3 AM...t’s daylight. I put on my fishing boots and walk down to the Kasilof River hoping to catch some reds. It’s 45 F. My hands are cold. Later, a camper tells me the reds swim on the opposite bank and tells me about a spot a half mile down. Also he tells me to fish two hours after high tide.
6 AM...I return to the RV with no fish. Mrs. Phred and I had a tiff at tennis last night and had dinner and went to bed without speaking. The atmosphere is still strained, but we maneuver, with long practice, to correct things.
7 AM...Tim calls. One of his engines is out and he cancels my halibut trip for the 2nd time. He feels really bad and offers me 25 pounds of frozen halibut from his fish bank as compensation. I accept and reschedule for Sunday.
9 AM...Mrs Phred and I Google a Laundromat in Soldotna. We start the wash and her glasses are missing. These are her last par.
9:30 AM...I drive to the post office to buy a stamp. There is a long line so I go to the vending machine, Everything is sold out except one $.60 item. It turns out that I get 30 2 cent Indian Pottery stamps. I spend 15 minutes pasting them on my letter. The return address had to go, but I work around the recipient's address.
10 AM... Mrs. Phred’s glasses turn up at the end of the wash cycle. They are deformed. We try to bend them back into shape.
11 AM...We go to the Kenai River and I put on my boots and strap my net over my shoulder. An old man gives me thirty minutes of friendly advice about the placement of my sinkers and where to stand. We go home with no reds.
3 PM...I change the oil and filter on the RV and wash the RV and Toyota.
4 PM....Tim calls back. He still doesn’t have the boat running. He jokes that I must be bad luck and suggests that I leave town. I tell him I’ll call in the morning
5 PM...The people in RVs next door come back from dip netting. They are limited out with 60 to 80 reds each, depending on the number of dependents they claim.
7 PM...I grill a pound of red salmon that I bought at Safeway yesterday for $8.99 a pound and make a salad. Domestic tranquility has been completely restored.
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