My first toastmaster speech - the icebreaker
Dear Toastmaster, fellow club members and honored guests,
When I moved to Winnipeg everyone told me, you have no choice, you will be fishing. Manitoba is the fishing capital of the North America and you will be fishing, in no time.
Two years after, I was determined to start fishing.
I have two sons, back then they were 5 and 9, and as a proud dad I felt a certain obligation, to teach them how to fish. Even though, I have no idea, how to do it myself. But everyone told me it’s easy, after all, we’re the fishing capital of the North America.
I bought some fishing equipment, the cheap kind, the one you usually buy in Walmart and never use. The one, as I figured out later, which is almost impossible to use. At least, for someone as skilled as me.
One April morning, after a long Manitoban winter, when the temperature started to climb up, passing the zero mark, melting the snow and leaving a dirty mess, on the sides of the roads, I decided to leave my work early, and go with my family for a fishing trip.
I bought a fishing license, even though I had a feeling, that my fishing skills don’t really require one.
But I still bough it, in case some crazy fish, would decide to be caught, at any price. After all, people told me it’s easy. Its easy enough to catch a fish, when you live in the fishing capital, of the North America.
I decided to go to the Whiteshell park, to a place called Otter Falls. I’ve been there once, during the summer and loved it. I loved it in the summer.
But it was April now, cold, windy and miserable. You could see some lonely pieces of ice, floating in the lake. I tried to assemble the fishing rod, but it was so cold that my fingers froze, in a second.
And then a strong, gusting wind blew in, it was so strong that my wife shouted to the kids to get immediately into the car. At this point I gave up. I threw it all into the trunk and we drove back home.
On our way home, we passed Selkirk, and I recalled that I saw some people fishing, in the river, next to the marine museum, last summer. Let’s go to this park I suggested. Kids happily accepted. And since the majority was in, my wife had to, reluctantly agree.
It was still cold and windy in Selkirk. And I still didn’t have a clue, how the whole fishing thing works.
I was trying to put it together, but at this point Daniel, my younger, 5 years old son, has completely lost his patience.
He took the second fishing rod, with nothing attached to, and ran through the mud to the river bank.
He was standing there, and happily hitting the water, with his fishing rod. It seemed like he figured out, his way of how the whole fishing thing was supposed to work. You take a stick, and hit the fish. I guess it totally makes sense, when you’re five.
After several minutes, he stopped his fishing and decided to go back, to the save grounds. But then he realized, that it’s not possible. His boots got stuck in the mud. He wasn’t upset at all, probably more surprised, maybe curios. Or at least not as upset as his mom.
Don’t worry Daniel, shouted my older son Itay, I’m coming to rescue you!!!
He jumped into the mud and ran over to Daniel. Started pulling him out, which for a moment seemed to work, until we realized, that now we have two kids, stuck in the mud.
At this moment I came to conclusion, it’s about time for the brave Dad, to step in.
Without second thought, I stepped into the mud, and got through. I lifted Daniel, from his boots up, and threw him out of the mud, in my wife’s direction. Then I got his boots, and threw it to my wife too. Then I pulled the older son, and pushed him out. Then I realized, that I am stuck, ankle deep, in a cold and wet mud.
I couldn’t get out. My shoe laces, were comfortably semi-open, which made the whole difference, of having an ability to pull my leg out, without losing a shoe. I tried doing it in different angles, different movement types but regardless how hard I tried, I couldn’t get my feet out, without losing a shoe.
I needed some help, I told my wife. She looked around, but there was nothing. She tried to reach me, but she couldn’t make it. She found a stick, and tried to pull me out ,but I was still losing a shoe. She threw the stick to me, so I could help myself out.
I was standing in the mud, with a stick in my hand, not really knowing, how this stick or anything else could help me.
At this point, my wife started laughing. It was probably hilarious, seeing me standing there, with a stick in my hand, doing some weird moves, that overall made no sense, no sense at all.
Or maybe it was an hysterical laugh, I would never know, because at this point I lost it.
I got my foot out and stepped into the wet mud. With my hands, I pulled my shoes and forced them out. I lifted Daniel and we ran over to my car. We started the car and turned the heat, full blast on. We drove home and we never tried fishing again. Or almost never. At least, we never caught any fish.
Recently we bought an RV, now we camp. There are several types of families someone could see in a typical RV campground.
The ones who stay in place play games or talk, the ones with the motor boats and the busy, hectic ones. The one who are always running around, going to the beach, chasing a dog, looking for something.
My family is definitely the busy/hectic one. Hiking, riding, swimming, driving extra 50 miles to the best ice cream place, walking to the beach at night, in complete darkness, when the stars are brighter.
Summers in Manitoba are short and there are so many things to do…. So WHY, would we waste it on fish?