It all started on the day I took the kids fishing for their first time. Joey and Jessica had both expressed an interest in learning how to fish. I am really not that interested in fishing, but I really wanted to be the one who took them for their first time. So I bought them each their own pole, taught them how to cast, grabbed a can of corn, and took them to the lake. I decided to use the corn the first time because I wasn't sure how they'd react to baiting a hook with a worm. Well, the corn turned out to be a success! They each caught a fish. So we talked and decided that we needed to go fishing again the following weekend. The Friday before our fishing trip, I was talking to Joey about fishing and I told him that we were going to buy some worms this time. He looked confused. He asked me why we needed to buy worms. When I told him we were going to use them for bait, he paused for a moment and then started yelling (keep in mind he's only 5 years old). He frantically told me how "making worms dead" just to catch a fish was wrong. He started going on about how the sharp hook would make the worms die. I then started to explain to him that everyone who fishes uses worms. I figured that telling him that would maybe calm him down a bit. I figured wrong. After I told him that, he thought for a moment and then said, "You know what we have to do now don't you Daddy?" I really had no idea what he was going to say, so I asked him what he thought we should do. Joey, my 5 year old son, tells me that we need to go to "every area" in Macomb and buy up all the worms so no one could kill them. I started laughing, but he was serious. I tried pretty hard to explain to him that we couldn't do that, but he wouldn't listen. So rather that letting him go on about it all night, I told him to wake up his sister, get his shoes on, and head out to the car. At this point it's like 9pm. So me, Jessica, and Joey all get in the car and start hitting up gas station after gas station until we find one that sells worms. I bought 2 containers of worms and took them out to the car. I told Joey that this was all they had left. That wasn't good enough for him. He said that we still had not been to all the gas stations yet and that there was probably other places in town that sold worms. So I went back inside the gas station and talked to the lady behind the counter. I explained to her what was going on and why I bought the worms. So being the nice lady that she was, she came outside to the car with me to talk to Joey. She assured him that she would call every place in Macomb that sold worms and make sure that they let all the worms go. My excited little 5 year old sat back in his seat (he's in the front seat of the car), looked straight ahead, and whispered to himself, "I did it." I asked him what he "did" and he said that he had rescued all the worms and that he was a hero:) Never in my life have I seen my son so proud of himself. So I shut the door of the car, thanked the lady, and then me and the kids headed home. Their mom and her boyfriend live in the same apartment complex I do, so we went to their apartment so I could explain to them what had happened. After we shared a laugh, I asked the kids if they were ready. By this point, Jessica was getting pretty involved with her brother's quest. So Tami, John, myself, and the kids all headed to an open area next to the apartments so the kids could set their worms free. To add to the humor, Joey introduced himself to the worms after he let them go.
This all took place the summer after my divorce. To this day, Joey still doesn't believe in the slaughter of innocent worms. He insists that we use corn. So every now and then we load the tackle box with hooks, bobbers, and a can of corn and hit the lake. This has got to be one of the coolest things that Joey has ever done. It's something I know I'll never forget. |
