The "Dead Fish" Story

It was an ordinary day. My wife and I were on our way to North East, MD to deliver photographs which I sell at Kathy's Corner. On this trip we have our grandson Caden W. with us. He is a super little boy who we love dearly and who always has a question or two to challenge us. It would prove to be no different this beautiful day. The sun was warm and the sky was without a cloud as we drove to the south end of the city to eat at the world famous "The Naughty Goose." How do I know it is world famous? They say so on their shirts they sell, so there. We ask for a seat on the deck so that we can see and hear the boats at the pier. We are given a seat in the second row back from the rail which doesn't have the best view and I can tell this will not work with the inquisitive mind we have brought with us. "Look there" I say and point as someone is preparing to leave from a table right by the water. Caden and I quickly jump up and move while my wife realizes that she will have to eat by herself if she doesn't move also. GREAT SEATS! Right by the edge. Now we can really see all the action. So many new things to see and explain. We give our order of crab cake sandwiches and mac & cheese (I know you can figure out who gets what) in between looking at the big forklift picking the boats off the top row of the storage unit and placing them in the water and watching the boats which are entering the harbor. We wanted some engine noise and boy did we get it. The twin engine Scarab speed boats which pass gas through them twice as fast as I have a tendency do have a decibel level that makes talking impossible. I enjoy watching them as much as Caden does. Nothing to explain here since noise and speed can be understood by both of us. The food arrives and is consumed with one eye on the plate and one eye on the water. After finishing our meal we head down the steps to the dock to get a closer look at the boats. "What are those things floating in the water Tampah?" (That's what I am called by all my grand kids) as Caden points to the large dead carp in the water. I tell him that they are fish that died from maybe being hit by a boat or because they were old. Can you think of something else to tell him? No response from Caden, but you know something else will come up later. We watched for a few more minutes and headed back to the car. After delivering my photos we headed back to Lancaster. A short time later as we traveled home we were discussing small farm animals and I told Caden that my Grandpap would take me to Roots Sale (a local farmers market and auction) and sometimes buy me an animal. "Where is your Grandpap?" Here we go. "Well, he is in Heaven.," I answer. "When will you see him again?" I replied, "when I die and go to Heaven." "NOOOOO!" Caden says half jokingly and half serious. Then silence. Well, we travel more and I see a sign advertising puppies for sale. I tell Caden that I had a dog named Arnold. "Where is he?" My reply was "in Heaven with Grandpap." SILENCE again as he stared out the window of the car. A short time later he was sound asleep. My wife and I tried to think of what we would tell him after he woke. Lucky for us he slept all the way home. Later that night we were talking to our daughter-in-law Barb and we asked her what Caden thought of his trip. She said he was extremely impressed with the dead fish! Another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.