Catching fish from a guided boat is fine. But I much prefer landing a fish by myself  with my feet on the bank.

Salmon are running in Washington. They follow shorelines looking for their river of origin to spawn. Where a point extends into the sound, salmon cut-the-corner passing withing casting distance of shore. I found such a spot along with other fishermen.

I started with a salmon lure that had worked well in Alaska. Up and down the shoreline men pulled in fish. A man next to me caught four salmon while I got nothing. He noticed me eyeing his lure, a type I had never seen before. “Those are hard to find,” he said and told me of a distant shop that “might” have one.

Another man watched me searching in vane through my Alaskan tackle for a similar lure. Without speaking he took my rod and tied on something. My eyes widened when seeing the rare lure. A few minutes later I noticed that man leaving and hurried to return his lure. “Keep it,” he said.

A little while later I pulled in a nice salmon, my first from shore in Washington. I shouted with excitement as the other fishermen smiled in bemusement.

I’ve extended kindness to strangers myself on occasion. Those times stand out in my memories and give me joy. Receiving kindness from a stranger rekindles my desire to be kind myself. My prayer for America and particularly for Christianity is a great surge of kindness.

Drew