Day 36 - Talisman

So, I might be a little superstitious. I'm not to the point of freaking out about random black cats and misplaced ladders, but on the subtle superstitions that people have. Its the simple unproven "it makes me feel good so I'm gonna do it whether you like or not" kind of things. Like turning my hat backwards and inside out so that I can rally the Twins onto another win. Or like a hockey player who refuses to wash their socks on a winning streak.

I know this goes against my spiritual nature. I know that there is no such thing as luck. However, I do believe that games are won by confidence and if wearing smelly socks make you more confidant, by all means stink away my friend (just don't expect too many of us around you).

So knowing this weird quirk about me, you can understand my frustration in not finding my "lucky whatever". It isn't that I misplaced my lucky rabbit's foot (by the way, it wasn't so lucky for the rabbit), its that I've never found anything that I consider to be lucky. I would really like something to help reassure me that I'm going to have a good day on the stream.

I think the first time I remember seeing someone that I admired carry a lucky talisman, was Indiana Jones in the movie "Indiana Jones and the Holy Grail". Indiana screams to his father while they are tied up in a Nazi castle to reach into his pocket and find his lucky charm. That charm was a Zippo lighter with a four leaf clover on it. When I saw that Zippo, I knew that I had to find my own lucky object.

I've kind of been on a quest to find that object ever since. But on this quest, I discovered that I have a lot of questions. What makes something lucky for you? Also, what happens if that lucky object is a shovel or a moose or...? What if you found your lucky object, didn't recognize it and either lost it, gave it away, or packed it away in the closet with Aunt Millie's gravy boat? I think these are the questions that keep me from completing my journey.

In my past, I've had things that I've liked to carry/wear. Right now on my desk is a CRKT Crawford Kasper knife. I used to wear this knife almost everyday for a couple of years. However, I stopped wearing it because there are three screws on the belt clip that can no longer stay tight. Plus, since 9/11 its been hard to travel with a knife.

A few years ago, I had a yellow cap that I wore everywhere. It had a nice sweat stain around the brim, the bill was discolored where my dirty fingers would adjust the hat, and it even had a place where my puppy (not Nash the Wonderpup) had decided that he needed to chew the brim. The logo on the hat was from my undergraduate college. I liked that hat, but getting a job in the real world required that I stop wearing it (plus they said that wearing a hat will make you lose your hair). I've lost the host since then and only the annals of time know where it exists.

A couple of years ago, I found a piece of clip art that really spoke to me. It was a Celtic otter chasing after a fish (probably a salmon, but I'd like to think it was a trout). The otter in Celtic mythology is considered to be a strong magical symbol who helps in the pursuit of knowledge, finding hidden treasures, and generally considered to be lucky. The salmon has strong references to wisdom and knowledge. So the image symbolizes, in a sense, a lucky pursuit of knowledge.

Now those of you that know me understand that I have a nickname. It rhymes with Totter, Sotter, and even Zotter. So you can also understand my attachment to this symbol. It not only symbolizes my pursuit of fish, but also my inward pursuit of wisdom. As such, I'd like to incorporate the Celtic Otter & Salmon symbol into my superstitous needs.

While I have thought of getting this as a tattoo, I'm a little hesistant on the whole body art thing. Instead, I've been thinking about making a bracelet, nay a cowboy cuff, with the logo cut into it. My dad taught me how to do leatherwork in the fourth grade. I have all the supplies locked up in a storage bin in the garage, I just need to wade through the boxes and get to it.

I don't know if this object will bestow upon me any mystical and magical powers. I doubt it will call out to the wilds like a beacon of light causing mass trout hysteria. And I seriously don't believe it will call down a Green Drake hatch of biblical proportions. However, I do believe that it will make me feel good, and will serve as a reminder of what I'm really there to do: incessantly searching for greater knowledge and wisdom.

P.S. I was just out in the garage searching for a book, and I stumbled upon that old yellow hat of mine. Hmmm... maybe I'll wear that too, it can't hurt and you never know.