

This time, finally, even though we got skunked, we found a place with fish. So many fish, actually, that the first time I casted (there was a channel that Eli couldn't quite reach with his casts, which tend to be, um, "erratic") for Eli, his cork went under before I could even hand him the rod.

All in all, he had at least a dozen bites, but he didn't manage to hook anything. Still, though, he had a good time, and we're going again this Sunday. I'll be taking my own rod and reel this time, and based on the action he was getting, I should be able to hook something that he can reel in.

Even if it's a tire. Or a shoe.

Last night, Eli was humming a song when I went up to tell him good night. I couldn't quite place it, as he was only humming a few bars, but he said "I really can't get this song out of my head. Mom, what song is this?"

"Bohemian Rhapsody," Gloria said, laughing. And it was.

Eli's also in a summer camp this week. He's in three classes each morning: rocks, architecture, and theater. The last has started a new mini-performance where Eli occasionally walks into the living room, throws out his arms, and says "BRING ON THE THEATER!"

Finally, this morning I was in my study, checking e-mail and a few news updates before I went to work. My study door was open, so I could hear Eli talking to Gloria in the living room. "Mom," Eli said, "When I'm older, can I build a robot?"

"Well, I don't know if--" Gloria said.

"YES!" I shouted, emerging hurriedly from my study. "The correct answer to that question is always 'YES.' Yes, you can, and I'll help you."

Seriously, is there ever any other way to answer that question?

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