“I don’t know why I need to fish so much. For the good of my soul? The question makes me skittish. I prefer to think of fishing as a restorative to some vital thing — maybe soul, maybe heart, maybe vitality itself – that dwindles when we spend too much time working, attending to family and fiscal emergencies, driving in traffic, and watching television. I don’t know much about the soul, but I know that the twin benefits of fishing – the combination of physical activity with cerebral engagement — serve to flush impurities from my system. When I haven’t been out for a few days I suffer from a buildup of hideous poisons. My joints ache. My muscles cramp. My fingernails get brittle. If I sleep, I dream of forest fires and exploding trains. Tears stream down my cheeks, leaving trails of toxic salts. I pace the floor and sigh until Gail kicks me out of the house, which is all I needed in the first place.”

– From “Simplify, Simplify,” in The River Home, by Jerry Dennis