Sometimes, the ear is the most important organ. Use it to honor others

He came over to me as I was pulling my boat out of the water. “How did you do?” he asked. Not knowing where this was going, I told him I did OK, but it had been a tough bite.

It soon became clear that all he wanted was to tell another angler about his extraordinary fishing adventures.

First, he told me the story of the biggest striper he ever caught, around 40 pounds, way back a few decades ago. I listened still sizing up what this guy was all about. I think he sensed my questions because he pulled out a picture of his monster striper. Like many fish pictures it wasn’t very good, and I quietly challenged him on its real weight.

He smiled and pulled out another picture, a much better one. Yes, I agreed, it was a huge striper. I decided I needed to give him credit for the big fish and told him that I was naturally skeptical of the claims some anglers made about their catches since so many were badly exaggerated. I wanted to give honest credit to big catches. I commended him on the catch and told him it was a lifetime achievement. He lit up like a Christmas tree; he was so excited to be appreciated by a peer. I realized there was more going on here than what I saw on the surface.

He just wanted to have somebody to tell what he had done in his life and value it. I felt bad that I had challenged him on his big fish, but it turned out that he actually respected me for being willing to be truthful and upfront.

He began sharing all kinds of fishing stories from his life. I listened as he told me about Alaska, Mexico and Costa Rica. He had fantastic tales from a lifetime of fishing. Although I knew that some of the weights and sizes weren’t possible, it was no time to correct a man reliving the epoch of his life.

Here was an older man, living and fishing alone, stuck in a current world of little contact, just wanting to feel alive and valued. There’s a lot of that these days.

I ran into him two weeks later at the lake, and he immediately yelled out to me. I was his friend now, maybe even a good friend, one who knew him deeper than most and who respected him and his story.

We all need to be understood and cherished. It’s in our very soul. He showed that to me! Never give up!