Just Ducky

Tom, Jr., was our 1st to get accepted to a college and it was BYU.  Things fell in place;  someone down the street had a used blue 12 passenger van that we could afford and got us there and back.  We decided to pitch our tents along the green river in Provo.  This was unlike any park we were familiar with in Pa. or IL.The camping season was over and there was only one other family camping out.  The grass was 3" thick and a lush green with auto sprinklers to keep it that way.  The bathrooms were not the "pits," but were modern with flush toilets, ceramic walls, and hot showers.  During the night, I could here the sounds of fish splashing all night, and envisioned large bass, just waiting for me.  They were large carp, and while we did not eat them, they gave up a heck of a fight-one even broke a fishing pole in two!
for breakfast, we had bacon, eggs, toast, and milk or OJ to drink. Realizing they were carp, i would take a piece of bread after breakfast, and dip it in the cooled bacon grease, working it into a ball on the hook. A carp will run with it, drop it, and come back to get it.  Time to set the hook.  one chance. Crapy to eat, but a good battle, landing it.
Amanda, who was a tot, said, "Daddy, you said you would teach me how to fish."  So we got everything ready(as above), and with both of us holding the pole, made the cast. No sooner did the bait hit the water, a duck flew down like a bullet and grabbed it, swallowed it, hook and all and began flying away.  We reeled the poor bird to shore and i held it down with a shoe while using a pair of pliers to cut the line, hoping its gastric juices would eventually dissolve the hook.  Looking back it was quite comical seeing the scared duck flapping to escape!  End of story-Amanda's first fish was a duck!  What a story.  More about our first experiences in Provo, UT. later.