It Is Time

There comes a time when all things must go to their proper homes.  Yep, I do believe that time has come.  Since both my oldest son and my daughter have met their soulmates, married and moved into their own homes, it is high time that all of their belongings move with them.  (My daughter-in-law and my son-in-law will probably cringe at the thought!)  I have come to the conclusion that the Little Bayou House would not be near so cluttered if it were not that I am storing stuff that is not mine.  It is time...it is high time...that this stuff moves.  Yes, a lot of it was being tossed when they left here and I admit that I salvaged it.  I pulled things that I thought they would like to have somewhere down the line.  These items had some special meaning to them when they were younger and it might have the same special meaning as they age.  Even if it is only for a bit of nostalgia, things can be revisited at some point in life and have a whole new value.  For instance, a few (very few) things that I had as a youngster have over the years found their way back into my possession. The memories that were held by these items are priceless.  These things are from a time past....a time that will never be again.  The cobwebs in the corners of my brain get shuffled about a bit when I touch some long-lost bit of my childhood.  I hope the things that I saved serve a hefty bit of nostalgia to my kids when I bestow the gifts of things past to them.

  There are two things that my son might actually enjoy seeing once again. One is a tiny rod and reel that was his very first.  No, this is not one of the toy type reels that kids use today.  This is an actual rod and reel....small but real.  We bought this for him when he was a little over three years old.  He used to go fishing a lot with my dad and used a hand line.  He caught so many fish using that piece of string that we figured it was time to upgrade to a real pole.  He loved it and learned to use it quickly.  With this tiny rod and reel, the kid caught some pretty huge fish!  

  The other item is a small net.  An elderly gentleman that was Pop's good friend used to talk with my son when he was just a tyke.  One day, he told my son to stand tall and let him get a measurement.  We had no idea what he was up to with this bit if information but fully trusted the old man.  Mr. Rosetti had been a fisherman for all of his life and he wanted to do something to help instill the love of fishing in our little boy.  A few days later, he came back to Pop's house and was carrying a brown paper bag.  He was grinning from ear to ear when he handed the bag to my little boy.  Inside was a homemade brail net.  It was perfect! He informed us that to be a good one, a net should be just a bit taller than the person throwing it.  This is why he measured our son. He wanted to make a net that was just his size. The net is one of the old style cotton nets and not like the new monofilament types of today.  My son learned to throw the net and soon could catch bait or shrimp with the best fishermen.  His net was one of his favorite gifts he ever received.  How could I toss this thing to the wayside when he outgrew it.  The thing has lasted all of these many years.  Many little kids that have visited the Bayou over the years have learned to throw a net using this very one.   I am in hopes that my son will now teach his little ones the fine art of brail net casting.

   I am also in hopes that the net and the rod and reel will bring back many fond memories.  That will make all of those years that I stored the thing well worth the trouble.  Most likely, most of the things I saved really should be tossed but that will have to be up to my kids...not me.  I just do not have the heart to do it.  Not after some thirty years of storing the things?....not at all.