the fish...a priest...and a battle...

There are many allegories in life. Too many. But...there is one that I found in the Quiet Man to be a great one...The big fish...what you may ask is that? Well...my non fisherman friends...here goes.

You see in this little village of Innisfree, Ireland there was a river running through it...and as all good rivers...it was occupied by salmon...not just any salmon...but a historic salmon...the big guy...the one that the local priest sought out...like all good fisherman. He was a patient priest...wanting very little in this life. Oh...maybe to catch a fine fish is for some a grand thing...for this priest, it was a test of wills...his and the fish.

Now the encounters there were many...and the priest and fish would fight for position. The fish...well lets just say...teased the fisherman...and the fisherman...stayed steady...marshelling all the skill that a good fisherman has.

So...this battle raged. The Priest trying to catch the one that should not get away as some prize...There were other fish of course. Other fish would be easily caught...but not this one. Oh no...this was the fish that legions were made of. This was the fish of a lifetime...and no matter what it took...the priest would have this and only this fish...as a show of his mastery...

Now..the truth is...the priest didn't want to consume the fish...he simply wanted to catch the fish...and in truth the fish didn't want to be caught...but playing with the priest was also sport for a fish that wanted to play...so on one eventful day...these two combat veterans were about to meet their moment...

When the priest was met by Mary Kate...with a confession. Now a priest is always a priest, even when he is fishing...and although Mary Kate was indeed in need of confession...the good Father was in need of catching THE FISH. Then at once...the big one took the bate...and was hooked...God in his heaven had delivered the fish...or was it? Did the fish know that Mary Kate would be the source of its rescue? Was the fish so smart as to know that Mary Kate...would provide the priest with a dillema...a moral dilema...Am I a priest or am I a fisherman...

Well...Mary Kate's confession was alarming...and the fish was fighting...and the Priest well, dividing his time between his Godly chore and the Big Fish...lost it...for the fish was free to swim in the river...once again...illuding the Priest...and the Priest was forced to give Mary Kate a piece of his Godly mind...

So it was that in this little village...a fisherman had a near moment...with a fish who also had its near moment...and that is when I knew...that all good relationships are based not on the catch...but in the constant...wonderful pursuit. And why? Because silly...for them to continue to pursue each other...in the constant chase...that all good relationships are based on...

If you don't agree...just see the movie...and if you still don't agree...I suggest you go fishing.

What a couple these two were...



How I love fishing...and the stories that come from that most noble sport.

Love,
The Lass