FISHING BELLS
Recently, the wife of a friend contacted Tom
asking if he could make her a memorial sculpture
to honor her late father who loved
to fish on the white, sandy beaches of Hawaii.
She had inherited her father's fishing bells and
wanted to incorporate them into an art piece
she could keep in her home.
Joy shared her story:
"My father, Charlie, was born and raised in
Palolo Valley on the island of Oahu. Being a local boy
meant spending a lot of time at the beach.
His entire family (father, mother, brothers and sisters)
grew up camping and fishing. When my father started
a family of his own, he would often take his kids
to be a part of his family tradition.
One of my favorite memories
is how they would attach bells to their fishing poles
after casting the line out into the ocean -
that way they knew when a fish was biting.
I can remember the excitement that ensued when
someone's bell started ringing -
yelling to wake everyone up and running
down the beach to start reeling in their catch.
I never noticed until much later how
each bell had a different pitch.
The bells I kept after my father died
represent the simple joys of life back then."
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