In honor of the 42nd anniversary of the opening of the movie Jaws…
I give you Betsy’s Gift.
These dear lads had spent a glorious afternoon fishing up and down the dock in Menemsha. I sat outside of Larsen’s eating my steamers and enjoyed their serious minded focus and the simple pleasures of the day.
At one point the blue shirted boy came running out of the back door with that blue bin
and brought it over for the others to inspect…”Look what Betsy gave me !”
The boys were excited and immediately set to work cutting up the bait fish.
If you had been there, I think you would have smiled along with me.
And then you could look to your left,
just there around the basin of fishing shacks,
no more than a hundred yards
from where these young fisherman are standing,
and…using your imagination,
and a healthy dose of nerves,
you could see where Steven Speilberg himself
directed, from the dock out back of the Galley,
lo those 42 years ago,
as they filmed that epic sea drama.
I’m heading home now,
the pizza has just arrived,
and it’s time for the annual viewing.
Yes, we are going to need a bigger boat.
