Men's Lives by Peter Matthiessen

Author:Peter Matthiessen [Matthiessen, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Tags: Non-Fiction
ISBN: 9780307819703
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 1986-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

14.

The East Hampton

Town Baymen’s Association

On a September day four or five years ago, coming ashore at Montauk Lake from a day’s fishing, I saw a familiar figure in black waders unloading scallops from his battered sharpie. Milt Miller’s stiff black brush was silvered now, and he was heavier, but he cocked his head and grinned in a certain way, and I recognized him the same instant he recognized me. Milt set down his burlap sack with a solid crunch that brought back in an instant those scallop seasons of a quarter century before and came stomping across the shallow water to shake hands. “B’god, bub, I thought that was you! How you been doin?” And we just stood there for awhile, shaking our heads and grinning, glad to meet again without having or needing very much to say; the twenty-five years in between seemed unimportant. We asked after the men we knew in common, and inevitably arrived at Pete Scott’s death.

“Pete only fished with me five years,” Milt said, “but after he left here I really missed him. Took my boy Mickey after that, and Benny Havens, good fishermen, too, but I never run across anyone like Pete. That fella really loved to fish; you tell him you’re sailing at 3 A.M., he’s there at 2. I never had to wait for him, not even once. No, sir, I don’t know how anyone could ever get mad at Pete.” Milt’s voice was quiet, and his eyes had softened; he glanced at me quickly, saw that I saw, then looked away. Impatient with his own feelings, he admitted gruffly, “Guess I miss him still.

“I tried to keep my boy there from goin on the water, keep him from making the same mistake I did—it’s just a hell of a hard life, you know that? For a long time I never took him with me. But soon’s Mickey come back from the Korean War, he took it up, and he ain’t never looked back.

“Seems to me I spent most of my life out around Gardiners, can’t stay away from it. Used to take all these young fellas out there and teach ’em. Used to spend the night out there, make lean-tos, and go back fishin before daylight. I know that island better’n any Gardiner, I’ll tell you that, and I feel kind of protective about that place. Always let ’em know when I see campfires of people that come in there off of boats, because a fire out there would destroy all them old woods, destroy everything. Not long ago, I seen a fire there and I went over and warned the people: They got no fire equipment here, I said, so if that fire gets away, it’ll burn this island flat. Well, damn if the lady I was speakin to wasn’t a Gardiner herself, turned out she owned the island! And she was so pleased by my attitude, and the care I took, that since then I can’t do no wrong out there.

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