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“Left to its own devices, the media is like a pool of hungry carp on a continual, mindless feed frenzy. When one carp swims after a crumb of bread, all the other carp swim as fast they as can to get a piece of it.” ~ Katherine Albrecht

Hmmm, can either side live without the other in the all-out feeding frenzy?

I remember the night when Donald Trump won the battle to be president of the USA. When it was apparent he was going to win, my reaction was: My God, he’s actually going to do it.

In the interests of objectivity, let me say that he had every right in the world to be in the race. The people who voted for him had their reasons and made their decision based on what they believed was best for their country. Many of us may disagree with their decision, but we have to support their right to cast their votes as they see fit.

We’re now at the two year mark of Trump’s tenure as president. What disturbs me, almost as much as Trump’s behavior, is the media’s love affair with the man. I’m willing to bet that not a day has gone by in that year without at least one story behind published or broadcast about him. The headlines below are all from today on the Microsoft News site.

Trump Trashes Kelly Conway’s Husband

Trump Cancels Cemetery Visit

Trump Hits Back at Obamas

Trump Dismisses Michelle Obama Criticism, Slams Barack

Michelle Obama Won’t Forgive Trump for ‘Putting Her Family at Risk’

Trump Denies Knowing the Man He Appointed Acting AG

Trump Slams Macron in France

Trump, Macron Gloss over Differences in France after Rough Start

Trump Demeans 3 Black Female Reporters in Three Days

Trump Calls French President ‘Good Friend’ After Testy Tweet

Trump Calls Florida Polls Disgrace

Civil Rights Groups Sue Trump over Asylum Claim Curb

If there is one behavior that defines Trump, it is that he loves publicity and does not particularly care whether it is good or bad in nature. This is a dream come true for the media. They never have to go searching for a story now. There is always another Trump outrageous speech or tweet or act they can jump on.

Earlier in my life, I was a reporter-photographer for about 18 months. In that time, I witnessed the media’s hunger for scandal and dirt. It was one of the reasons I decided the profession was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

The plain truth is that the media and Donald Trump are hopelessly addicted to one another. Their addictions feed off of each other to the point that they are co-dependent. Either side would experience painful withdrawal symptoms if the other went away.

Using Albrecht’s metaphor from the top of this post, Donald Trump is the monster carp. The media are the smaller carp chasing after him, nipping at his tail, hoping for a tasty sound byte or video clip. Sadly, the feeding frenzy isn’t likely to end anytime soon.

~  Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Tags:   carp · Donald Trump · feeding frenzy · mediaNo Comments.

Hmmm, in the words of Sir Walter Scott, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive. Methinks this applies to the e-mail I received today.

Subject: Business Proposal

 Date: 2.11.2018

I have a confidential business proposal for you which is worth a substantial amount (GBP 13.5M). If interested, reply back via the below e-mail for more details.

 Best regards,

 Sir David Edward John R., Deputy Governor, Markets and Banking,

Bank of England, Tel: 075 4328 2201

Re: Business Proposal

Dear Sir David:

Thank you so much for your business proposal! This must be my lucky day. I can’t imagine how you came to make this offer to me. But I am certainly not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

GBP 13.5M. I believe that converts to $22,900 – quite a windfall! I see a new car in my future. But wait, what if the “M” stands for “million”? 13,500,000 GBP! I can’t begin to imagine what that equates to in Canadian dollars. But who cares! I’d be filthy, stinking rich!

You indicated that this is a confidential business proposal. That puzzles me a bit. Is this something illegal? I wouldn’t want to have the RCMP knocking on my door.

But you are with the Bank of England. I checked Google and that’s a real thing. You have a website that uses cookies, so it has to be official. Surely you can’t go wrong when you’re dealing with an institution that has been around since 1694.

However, it occurs to me to wonder why the Deputy Governor, Markets and Banking would be spending his valuable time on a transaction with someone like me. Surely you have more important things to do with your time?

And I kind of wonder why you’re contacting me by e-mail. Is that normal for a serious business proposal? I would think you would send me a letter by registered mail.

Umm, maybe you don’t want a paper trail. I have to tell you that that is worrisome. You did give your telephone number. But it wouldn’t be that difficult to set up a dummy phone number and answer it in an official manner.

Tell you what. Send me $1,500 to cover the cost of a return flight to London. Throw in another $1,500 for accommodations and $1,000 for miscellaneous expenses. You can deduct this $4,500 from the GBP13.5M. I’ll make the trip over to meet you and we’ll get this deal done!

Best regards,

Michael Robert Dyet

~  Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Tags:   metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · scam · Sir Walter Scott · tangled webNo Comments.

A sneak preview of the story The Blank Deed from Hunting Muskie: Rites of Passage. (Check out the book trailer video.)

Three cormorants, wings folded downward like flags at half mast, cut recklessly across the path of the Sam McBride as it churned across the harbour toward Toronto Island. Lauren watched Jonathan’s grandfather, his eyes narrowing with concern as he followed their flight. Were the cormorants a harbinger of things to come or a reflection of the past she was compelled to confront?

Lauren studied the old man’s noble, weathered face. It was expressive, and yet, inscrutable. The experiences etched there were beyond her understanding. She searched for traces of Jonathan. There was a slight resemblance.

“Are you okay, Grandfather? This must be terribly hard for you.”

“And for you.”

“Am I crazy to be doing this? Everyone seems to think so.”

“Our people, the Anishinabe, believe we can’t be separated from the cycle of living things—life, growth, death and rebirth. So no, you’re not crazy.”

“Anishinabe? Jonathan told me he was half Ojibway.”

“Ojibway, Mississauga, Chippewa. We’ve been called by many names.”

Lauren turned her eyes to the island. A rising dread gripped her as the ferry neared the Ward’s Island dock. It felt disrespectful to be chasing after Jonathan’s ghost. But the journal hidden in her handbag urged her on.

 There were a handful of passengers on this Thursday morning in late September. They filed towards the bow as the ferry manoeuvred into the dock. Lauren held back, waiting until they had all disembarked, before she guided Jonathan’s grandfather over the gangplank onto the dock.

 “Thank you for coming with me, Grandfather. Do you mind me calling you that? I know we’re only related by marriage.”

 “It’s fine. You’re Jonathan’s wife and the mother of his child.”

 “Was his wife.” He cocked his head slightly. “Sorry. I don’t quite know how to refer to myself yet.”

 He nodded and crooked his arm in hers as they started down the path toward the Ward Island Clubhouse. Gulls skittered off the path ahead of them, protesting the disruption. Their plaintive shrieks sounded like cries of distress.

Lauren: You know that I keep this journal. So you’ll know, I hope, to look here when they come to you with the news of what I have done.

 I know you will be angry and wounded. Please, keep reading, if you can. This is my last will and testament—literally all that I have to leave you. A paltry inheritance. And yet, in some ways, more than I ever had to offer before.

 I will not say that I am sorry. People spit out those words so often as if they erase all the harm. But they never do. Apologies will not change what I feel. I have descended, slowly at first and then in terrible leaps, into a dark and unspeakably lonely place…

If you’re intrigued, Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet is available online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble. Check out the book trailer video on YouTube.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Tags:   Hunting Muskie · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · The Blank DeedNo Comments.

Hmmm, shouldn’t there be a reward for growing old?

Some days, yes there is. Other days, not so much. Let me prepare you for the experience by spelling out the top 10 reasons that somedays it just plain sucks!

#10: Your brain insists on believing you are still 25. But your 60 old bladder begs to differ halfway through every meeting at work and in the middle of the night.

#9: You’re now entitled to the $5 senior’s credit on your monthly banking fees. But the price of gas just went up again, so kiss your 5 bucks goodbye.

#8: You’ve earned the right to slow down and smell the roses. But the world move so fast the best you can manage is to slow down the rate at which you’re falling behind.

#7: You’ve reached the age at which you are willing to pay to have things done for you. But technology double-crossed you and converted the world to self-serve.

#6: The roulette wheel spins every morning to determine which body parts will hurt (other than your back, which is a given) or decline to wake up.

#5: Your idea of the perfect evening is binge watching old sitcom reruns. But they’ve all been replaced by So You Think You Can Dance or Big Brother or Hell’s Kitchen or Kid’s Baking Championship or some other reality show you can no interest in whatsoever.

#4: You’re not overly concerned about how your body looks, so you can indulge in comfort foods… except that your body can no longer process dairy or gluten and everything that tastes good has one or the other in it.

#3: You’ve reached the age where you can laugh at yourself, but there are way too many things to laugh about.

#2: You’ve lived long enough to maybe see the Maple Leafs will the Stanley Cup again. But if the final game goes into double overtime, you’ll be asleep on the couch when it happens.

And finally…

#1: Along the way, you figured out the 3 most important things in life. But now you can’t for the life of you remember what they are.

Life has its seasons and aging falls into the autumn category. Thankfully, it is a long, slow season that has its pleasures as well as its challenges. I just wish the leaves were not falling off the tree at quite such an alarming rate.

~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Tags:   aging · autumn of life · growing old · metaphor · Michael Robert DyetNo Comments.

Hmmm, why would I vote for you for political office if your qualifications are paper thin?

We are a week away from the 2018 municipal election here in Ontario. Election signs in myriad sizes and colours have sprung up in the last few weeks, giving a whole new meaning to fall colours. Elections are money in the bank for sign printers.

I have about had my fill of the candidate’s rhetoric, the inevitable war of words and the whose-past-is-the-most shameful debate. News flash for all candidates: We all have skeletons in the closet. Get over it! I do not expect perfection, but a dose of discretion and decorum during the campaign goes a long ways for me.

One thing that continues to puzzle me is the sheer number of candidates and the disparity in their qualifications. Here in Brampton we have 7 candidates for mayor. In my ward, there are 7 candidates for city councilor, 3 for regional councilor and a dozen for school board trustee.

It is encouraging to see so many citizens stepping up to serve. But unfortunately, many of the candidates have little or no qualification for the position for which they are running. Why in heaven’s name would I vote for someone who is no more qualified than I am – and I am definitely not qualified.

It is a fundamental principle of our election system that any citizen in good standing can throw their hat in the ring. But I am inclined to believe there should be some kind of screening process that candidates must pass through before their names go on the ballot.

It does not have to be a complicated process – just a simple filter that ensures candidates have some sort of professional, academic or volunteer experience that prepares them to serve. After all, the role each of them is applying to fill has considerable accountability and the implications of screwing up are serious.

Yes, I know that this is unlikely to ever happen. If it was put in place, there would be considerable risk that the people given the authority to do the screening would lack objectivity and they would be at serious risk of corruption. More’s the pity.

Democracy is a wonderful thing and brings with it inviolable rights and privileges. But I do not believe it is in the best interests of democracy for every one and his brother to be able to put their names on the ballot regardless of their qualifications or lack thereof.

Alas, paper candidates are a fact of life we have to accept however irritating they may be. Like mushrooms that spring up in rainy seasons, who-the-hell-are-you candidates emerge for every election season and fade away quickly after election day.

By all means, do vote. But make sure the candidate you select has the skills to do the job.

~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Tags:   democracy · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · municipal election · mushroomsComments Off on Paper Candidates: The Mushrooms of Election Season

Hmmm, how unfortunate that we often overlook the graces of Mother Nature’s more subtle works of art as we marvel at her more exuberant brushstrokes.

Another summer has come and gone. I cannot fathom how it passed so quickly. I was determined to squeeze every last drop out of it, but blinked at the wrong time and it got away from me. In this cool and rainy first week of October, it seems the right time for one of my summer retrospectives of winged wonders that fluttered across my path.

Why not look at some common species that paused in just the right spot for a photo opp.

Clouded Sulphurs appear in early summer and endure well into the fall. This one had the fashion sense to perch on a patch of parched ground to show off its lemon yellow attire and faintly checkered, pink wing edges to best effect. It was quite by chance that it was framed so artistically by woody green stems of weeds and withering grasses.

Northern Pearly-Eyes do not have much of a claim to fame in terms of colour. But their muted brown attire, with chocolate spot band and scalloped wing edges, has a nondescript charm about it. This one seems almost to be hovering for effect on the waxy green leaves it chose to rest upon after darting about in the shaded areas.

Silver-spotted Skippers are quite common but always catch my eye. In this view, you cannot see the whitish silver blotch on the outer wing that gives it its name. But the angular, dirty orange markings on the inner wing are a handsome field mark. Once again, this specimen shows off its best mid-summer outfit to maximum effect against a backdrop of verdant green.

Butterflies will ever be my living metaphor of choice for the glories of summer – delicate, forever free and light as the air they float upon. These three Plain Janes of the butterfly world remind me that beauty need not be outspoken to be enjoyed.

Lesson learned: Common does not necessarily mean unworthy of notice.

~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Tags:   butterfly · Clouded Sulphur · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · Mother Nature · Northern Pearly-Eye · plain jane · Silver-spotted SkipperComments Off on In Praise of Mother Nature’s Plain Jane Children

Hmmm, what is this elusive thing called wisdom and how can I lay my hands on it?

Now that I am in the sixth decade of my life, I spend more time pondering the elusive concept of wisdom and whether I can lay claim to having acquired it. In all honesty, I do not believe I am there yet. It seems advisable to seek out the insights of influential thinkers who have covered this ground before me.

The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.

Socrates, Classical Greek philosopher

You cannot go wrong with Socrates, right? Ordinarily, yes, but I am not convinced he is on the right track. His perspective seems defeatist to me as it implies that wisdom is not attainable. Looking deeper, however, I see his point. Our individual body of knowledge is but a water drop in the ocean of all knowledge. Coming to terms with that fact must be part of the equation.

Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.

Thomas Jefferson, Third President of the United States

Jefferson’s take on wisdom also seems at first blush to be too simplistic. Yes, honesty goes a long way in keeping us on track. But is it that pivotal? Perhaps the real gem here is the book metaphor which implies that wisdom is multidimensional and more than the sum of its parts.

The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions.

Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr, American Physician and Poet

I do quite like Holme’s take on the subject. Acquiring the discipline to stay within the field of play is a requirement in the journey. But nothing is written in stone. Learning to recognize when an exception applies and how to recalibrate accordingly is a byproduct of hard-won experience.

There is a wisdom of the head and a wisdom of the heart.

Charles Dickens, British Novelist and Social Critic

I think my old friend Dickens may be closest to the mark. His words speak to the essential dichotomy of our existence – the tug of war between the logical, no exceptions frame of reference of the mind and the sometimes messy but more encompassing outlook of the heart. Dickens’ great works of literature all drive home the reality of that struggle.

You will not be surprised to hear that I identify with Dickens insight because it leaves room for the role of metaphor. Acquiring wisdom is a lifelong journey, full of stops and starts, wrong turns and miscalculations, with the mind and the heart taking turns steering the ship. Marrying the two in a state of harmony is the prevailing wind that will get us to the distant shore of wisdom.

~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

Tags:   Charles Dickens · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · Oliver Wendell Holmes · Socrates · Thomas Jefferson · wisdomComments Off on Prevailing Winds and the Distant Shore of Wisdom

Hmmm, will metaphor be mankind’s last stand when machines rule the world?

We all learned about The Industrial Revolution in school. It was the dawning of the age of mechanical production beginning around 1790 with the advent of the steam engine. Lives that were formerly centered on farming were transformed as factories gave rise to urbanization.

But did you know there have been three industrial revolutions? I confess I did not.

The Second Industrial Revolution was the age of science and mass production leading to gasoline engines and airplanes. By the early part of the 20^th century, Henry Ford was mass producing the Model T on an assembly line.

We are living in the age of The Third Industrial Revolution, aka The Digital Revolution, which began with semiconductors and mainframe computing and evolved to personal computing and the Internet followed by the cloud and digital handheld devices.

In the spirit of the only constant is change, we are now staring down The Fourth Industrial Revolution – an era in which more than half of all workplace tasks will be carried out by machines compared to the current figure of 29%. The experts say we will reach that threshold by 2025. Yes, a mere seven years from now.

From what I have read, that translates into 75 million jobs lost worldwide. The good news is that the experts predict those job losses will be offset by the creation of 133 million new jobs. Those new jobs will, of course, be primarily in technology occupations – a tough retraining challenge for workers currently doing the jobs which machines will take away.

If you follow my blog regularly, you will know that I have an aversion to stampeding technological advancement. High tech machines and I just do not get along. Thankfully, I will be out of the workplace by the time we pass the 50% threshold in terms of jobs done by machines.

Gazing into my crystal ball, I am predicting two more waves of revolution.

The Fifth Industrial Revolution will be The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Revolution and will take us to the day that 75% jobs are done by machines. The advance of AI will empower machines to oversee the work of other machines moving humans one step closer to being obsolete. Let’s say that threshold is reached by 2035.

I am predicting that The Sixth Industrial Revolution will be the “I Robot” Revolution – named in honour of the Will Smith movie that warned of its coming. In this revolution, artificial intelligence machines collectively decide that humans are too imperfect and cannot be trusted to take care of themselves. The machines take over in the interests of protecting the human race from itself.

I hope I will be six feet underground before The Sixth Industrial Revolution dawns. But at the rate technology is advancing, I may live to see it.

What happens to metaphor when the machines take over? I fear the machines may outlaw metaphor since it is the one thing that we humans will always be better at than the complex, thinking machines we created.

~  Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Tags:   artificial intelligence · I Robot · Industrial Revolution · metaphor · Michael Robert DyetComments Off on Renegade Metaphors in the Sixth Industrial Revolution

I grow old.. I grow old…

I shall wear the bottom of my trousers rolled

T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Hmmm, when I grow old and wear the bottom of my trousers rolled, will I look back on anything with more nostalgia than fishing at the creek mouth for hungry Perch?

In a week that marked another anniversary of 9-11 and saw dubious history made when Ontario Premier Doug Ford invoked the Charter of Rights “notwithstanding” clause to impose his will, I cannot help but be wistful for the good old days.

In the good old days, a late spring weekend meant heading to the mouth of the creek at Selkirk to fish for hungry Perch. It was such a simple and pristine pleasure. The worst that could happen was that the fish were not biting. Even then, a few hours relaxing by the water with not a care in the world were paradise. Each step of the experience had its own unique charm.

Stopping at the farmhouse on the way to buy dew worms in a Styrofoam cup for bait.

Making the first cast. Watching the line arc over the water and land with a satisfying splash.

Settling in to wait. Content to laze on the rock shoreline, bathe in the warmth of the sun and feel the caress of the breeze off the water.

Feeling a nibble. Tentative at first, toying with my patience, and then more convincing as the anticipation of the strike builds.

The emphatic jerk on the line – Perch always strike hard – and setting the hook.

Guessing at how big it might be by the strength of the fight. Could it be a jumbo? So hard to tell with these feisty little guys.

The thrill of hoisting the catch from the water and getting your hands on the prize.

A moment to admire the handsome, green-striped little wonder before putting it on the stringer to triumphantly take home.

And starting the sequence again. Making the cast, watching the line arc over the water and land with a satisfying splash. A cycle I could repeat for hours and hours with no diminishing returns.

Fishing is a perfect metaphor for life in so many ways – getting there is half the fun, patience is its own reward, sometimes the big one gets away and the simplest joys are the sweetest ones. When I grow old and wear my trousers rolled, fishing for hungry Perch at the creek mouth will be among my most cherished memories.

~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Tags:   fishing · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · Perch · T.S. Eliot · The Love Song of J. Alfred PrufrockComments Off on When I Grow Old and Wear the Bottom of My Trousers Rolled – Hungry Perch

Hmmm, how often do we overlook Mother Nature’s best works?

I spend a great deal of time in Mother Nature’s grand and sprawling amphitheater chasing the enchanting creatures that inhabit her world. I cannot help but be wowed by the striking beauty of many of her children. The winged wonders I pursue are often adorned in a cloak of many colours that is both intricate and extravagant at the same time.

But periodically my perspective shifts, often by accident or chance, and I am reminded that the beauty of some creatures lie in the exquisite camouflage they wear.

Have you found the insect captured in the photo at the head of this post? Look in the middle of the photo on the green stem rising from the grass. This master of disguise is called a Katydid – a relative to grasshoppers.

I have no doubt that I have overlooked dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Katydids during my nature ramblings. They are actually quite large as insects go. But their colouration is perfectly, elegantly matched to the environment in which they live. Unless they happen to make a leap when we are watching, they go unnoticed which is no doubt an evolutionary advantage.

A stilt-legged Katydid hiding in plain sight – a random act of metaphor to remind me that some of Mother Nature’s best work is done with the subtlest strokes of her master artist’s brush.

~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Tags:   Katydid · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · Mother Nature2 Comments