Take a Page Out of Your Own Book
“Shiners,” confirmed the man leaning over my counter. “The trout are hitting on shiners this year.” Usually minnows, butterworms and doughbaits are the weapons of choice when it comes to our area’s spring battle with stocked trout. But this was the third person to give me a report about large trout biting on live shiners. Later as I passed this advice on to another angler, it occurred to me that interesting things happen when you take a page out of your own book.
About four years ago I wrote a book about a man who leaves an unfulfilling office job and opens a bakery. He learns several lessons about baking bread and living life in the process of going from corporate employee to local craftsman. At the time I was stuck in my own form of “cubicle limbo.” I suppose you could say the book was either wishful thinking or an attempt to give myself some much needed advice.
Not long after I finished the book, things started unraveling at my place of employment. The company was going out of business and I was going into an uncertain job market. Following the actions of my own lead character, I decided I was not going back to the corporate world. Instead I would finally heed one of my own ideas and open a bait and tackle shop in my hometown of Riverside, New Jersey.
Riverside sits on a triangle of land wedged between a curve of the Delaware River and the Rancocas Creek. The town is also ringed by a menagerie of small lakes and ponds, each offering it’s own challenges and rewards. Within a few miles anglers can find a variety of bass, perch, catfish, stripers and some of the biggest panfish around. NJ Fish and Wildlife adds the icing on our sportsman’s cake with a generous crop of trout in the spring and fall.
And yet Riverside had gone without a bait and tackle shop for several years. How could I go back to a corporate office park when my own hometown was without shiners, poppers and spinners? I’ve always liked fishing and boating, just like my main character enjoyed cooking and baking. One of the main differences is that bakers get to bake every day, while tackle shop owners rarely get to fish. I can live with that commitment, though.
As I see it, I have a 1200 square foot tackle box. I love learning more about everything in it and sharing that knowledge with other people. I’m much happier than I ever was as a corporate employee and my doctor says I’m also a lot healthier. And like my main character, I’ve discovered a meaningful way to interact with people every day. Great things can happen when you just take a page out of your own book.
