Pier

I was feeling pretty good but that did not last as long as I thought it would.  I had said to Merril. “It is your turn to pick a word from the dictionary.”  She dutifully did that but the more I thought about it the more I realized it was actually my turn. 
It is not one of those things where I think you beaudy it is my turn.  Rather it is something where I prefer it is someone else’s turn.  But alas, I could not honestly say it was someone else’s turn.  So I have shut my eyes and turned the book this way and that and the word my finger fell on was “pier.”
My mind immediately went to one we used to fish on at Arcadia on Magnetic Island.  It had been abandoned and a new one was in use for catching the boat from.  This one remained a good place to fish.
It is a bit scary at night though.  A Hammerhead shark was supposed to live “just over there.”  From the amount of snorkelers I would see, I do not think that was true though.    Reminds me of the movie “Ruthless People.”  On a pier people were making all sorts of excuses for not going into the water.  That is until wads of cash came up and people were jumping in left, right and centre.  We were fishing there one night when two whales went by.  Many years ago Magnetic Island used to be a whaling station.  Seeing that sort of thing is not what one expects.
When the Mackerel were running it was on for young and old.  I was the young.  That was me once.   I could look into the water and see the balls of bait fish.  Every now and then a shape would dart into them.  They were the Mackerel and the target fish.
I must admit I probably had more fun jagging bait fish.  But we had a purpose.  We were after Mackerel.  I am still after Mackerel.  There were those who knew what they were doing and those that did not.  I was in the later group.  I did catch a bird though.  My bait did not sink fast enough.  I was quick to let him go but I do not know who was more rattled – me or him.
It was on there that I saw a water rat for the first time.  I was gazing over the edge, down a support and a pair of eyes emerged and an animal kept coming up the support in my direction.  He came up the top where he saw me and we both took off.  Trouble was we both took off in the same direction at the same pace.  So we were running away from each other together.
There have been other piers I have visited but none as memorable as that one.