Day 13 - Family History

On my desk, is a faded yellow box. The top of the box pictures a leaping trout. In red letters across the top the box states OREN-O-MATIC. The text below that makes me smile. "Free Stripping" in black slanting letters is printed dominantly across the box top. Language is funny, the meaning of an item can change entirely in another framework.

The South Bend No. 1130 reel, was my great grandfather's reel. Evidently, fly fishing was in my blood, it was just dormant for 24 years. Along with the reel, came a cheap bamboo fly rod in black cardboard tube, the kind that many GI's picked up in Japan after WWII. My dad had been cleaning out the garage a few years back and had come across the items and thought I might enjoy them. I do.

I have the reel, sitting on my desk at home and it makes me smile. At some future point I'd like to build a shadow box and put the rod and reel in it. If I'm real lucky, I might even locate a picture of him with the rod and reel in action. (I should talk to my aunt about that...) The reason that I smile at this object, is that it conjures up a piece of my family history. I can't honestly say that I knew my great grandfather, but just the fact that I have his rod and reel makes me feel close to him in some way.

As I move into my mid-30's and I start thinking about having children, I wonder what kind of legacy I will be leaving behind. To be honest, it makes me a little scared. I mean honestly, who doesn't want to leave their mark upon the world in some manner. I'd like to think that I'm leaving the world a better place and that I'm making a difference. But I guess you really never know...