Cause I Said So
May 2009
Andrea VanSandt

My Happy Place: A Grandma, A Little Boy, and A Box of Worms

Some of my fondest childhood memories include a tackle box, fishing pole, and my Grandma Loucille. It’s not the memories of the number of fish or the size of “the one that got away”, but it’s the feeling of belonging I felt as I sat alongside my grandma, each of us with our rod and reel in hand intently watching the red and white bobbers floating along the top of the water perched and ready to announce even the tiniest nibble on the end of our hooks.

Through my early fishing experiences, I have never felt squirmish handling worms. However, what I didn’t ever develop, though, is the ability to actually take the prize off my hook. Worms-yes, bug-eyed, slippery, floppy fish- no way! Fortunately, as my boys grew up and enjoyed fishing, my youngest son Glendon and I had an unspoken routine. I would bait the hooks, he would remove the fish. The only challenge for Glendon was if the hook was “more than skin deep”. He wasn’t yet adept with pliers, so any swallowed hook was a job for Dad.

One spring day several years ago, David and I had our boys at my parent’s farm to catch perch in their pond. It was one of those perfect afternoons where, even though they weren’t very big, the fish were biting like crazy. Thus, lots of catch and lots of release. Dylan, then 5 or 6, headed to the opposite pond bank to try his luck beside his dad. Within minutes, his dual-colored bobber dipped underwater and his little arm was spinning wildly.

As he struggled to reel in the umpteenth sun perch,, Glendon dropped his pole and starting running to his big brother’s side and called out from across the pond in his preschool, sing-song voice, “Hey Dywan, did you catch him in the wip?” The good news was indeed big brother did catch him in the lip, the bad news was it was the biggest catch of the day, measuring in at approximately 5 inches.

Glendon was frustrated and disappointed as we got into the car. He had heard enough of his older brother’s tales of victory and with all sincerity, he said “Mom, will you tell Dywan not to talk about ‘you know what’?”

As we often do during the warm months, recently Glendon and I called Grandma and invited her to the river to fish with us. To me it’s nostalgic; to Glendon it’s energizing. I see now that Glendon has taken on my role as apprentice. I love watching my Grandma untangling his fishing line, baiting the hooks, and pointing Glendon toward the best hole. He looks up to her just as I did as a young girl all those years ago.

As the afternoon wore on with no luck, we all grew a little weary. Grandma was the first to reel in a catch- a perch scarcely as long as the palm of her hand. It was Grandma who landed the second catch of the day- an even smaller fish which she used as bait to hopefully lure another of more noteworthy size. To Glendon’s dismay, I was the one to bring in the third fish. I had to ask him very politely before he would even take it off my hook. As the time passed, Glendon continued his technique of cast, reel, and repeat to no avail. The more frustrated he became, the more I found myself willing all the fish to swim in his direction when I heard a joyous squeal- “I caught one!” As he brought it to shore, we could see that indeed it was the biggest fish of the day. (It’s Glendon’s fish story, so I’ll not reveal the size, but I do know that by Game and Fish standards, we had to release it to the water.)

The look of pride on my little boy’s face could only be matched by that of his Great-Grandma. All the day’s disappointment turned to celebration and I heard Glendon tell himself as he carefully returned the fish to it’s home, “I guess that’s what I get for being patient.”

Hi, I'm Andrea VanSandt.  I live in a historical home in Siloam Springs with my husband David and our two sons Dylan-age 12 and Glendon- age 9.  Currently I work in the Decatur School District as thier gifted and talented coordinator, but my ties to Siloam Springs include teaching at Northside and Southside elementary schools, Children's program coordinator at the public library, and client services director at New Beginnings pregnancy services.

My hobbies (when I have time for hobbies) include photography, having fun with my family, flea market/garage sale shopping, decorating, and writing a monthly column for the Siloam Springs Hearold Leader.  I am excited to join Siloam Connection by collaborating some of my favorite pastimes.  I will be submitting columns and pictures from time to time relating my family's adventures (and the occasional misadventure!).

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