Don't Worry -- It's Protein!

wc: 1010

Prompt: Write a picnic/fishing story -- This is both a picnic and a fishing story!


Every Fourth of July weekend, my oldest sister, Terri, has a family gathering at her cabin on Lake Mille Lacs here in Minnesota. All six of us girls and our families make the trek north to the cabin for this celebration. It's about a two and a half hour drive from our house to her cabin.  We always have a big picnic there at suppertime; we grill hot dogs, brats, and hamburgers, and everyone brings a dish to share.  There are a lot of people at this picnic since we are all married and with children. Nowadays the gathering is even larger because our children have grown into adults, are married, and have children of their own. There is much fun to be had, including volleyball, card games, swimming, canoeing, boating, and of course, fishing -- especially for the men.

My sister has had this gathering for some years now. I remember making the drive with our three children when they were very young. When our children were little, my sister would bring out a rubber swimming pool and fill it up with water from the hose so they could "go swimming", but in a much safer environment. We would place the swimming pool by our picnic table where we women sat and talked while our husbands went out on the lake to fish for the day.  Of course, we always felt we had so much more fun than they did. We would talk and play games. Our favorites were "Boggle", Trivial Pursuit", and "Scrabble". The little ones were happy in the pool, we had a good time sitting in the sun, and our men were enjoying themselves on the lake.

Around suppertime, the men would come back in from a hard day's fishing. Soon after this we would start the preparations for supper. For some reason, even though the men were out fishing all day long (and sometimes they would go out all night), we never had fish for the picnic. It was always hamburgers and hot dogs and brats.

There was this one particular Fourth of July weekend which I shall never forget, because the strangest and the funniest thing happened. This is the story of our daughter, Stephanie, who is our baby, and our brother-in-law, Bill (God rest his soul).  Bill was married to my sister, Terri, and he and Terri are the ones who owned the cabin.

The day passed by as it usually did. The men left early in the morning for their day on the lake, eager to catch the proverbial "big one." We sisters stayed behind, watching the little ones, but at the same time having fun sitting at the picnic table, playing games, and catching up with each other's lives. The little ones, which included my daughter, Stephanie, who was two years old at the time, were playing in and out of the little rubber pool, constantly having the sunscreen reapplied so they would not sustain a sunburn. All was well.

Late afternoon came, and the men came back from their fishing trip. By this time, we had taken the little ones out of the pool, dressed them, and started making preparations for the picnic supper. One of the older cousins was supposed to be watching the littler ones as we were preparing the food. Everything seemed to be in order.

We set the picnic table and the extra table needed; arranged all the food once the hamburgers, hot dogs and brats were just about cooked, and then called everyone for supper. I noticed that Stephanie was by the little swimming pool, and I called her to come sit at the table.

It was then I noticed she had something in her chubby little fingers. Not only that, but she was chewing on something.

"Stephanie," I said, walking closer to her.

She looked up at me and gave me an angelic smile, happily chewing all the while.

"Honey, what are you eating?"

She just looked at me, kept chewing, and was shaking her little head "No". Then she started to run away from me. I chased after her and finally caught her. I took her little hand, and I had to pry her fingers open because she did not want to let go of her prize. At first I couldn't really tell what it was she was holding. Then, on closer inspection, I could hardly believe my eyes!  She had just a part of a minnow in her hand! I had a dreadful feeling that I now knew exactly what she was chewing on!

"Stephanie, spit it out!" but she would not obey my commands, no matter how many times I told her.

Finally, I had to coax her little mouth open, and my fears were realized. She was chewing on the minnow's head! I managed to pull it out of her mouth, although she was not happy about it and screamed the entire time.

Upon questioning one of my brothers-in-law, who stood there and laughed all the while, he told me my brother-in-law, Bill, had taken the leftover minnows from the fishing trip and dumped them into the pool.

Of course, I started making a commotion because it just seemed so gross! I was indignant. I could not believe my baby had been eating a live minnow!

Bill was in the back yard, and when he heard all the ruckus, he came running into the front yard to see what was happening.

"What the heck is going on? Did somebody die or something?" he yelled.

I looked at him, narrowed my eyes, pointed my finger at him, and asked, "Did you put all those live minnows into the little kids' swimming pool?"

"Well, Cynthia, yes, I did!" He always called me "Cynthia" just to tease me.

"Well, William," I said, (in an effort to get back at him) "Your goddaughter, Stephanie, just bit the head off one of those minnows and was chewing on it!" I said in utter disgust.

He looked at me, smiled, and said, "Don't worry, Cindy. It's protein!"