Ring the Bell, Close the Book, Blow Out the Candle
In 1958, there was a movie titled "Bell, Book, and Candle". It always seemed to me as the fitting end to a story. This chapter of Traditions closes in 2013. My fishing partners had always been Bob, Mom and Dad. All three are now deceased. As I drove out of Alma with the trunk packed with the rest of my possessions, the saying ran through my mind, "Ring the bell, Close the book, Blow out the candle".
I remember so well the day I went up to visit my parents and daddy met me with his tackle box in hand. He had reached the point in his life where going fishing was no longer an option. That tackle box still sits in my closet. When Bob died, I gave his tackle box to Rob; mine still sits in the garage I rent here at the Colony. Guess I will part with it when I move on. I have no desire to go fishing without my cherished fishing partners. A good friend invited me to go with them to their cabin on the Blue River. I just could not bring myself to go.
This is my last entry in the "Family Tradition" link. It is such a blessing that I collected so many pictures of our days of going fishing. A picture of the gear ready to pack in the trunk and head for the lake is a fitting closure. Special note: In the later years, Bob did not take his tackle box, the bucket pictured here was his mode of transporting all of his fishing tackle, bait and coffee thermos and he sat on the bucket!
At this time, I am 78 years old. There are other activities in my life to replace days on a river bank, out in a boat or on the bank of a lake.
So "Ring the Bell--Close the Book--Blow out the Candle."
