Testament of a Fisherman

I fish because I love to; because I love the environs where trout are found,
which are invariably beautiful, and hate the environs where crowds of people
are found, which are invariably ugly; becasue of all the television
commercials, cocktail parties, and assorted social posturing I thus escape;
because in a world where most men seem to spend their lives doing things
they hate, my fishing is at once an endless source of delight and an act of
small rebellion; because trout do not lie or cheat and cannot be brought or
bribed or impressed by power, but respond only to quietude and humility and
endless patience; because I suspect that men are going this way for the last
time, and I for one don't want to waste the trip; because mercifully there
on telephones on trout waters; because only in the woods can I find solitude
without loneliness; because bourbon out of an old tin cup always tastes
better out there; because maybe one day I will catch a mermaid; and finally,
not because I regard fishing as being so terribly important but because I
suspect that so many of the other concerns of men are equall unimportant-and
nearly so much fun.

From "Anatomy of a Fisherman" by John Voelker (aka Robert Traver)