New Kid In Town

Sarah is my 7 year old daughter. This past weekend she came with me to her first fly fishing show. I woke up early at 5:30 to load my car with a bunch of stuff for the show. I went to wake Sarah. Like any typical 7 year old she was groggy, half a sleep and a magnet to the bed. After some coaxing and some nudging, she got up. With eyes half closed, she got dressed and asked to be wrapped up in a blanket for the ride in the car to the show. After loading a few more things into the car I hopped in and we were ready to go. The eagles were playing on the CD player softly and as I placed the car in gear, Sarah reached down and turned the volume up, skipped to her new favorite song and said, “I love you Dad.” The song New Kid in Town played and she softly sang along as I drove.After arriving at the show and setting up, Sarah took in the surroundings of the Fredericksburg Fly Fishing show while eating some chocolate doughnuts. About an hour into the show, a gentleman came up to the table and began to talk to Sarah about fly fishing and she mentioned that she had tied her own flies before. The gentleman offered his material box and vise for her to tie to kill some time. Her face beamed and she accepted the offer.With a vise, hooks and materials she rushed to get started. In minutes she had a streamer type fly tied up and laying on the table next to the DVD’s for my company. Within minutes she started asking patrons, “Would you like to by a fly? It’s only two dollars!” Partially embarrassed and proud at the same time, I attempted to talk to her about how she needed to be a patient sales person and not so pushy. Within two hours there were 12 of her flies that she freshly tied laying on the table. She had a small crowd consisting of a few kids and a kindly interested Mom who she proudly told the names on her freshly tied flies. Names ironically mimicked some of the flies we use on trips yet with a kidlike charm to them, like White Feather Butt, The Walking Dog and Purple Butt Fly. Sarah was always amazed at the name of the Yellow Butt Monkey which is a real fly but tends to be more of a conversational fly than one that anglers fish seriously. What impressed me was the names she had given to each of the flies remained unchanged throughout the day. I will say the whip finish knots were done by me. I would like to personally thank Pete, Susan and the gentlemen who each purchased or traded for the flies she tied. Pete (I hope I remembered your name correctly) what you did was simple yes, but truly meaningful. I have a mad salesperson on my hands now. Future show will not be the same when she is there. Sarah still promised she wasn’t like Mr. Krab the owner of the Krusty Krab Restaurant on Sponge Bob Square Pants who seems to only be concerned about money. The $24.00 she made at the show was spent quickly. She purchased a few poppers, bracelets and such and also managed to cover herself with free fishing stickers.All in all it was a fun show and memorable to me because it was Sarah’s first. After packing up we began our drive home. Sarah was at my level and smiling her head off because she got to sit in the front with me because the back of the car was packed with show stuff. As we pulled out of the parking lot, she reached to the stereo, turned up the volume and forwarded through to her new favorite song by the Eagles, New Kid in Town.