Fishing vs. hunting

I’m not a particularly outdoorsy person. I like to ski…but I don’t like to be cold. I like to ride my bicycle. I like to walk through woods…but there really aren’t any in south Florida. My primary outdoorsy passion is water. I love to scuba dive. I’m not really that keen on fishing. I love to look at fish, and I love to EAT them, but the idea of dangling a net in the water for hours on end and hoping something edible swims in holds no appeal.

I do enjoy hunting for lobsters. I sort of like the fact that you spend all the time looking for them. You may find one, and you may not. And then you may not be able to catch it. If it were easy, like going to the supermarket, it wouldn’t be so much fun. The hunt is the most fun part.

I bring all this up, because I have a new friend who is single, and dating. In the few short months that I’ve known her, she has been basically unsuccessful in finding a suitable man to see more than twice. I was initially worried that it was somehow my fault. After all, I was the unusual variable over the last few months.

But as I chatted with her, I realized it may have more to do with her particular approach. Fishing with a net, vs. hunting. Up ‘til now, my friend has been fishing with a net. Her “net” has been people she knows, and she has relied on them to throw out the net. She’s a very patient fisherchick. She waits. She looks gorgeous. And she waits. Eventually something swims into the net. Because she is fishing, she dutifully inspects whatever creature shows up in the net. Maybe one date. Maybe two. A few odd phone conversations or text messages. But since I’ve known her, everything that got caught in the net had to be thrown back. She’s disappointed for a few days. Then the net is thrown out again, and she re-starts the whole process.