Trout Fishing In America
I was introduced to the writings of Richard Brautigan through a friend while in high school. His name was Daniel and he collected snakes. Daniel had long blond hair which he wore in a ponytail, he wore flannel shirts which were popular at the time, and he walked with an assumed limp because he enjoyed the attention it brought.
One afternoon he asked me if I had ever read the book Trout Fishing In America, which I hadn’t, and I told him so. The next day while eating lunch on the grass behind the lockers Daniel came up to me and tossed a book into my lap, knocking my sandwich out of my hands. ”Read this,” he said to me as he slowly turned and limped away, which I’m positive he did for dramatic effect.
It was this copy, published in 1973, the pages tanned the color of tea, that he dropped into my life.
Inside, the book read: ”GLASS/HANDLE WITH CARE/SPECIAL HANDLING/GLASS/DON’T SPILL/THIS SIDE UP/HANDLE THIS WINO LIKE HE WAS AN ANGEL”
I haven’t spoken to Daniel in over twenty years. If you’re out there Daniel, I want to thank you for turning me on to authors I would have never been exposed to if you weren’t around.
