The Clear Glass Fish

My wife picked up a Baccarat FAD #876 signed, clear glass, slender fish at the church indoor garage sale for a song. It sits on a petite wood holder with really petite metal arms to cradle the sleek Ichthus from the ancient French glass factory.  The flesh of my index finger caught on a sharp edge of the tail and we knew why it was in the sale.  I sanded and sanded with ultra fine sand paper.  The nick didn’t come out but it was smooth enough for the fish to flip out of my hands and our son in Colorado caught him with his 8’ #5 fly rod from a fresh, freezing cold, fast flowing spring creek on a streamer made by our grandson the fly-tier.  Once again it sits on that petite wood and metal holder just waiting for our son and grandson’s trip to Michigan to see it displayed on the coffee table near the window closest to the waterfall and pond where our seven-year-old gold-fish have endured as many years and twenty-eight seasons and still thrive because we don’t allow fishing, even catch and release in the backyard.