My Back Pages, Part I

As I wrote in my first post, I started fishing on the Potomac River by Fletcher's Boathouse in Washington, D.C. 10 years ago.

One day, in May 1996, I was fishing from shore. It was relatively peaceful and quiet. Suddenly, this crew team rowed into view and stopped right in the middle of the river. I don't know what college they were from.

From shore, they looked like men. But when I heard their high-pitched and giggling voices, I realized they were women. They stayed there for a few minutes, talking and laughing.

I was tempted to yell, "SHUT UP, YOU HARPIES! YOU'RE SCARING ALL THE FISH!" But I decided against it because I didn't want a bunch of Amazons with battle axes storming the shore after me.

Finally, they heard the call of the wild and went back downriver.