Madeline's First Fish

Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, just off the easternmost point of Long Island, there lives a fish. For the majority of this fish's existence, life was rather simple.  He spent his days looking for smaller fish to eat, tried his best to avoid getting eaten by bigger fish, and swam carelessly on the bottom of the dark, cold sea he knew so well.  But recently, life became much more complicated for Mr. Fish.

For one, his mouth has a hole in it.  It's a bit sore, and the other fish eye it suspiciously.  Though they are too polite to ask how it got there, they assume he is trying to look tough, and he has lost many of his friends.  

Meanwhile, he used to dart after his prey with the eagerness of a fish half his age, but recently finding food has left him feeling a bit anxious and scared.  Sometimes, just as he's about to swallow a plump crab, he suddenly feels like he can't breathe.

Above all, he has developed an overwhelming sense that life is fleeting, that he should be using the short time he has been given to the fullest.  But as a fish, what else is there besides swimming, eating smaller fish, and trying not to get eaten by bigger fish?

Perhaps Mr. Fish would find some comfort in knowing that his existential crisis is the result of a little girl catching her first fish with her grandparents, and that doing so brought her great happiness.  But alas, he's only a fish.

...

Pop brought Madeline out fishing on the boat while we were in Montauk.  Nana and Dada went along as well.

Maddie has been curious about fishing all spring since finding out that the boys who live down the street go with their dad.  But while Eric loves boats, he doesn't care for fishing much, so we knew Pop was probably a better person to expose her to the sport.

They didn't go out for too long, and Nana created a backup plan involving a pre-caught fish just in case nothing was biting.  She wanted to make sure Madeline's first fishing trip wasn't boring.

Yet, as luck would have it, they didn't need it.  They caught a Porgy almost immediately after casting the line.  Due to Pop's amazing fishing prowess, they didn't even have time to get a picture.

Luckily, they had Nana's decoy for photography purposes and for a second round of excitement.

Madeline, tenderhearted soul that she is, decided to let Mr. Porgy go back to his family, which is why he's currently swimming amongst the rocks on the bottom of the ocean feeling completely out of sorts.