Boys Like Huck Finn

I think of Huckleberry Finn as a carefree boy, daily seeing what mischief he can get into and never missing an opportunity to head to the creek and catch a fish. This summer my boys have caught that same ethos, especially the part about catching fish. They fish almost daily and have gotten astonishingly good. When we go to Walmart they don't beg for toys or candy--they want lures and worms. And its a great pastime to indulge: giving them knowledge, skills and practice, connecting them with nature, and getting them outdoors. This last one I marvel at even more than their ability to pull sizable fish from a very tiny (and even more so with the lack of rain) creek. They can go out for hours at a time, even in the middle of the day, and contentedly fish. Currently, we are on a 40 day streak for consecutive days over 100 degrees. If we get over a hundred into mid next week we will break the streak, established in 1984, of 42 days. Still, I'm sure the boys will be out in it, living it up and snagging fish left and right. I think it's awesome and it makes me smile.