Pained

Today, had things gone as planned, I'd be out with my dad on Gull Lake, near Kalamazoo, trying for some largemouths. But it didn't happen, and the lost water time is the least of my concerns.

Yesterday my dad--81 years old--called to tell me he wouldn't be able to go. He'd hurt his back earlier in the week while making a bed (a lesson here--avoid housework). He thought it would be OK by the weekend, but it still hurt him to move around, so he would have to skip the trip.

This would have been our first outing of the year. Usually, we make a walleye trip to the Detroit river in May, but we missed that because my stepmother was undergoing surgery at the time and he needed to take care of her. We swore we'd get out to fish sooner or later, though it wasn't clear when we'd get a chance. On the spur of the moment last weekend, I proposed a trip to Gull today and he agreed. But a rumpled bedsheet intervened.

On the face of it, this should be a minor disappointment, but when your fishing partner is 81 years old and has had some serious health problems over the last two years, these small reverses become ominous. You can't help but wonder how many more outings you'll have, or whether you've already had the last.