2 fishermen just leisurely floated by, both on cell phones.

Ish! Even guys who fish?

But of course. Often these days while I toil in the office or gardens, I hear some booming male voice drifting over the lake. One response might be, “You tawkin’ to me?” But they never are. They’re usually on their cell phone. 2 dudes in this case. Yapping at someone somewhere else—rather than to each other. Just like teens on a date.

Usually, I’m happy to see guys fishing nearby, even though they sometimes stare and refuse to wave. (My office sits on the shore of a nice fishing hole.) Visiting friends say, “Don’t you get tired of those guys hanging out right there?” I reply,

“Nah, they’re mellow. It’s their Zen—and their lake too.”

Plus, it brings back happy memories of dads and grandpas.

What is fishing if not an exercise in patience, persistence, mystery, and hope? Is it not a mini-Sabbatical? 9 out of 10 fisherpeople say yes!

Could it be a mini-Sabbatical?  A sanity break?

(Never mind that they also say, or should I say yell, into cell, stuff like, “Hey Rich, so what’s goin’ on?” and “How ‘bout them Vikings yesterday?” and “Truck fixed yet?”) Banal stuff, most on-deck cell phone chats, eh?  

The fishing pros who win contests need no cell phones. Depthfinders and fishfinders, sure. But beyond that, going UnPlugged is good. Silence never scares the fish away—no matter what you’re fishing for.

But who am I to judge? We are a nation—nay, a world!—of talkers.

At least they’re out there, making the time to BreakAway and float a bit…