"CATCH OF A LIFETIME” By James P. Lenfetsy
He was
eleven years old, and went fishing every chance he got from the dock at
this family’s cabin on an island in the middle if a New Hampshire lake.
On the
day before the bass season opened, he and his father were fishing early
in the evening, catching sunfish, perch and worms. Then he tied on a
small silver lure and practiced casting. The lure struck the water and
caused colored ripples in the sunset, then silver ripples as the moon
rose over the lake.
When
his pole doubled over, he knew something huge was on the other end. His
father watched with admiration as the boy skillfully worked the fish
alongside the dock.
Finally
he very gingerly lifted the exhausted fish from the water. It was the
largest one he had ever seen, but it was a bass. The boy and the father
looked at the handsome fish in the moonlight. The father lit a match and
looked at his watch.
It was 10:00 PM—two hours before the season opened. He looked at the fish, then at the boy.
“You’ll have to put it back son,” he said.
“Dad!” cried the boy.
“There will be other fish,” said the father.
“Not as big as this one,” cried the boy.”
He looked around the lake. No other fisherman or boats were anywhere around in the moonlight. He looked again at his father.
Even
though no one had seen them, nor would anyone ever know what time he
caught the fish, the boy could tell by the clarity of his dad’s voice
that the decision was not negotiable. He slowly worked the hook out of
the lip of the huge bass, and lowered it back into the black water. The
creature swished its powerful body and disappeared. The boy suspected
that he would never see such as great fish
That
was thirty-four years ago. Today, the boy is a successful architect in
New York City. His dad’s cabin is still is still there on the island in
the middle of the lake. He takes his own son and daughters fishing from
the same dock. And he was right. He has never again caught such a
magnificent fish as the one he landed that long night ago. But he does
see the same fish—again and again—every time he come up against a
question of ethics.
For,
as his father taught him ethics are simple matters of right and wrong.
It is only the practice of ethics that is difficult. The decision to do
right lives fresh in our memory. Not about how we had a chance to beat
the system and took it, but how we did the right thing and were forever
strengthened.
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