The Old Man and the Sea

Magnet #228 - Shrimpy McShrimperson

A friend of mine bought this for me at the San Gennaro Festival last year, just because he was there, and just because it was a funny little thing.

What he doesn't know is that my dad is a big-time seafood eater. Won't touch meat or fowl of any kind, but if it swims in the water, he's generally all over it.

Growing up, we had two sets of meals cooking - the Filipino dishes for my dad, usually with shrimp, crab, squid, fish, etc., and then the American dishes for my sisters and me.

I swear half my early childhood was spent on a fishing pier or lakeshore, or driving to seafood restaurants or fish markets. The restaurants were dotted all over NC - Pat 'n Mick's in Albemarle, or any Mayflower Seafood, or hell, even the kids at Captain D's know my dad.

The fish markets were the five-hour drives to Washington, D.C., or South Carolina. That eased up a bit when my dad got to be friends with the fishmonger in our hometown, and knew when the freshest deliveries were made. You see, that's what you do in Salisbury, NC, you end up pals with the fishmonger...the one who owns Spanky's, the (best) homemade ice cream and sandwiches shop in the town square. (And that's what I miss about the 'bury, ya'll.)

The fishing hasn't stopped though. You'd think by now my parents would have fished out the entire eastern seaboard. The funny thing is, my mom is actually the better fisherperson - she's a veritable Ariel of the sea, while my dad always catches the ones that got away.

It's kind of unfair, I suppose, given that mom usually ends up having to clean the fish in the end. Whenever I hear or see seafood, I can still see my mom as she's angrily gutting the fish...and hear her voice ringing in my head, "joy, never marry a man who loves fish!"