Song: Fish Song—NittyGritty Dirt Band
July 16th, 1967
Harold Hayes: You might as well introduce your friends as well at this point.
Penny: Fine.I can do that.
On July 16th, 1967, the same summer I got Fawn and turned six, James and I went fishing.We headed out early in the morning with our tackle boxes, foldable chairs, lunches, bait, and poles.I wore James’s work hat to block the sun from my eyes.The sky ended up overcast, which can cause the worst sunburn because it gets you when you least expect it.Everything looked gray from the low-hanging clouds lurching over us.
My mom made me lather on layers of sunscreen before leaving the cabin.I convinced Momma to tag along.She refused to come unless she could wear her favorite tan vest with many pockets.We looked like real fishermen, rubber boots and all.
James said he knew just the spot to get tons of bites.He took us to a secluded campground with a nice, sturdy dock hanging into the fish’s habitat.We set up camp on the dock.Momma laid a blanket out for her to sit on while James and I placed our chairs at the end of the wooden plank and stuck worms on the ends of our hooks.
I was the worst at casting.Each time I cast the line, I would end up tangled in some weeds, another person’s line, or my hair.James threw back his brawny arms to give me a shot at catching a fish.He then cast his own pole, and we waited.
The trick was to reel your line in just a bit as time passed.Eventually, we caught a couple of fish that were too small to keep or eat, so James let them go.
James liked to fish alone.When a handful of kids showed up, he was ready to pack everything up and call it a day.
One of the boys I recognized as Darren.He was carrying around a slimy green frog he’d found and shoving it in some girl’s face as she screeched at him.
James saw my fascination with the group and said, “You should go talk to them.”
I overlooked them from a distance.I wanted to make new friends, but I didn’t know how to make them outside of a school setting.
“Get that thing away from me,” the red-headed girl yelled.
Darren chased her around the campground as he hollered, “It’s just a little froggy.He wants a kiss!It will turn into a prince!”
A boy stood up for her, his hair so blond he looked bald.“Knock it off, Darren.She doesn’t like it.”
I approached the group with caution.Another boy with a heavier build stood by the firepit, waiting to see how the situation would unfold.
“I like frogs,” I said with a weak voice.I was not sure if my words would be enough, or if they would think I wasn’t worth hanging out with.
“Oh hey.Penny, right?Guys, this is that girl I gave the runt to.”
The other children looked at me.
The redhead got up in my face.“Another girl?We have to be best friends.Oh my God.I can’t believe this, Darren.You didn’t tell me the person you gave the pup to was a girl!You look okay.If you lose the hat, you will look better,” she said, taking off my cap.
I was confused and flustered by the interaction.
“I am Betsy!I live in town.Where do you live?Do you like to paint your nails?My mom will let us paint our nails if you stay at my house...”The girl rambled on and on about the future and her likes and dislikes.
I could barely get a word in before James checked in on me.
“Do you know these kids?”James asked.
“Darren gave me Fawn, and I guess this is Betsy.I don’t know the blond boy or the other one.”
“Ah!I see.Well, let me talk to your mom and see if we could stay a bit longer so you could play with kids your age,” James said, turning his back toward me to discuss it with my momma, who was still lying on the dock.He hollered back, “All right, we will stay another hour.I will watch your pole for you!”
I was scared to leave James and Momma.I was used to being around them all of the time, and leaving them was hard.But it was nice to have other kids to play with.I learned the blond boy was Thomas, and the other was Zach.We used sticks to dig into the dirt and make mudpies.We pretended like we were at a restaurant and that Betsy was the customer we had to please.Betsy sat on a log demanding a five-course meal as we made mud cakes, pies, and salads out of leaves and rocks for salt.
James caught a larger fish, skinned it, flayed it, and approached our group.“Do you kids want actual food?Why don’t we grill up this fish Penny’s pole just caught?It’s a big one!”
My new-found friends cheered as James grilled up my trout.Making friends was easier than I thought.
