My Father’s Day gift this year is a new chainsaw. At the time of writing, I do not have a new chainsaw. This has nothing to do with my wife or children and everything to do with my unrelenting hope that I can fix my old chainsaw. A part has been ordered. For all the times my patient wife has seen me standing in the yard, clad in chaps and helmet, fiddling with the bar tension or the carburetor, she has strongly encouraged me to start afresh.  One more try, I said.

But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t lavished with Father’s Day blessings, tangible and otherwise. I spent the day with my family. We worshipped, ate meat, and played outside. Licorices of various types were received. And my third son gave me a small clay fish.

It is great. Cartoonish and cute, it is a great caricature of a fish. What’s more, he made a small clay fishing rod, line, and hook. Inside the clay fish’s mouth is an indentation that fits the hook perfectly. It will live on my dresser, lined up next to a miniature clay army of animals and superheroes. I love it.

I don’t need to elaborate on the intrinsic value of the gift versus the intent of the giver. You understand that. Even if you don’t have kids, reject the concept of Father’s Day, or are even the kind of person who uses the phrase “down with the patriarchy” in an unironic manner, you understand why I love the little clay fish.

Fly fishing  gets it, too.

I don’t have any figures in front of me to back up my hypothesis with empirical data, but I’m confident that Father’s Day gets a marketing push among fly fishing brands only surpassed by the beginning of fishing season and the Christmas season. And the marketing makes sense because it is real. Dads fly fish. And notice the imagery often used. It isn’t pragmatic but sentimental. Dads with their kids. You know: normal, traditional family stuff.

I’m thankful for that. You can’t kick creation. I mean; you can try. But you can’t.

I get that not everyone has that typical experience. This world is a broken place. But with all sympathy to the outliers, we shouldn’t neglect celebrating the good, the true, and the beautiful. Fatherhood is that. By design, it is training up young men into who they should be. It is providing for and protecting young women and giving them a model of who their future protector and provider should be. Like virtually anything else in life, these lessons can be given with fly rods in hand. Or, at the very least, staring at the windshield together as you head to the river.

Much more could be said. But because you understand the value of the little clay fish I don’t need to elaborate much more right now. Happy Father’s Day from Casting Across.