wrote in message
ups.com...
Wolfgang wrote:
wrote in message
ups.com...

I didn't have catch and release fisherman or wading in
mind.

Or much of anything else, for that matter.

I doubt that ANYONE here believes that. Certainly nobody who matters.

Well, that raises an interesting question. Who among us really does matter?
I mean, I'm perfectly willing to concede your point......nobody who believes
what I say matters. But then we find ourselves in the rather peculiar
position of having to admit that there are particular people who are worth
less than ANY fish, ALL of which we KNOW matter, else why would we be
concerned about easing their path into that good night, right? But wait!
Common sense dictates that agreeing with me on one minor issue (after all,
the nature, volume, condition, or psig of what resides between your ears is
not likely to be regarded as an issue of great import by any thinking
person) can hardly be the only test by which an individual's worth can be
determined. There must be someone....somewhere....who isn't even aware of
what I think about all of this. So, what test shall we apply in these
cases? I sure wish you would help me out here.

Maybe you could make formal introductions. That's always helped a lot in
social encounters in my experience.

Maybe you should re-read the replies in this thread. There's nothing
remotely formal about it.

Exactly! That's my point! In all of these casual encounters, nobody pays
much attention to the time honored niceties of the ettiquette of killing
precisely because they ARE casual. It's just another example of the
pervasive erosion of civility that follows inevitably from the blithe
acceptance of an increasingly permissive society. I swear to you that if
you would simply bend your considerable intellect and energies to the formal
introduction of fishermen (and women, let us not forget) to their partners
in this dance of death (the fish, in case you've lost track) you would see
an immediate difference. Implausible it may seem, but I wouldn't be a bit
surprised if, once they got to know one another as individuals, they didn't
soon cease these senseless hostilities and, recognizing one another's worth,
decided to have crumpets together instead.

If my posts don't apply to the fisherman
here,

We'll ask him......as soon as he arrives. You see, he isn't actually here
right now. As a matter of fact, we haven't heard much from him at all
lately. We're starting to get a little worried.

they're still fishing related.

Who could doubt it? Has anyone said they are not? If so, name the bounder
and I will personally see to it that he is severely chastized and/or
rebuked.

Maybe people should pass on the
information instead of calling me sandwich names.

Well, not to put too fine a point on it, but I think just about everyone
here has already passed on the information. That's sort of what they've
been trying to tell you. Oh, and a rube is not a sandwich......you're
probably confusing it with a Reuben.

As for riverman's comments below (if you're reading this by date),

I'm actually reading this by candlelight, but I don't think that should make
a great deal of difference. Please, do go on.

you'd think I was asking people to actually go out of their way for
something. Just put some freaking ice in the water and you could
prevent the pain of suffocation, or club the fish.

Actually, you ARE asking people to go out of their way. Streamside ice
machines may be a common feature where you live, but here in the upper Great
Lakes region they just haven't caught on.......yet. As things stand (by
date) a fisherman (or woman) here would have to walk all the way out of the
stream, climb up an often slippery bank (the stairs are typically in a
terrible state of repair due to budget cuts), and stumble around in the
woods for miles and hours searching for the nearest ice. Well, actually,
it's not all that bad in the winter......but in July or August scaling the
fish would be moot by the time a sufficent quantity of ice could be found.
And THEN there's still the problem of carrying sufficient loose change to
plug into the machine.....IF it's even working!

That's all I'm saying.

It's enough.....believe me. Um......oh yeah, I guess that puts us right
back where we started, huh?

Actually, I wasn't even saying anyone should do that until I
was attacked.

Attacked? Oh, dear Sparky, you ain't seen nuthin' yet.

I was just mentioning that someone said it works.

Oh.....well.....if that's all......

Wolfgang