My Daddy Loved To Fish

By Tallulah Marie Sheepshead

My daddy loved to fish.  His mother, my grandmother whom I called Grammy, was better at it than he was, but she never bothered to mention that tidbit as it would discourage him from joining her on the riverbank with the cane pole.  Now you might not think that southern women could be better at any outdoor sports than the men in the old days, however, some were.  Nowadays, certain gentlemen actually invite their gals to go hunting and fishing with them.  But if you knew Grammy she was not looking for any glory about anything except finding the cheapest whatever from wherever.  She could find a bargain.  

Her husband worked building Liberty Ships desperately needed for WW2 at Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding.  You see, my daddy was stationed in England at this time of the War. His father was worried, as all parents were, about their children fighting in that War for the country.  When my grandfather heard there was a shortage of crew needed to deliver the new ships he immediately volunteered and sailed away on a Liberty Ship to somewhere unknown.  ‘Loose lips sink ships,” they would say.  Grandmother said she never knew how dangerous that job might be, but the German subs had no problem finding them and sinking them.  They were easy targets.  One torpedo is all it took, and my grandfather went down with the ship.  It was a difficult time for Grammy already worried about daddy being in the war and when the terrible news of her husband came, it was heard all over Mobile. Tragedy was not quite finished with us as my mother died just months later.  I don’t remember my mother sadly; I was only 4 years old.  My parents got married very young, about 6 months before I was born, which was not so uncommon back in those days, I was told. So, Grammy helped daddy raise me and I had a wonderful childhood growing up on Catherine Street and spending summers at the Alba Club on Dog River.  Grammy lived around the corner from us.  Lots of tragedy back in those days, but little time to grieve.  I still say I want to go to New Orleans to see that War Museum, but never get the nerve to go.

Grammy was very careful with her money, only splurging on a bottle of Sherry once in a while.  Later in life, it was a bit more than that truth be told.  But mind you, she did have plenty of opinions on any subject from baseball to debutantes.  Back then, no one in our house ever discussed politics and nowadays people can’t not talk politics.  After the war, daddy returned to work at ADDSCO a few years before starting his own specialty welding firm which became quite successful.  One night at supper, daddy announced he was going to buy a boat that he could finally afford, a used fiberglass fishing boat with two outboard engines.  The family’s old green and white Stauter-Built that he grew up with would be kept of course.  Grammy raised her eyebrow at the two-motor idea because the old Evinrude on the Stauter was always acting up.  ‘Why have two acting up’, she asked, and ‘What about gasoline?  Don’t you still get seasick?’ The discussion resumed that Sunday at Morrison’s for lunch after the early church.  Grammy wouldn’t go to lunch at Morrison’s after regular church because it was too crowded after regular church.  I remember that meal quite well for some reason.  Fried fish, collards, cornbread, and black-eyed peas.  For a sweet, I adored their peach cobbler.  Grammy always had the tomato aspic with her meal, but I never acquired the taste for that one.  Daddy assured her that this boat could do just fine on the bay and quite well in the Gulf.  And he said he was buying a new CB radio in case he needed to call for help.  Understanding that jargon was a bit out of my grandmother’s wheelhouse and almost out of mine.  Daddy finally said, ‘Mother, I’ll take you to lunch at the Hotel one day and to that she put her finger in the air and said, ‘I’ll hold you to it’, knowing my daddy might just never bother to remember how much she loved going out to lunch, and how glamourous it would be for her to arrive by boat!  On the way home, she actually was planning her and my outfits even though by then, I was certainly old enough to dress myself.

Boating might be as important to south Alabamians as is oxygen.  All kinds of boating go on down here, from flying beautiful spinnakers downwind on the bay, to fishing on the rodeo, or just the calming solitude of going out alone. From experience, I know how exciting it is for younger kids to see the cork bobbing as some mysterious fish starts tugging away and hopefully doesn’t get away.  Having fished from bridges, wharfs, banks, and boats over the years with grandmom; there is something magical about a boat.  Mobile boats especially, I can’t explain why.  Someone else can rant about fishing, Grammy and I are thinking about where Daddy actually took us for LUNCH!  Let me tell you about it!

The trip started from the Alba Club.  Heading towards the bridge, we stopped for some gas at Frost Marina on Dog River; I’m blushing now, but we did get some ice for the cooler with a few Coke-Colas and plenty of Falstaff Beer that my dad and I were quite fond of.  The trip across Mobile Bay was delightful all the way to the Grand Hotel.  The weather was overcast which made the summer crossing feel cooler.  Pulling into the Grand Hotel harbor was more exciting than I expected.  Seeing the marina of nice boats was enhanced by the especially beautiful big boat named Azucar.  The old saying about the best days of owning a boat does not apply to most true mariners, and certainly not those in Mobile because if they sell one, they buy another one.  Adding a splash of elegance to the boating experience for my grandmother seemed appropriate and I must agree.  Floppy big hats and fancy big sunglasses for grandmother were her take on how her favorite actress Greta Garbo might have been seen, so why not her!  Grammy suggested a straw fedora and deck shoes for the boys and agreed they were welcome to an occasional cigar. Daddy would say that cigar smoke repels mosquitos but I’m not so sure.  We tied up and walked over to the Hotel for the best lunch ever.  We sure gathered some attention from the Hotel guests and that was worth the price of lunch, whatever it might have been.  Daddy treated us so well that day.  He had a perfect table reserved.  The hotel had it set with beautiful flowers on an elegant white tablecloth, and as we sat down, daddy immediately ordered us a delicious Manhattan cocktail to start off.  Grandmother and I had the best of times that day going to lunch on daddy’s new boat, and we talked about it until the day she died.  After daddy died, I sold both of those boats and felt I had sold a large part of my soul.  Maybe some of you know what I mean, it is a hard thing to describe.

Much has been said about a lunch that lasts forever, and certainly, those memories are cherished.  But when your day is planned completely around the notion of going to lunch on a boat whether sailing, puttering, powering, or paddling; this is a special day for sure. If you’re not from Mobile, you probably don’t know all about the uniqueness this area has to offer.  Our gene pool has been discussed before!  You can certainly come down boat or no boat.  And if you want a boat, there are plenty of superb captains or guides available; just tell them Tallulah said to leave the fishing gear in the truck!  Some trailer their boat, some do the Great Loop, some on the Intracoastal, or some sail all the way here from Saint Someplace.  Hear us speak our cute, sweet dialect that we have here, and eat your way around the bay with new and old friends!  Take pictures and let me know where you went, who you were with, what you wore, what you ate and how it was!  I know some great places are waiting for you to dress down/dress up, show up, eat up, drink up and enjoy the day.  Invite me, please! I know what I’m going to wear already.

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