The One That Got Away

Every year our vacation was always the same. Two weeks of fishing, playing, eating and being together on the river. We had no electricity, no TV, and we all loved it. The four cousins had time to get to know each other and to just be kids. In the woods, on the river, building forts and damns, catching frogs, campfires, and , of course, fishing. One day, when everyone else had given up and the kids were playing on the bank, I hooked on to a BIG one. I started to scream and shout...they all gathered round to urge me on, give me advise and to share my glorious moment. My tackle was not rigged for salmon, but we could soon tell that's what I had. For at least 15 minutes I was a star, playing that fish, back and forth, until he was close to the bank and we could see that he was a monster.. a big reddish salmon. My niece, who was about 10, jumped into the water to help me land him, and then, disaster struck. He spit the hook, flashed his tail, and off he swam. We all stood there in stunned silence..not knowing whether to laugh of cry. I did a bit of each. The story has become the stuff of legends, the story of Aunti/Mom and the "one that got away"..really, its more the story of the bond of family and times that were so precious. For the One That Got Away contest...