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Is this a clear sign of getting older?  I went out in public dressed in some of my worst clothes.  Last week’s stormy weather put me on to the horns of an unusual dilemma.  The approaching afternoon storms coincided perfectly with our meteorologist, Karl Klopotic’s predicted peak fish activity level.  I’d been eager to get a little catfishing in, and I believe that nearing low pressure systems increase fish movement, so off to the river I went.  I only had a short window of fishing opportunity, less than two hours, but thought sneaking in a little time on the river bank would be relaxing.  As it turned out, Karl’s prediction couldn’t have been better.  It was terribly windy, cloudy and the river was covered in whitecaps when 5 o’clock came -- the beginning of the peak activity level -- and I started catching catfish.  In all I caught five, the largest a six-pounder, and missed another large one who snapped my line ( I released all of my catches, by the way).  At that point I didn’t really want to stop fishing, it’s hard to quit when you’re catching fish, but needed to go.  It was 6:30 and the storms were threatening to start any minute.  As I was driving home I was deciding if I should go home, shower and head to the store, or just stop at the store and hope I didn’t see anyone I know.  Not wanting to go out in the storms, I decided to slip into the store -- fresh from catfishing in some of my oldest, fish-friendly clothes: shorts with multiple paint stains & holes, an old t-shirt in equally poor shape, and dirty old running shoes.  I wasn’t exactly looking or smelling my very best, but only needed a few items and decided I could beat the storms with a quick stop.  I parked, headed straight for the store restroom where I scrubbed my hands trying to erase any hint of catfish, bait, etc.  As I was at the register, almost through with my quick trip, a store manager announced that due to the weather warning(s) (I’m not certain if it was a tornado or severe thunderstorm warning) we would all be huddling in the back of the store.  It was horrifying, I was certain I’d be stuck close to a huge group of people, fresh from catfishing and offending all around me.  As luck would have it, the manager walked up and instructed my cashier to complete my order before heading back.  She joked about standing by me as I had chicken and pop.  I laughed and suggested we meet by the beer, paid my bill and escaped, darting straight to my car in the pouring rain.  So I have a couple of questions for you:

  1. Is it ever OK to go out in public in “grubby” clothes?
  2. What do you think of my fish?

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