Well, ah, what I learned from him was how to grow potatoes. Or shall I say he gave me the inspiration to grow potatoes.
We lived on Minter Bay, a large tidal estuary.
At high tide it was a bay. At low tide it was a mudflat with a stream, Minter Creek, flowing through it. At low tide as the stream flowed by my house, it was only about two feet deep.
My bedroom was on the third floor and with the window open, those large King Salmon would wake me up as they made their way upstream, splashing and scurrying through the water.
Being an ex-hippie and ecological freak, lover of nature; I didn’t consider taking a fish when in this precarious condition.
Then my daughter played t-ball with the guy who ran the salmon hatchery’s kid.
At the t-ball picnic I asked Popochock, “Hey what if I took one or two salmon as they made their way by my house? I mean I know you destroy ninety per cent of the fish after choosing the strongest to be involved in the artificial reproduction. Right?”
“Yeah, that would be ok, just don’t have your whole extended family doing that.”
I took that as a “Yes.”
My wife at the time, was a criminal defense lawyer and said, “If you do that, I will not help[ you and I will not defend you. That is a serious crime and if you fucking get caught, you’re on your own.”
Thank you Judy for the support. Although I digress a bit, more to come later.