NATURAL RESOURCES FISHING FOR ANSWERS.``The Trout King'' By C.E. Pickhardt (Bonneville Books, 2001), $13.95 Pickhardt is a noted psychologist, fitting considering every character in this addicting, strangely melancholic mel·an·chol·ic adj. 1. Affected with or being subject to melancholy. 2. Of or relating to melancholia. , enjoyable yet ultimately unfulfilling novel is in serious need of counseling. Which makes it, and them, interesting, yes, but aggravatingly frustrating as well. At first, you feel an insatiable thirst for the advice of Dr. Phil Dr. Phil may refer to:
And, sadly, they really don't. The characters populating the small vacation town around which the tale revolves have issues when the summer of the great trout contest begins, and they have issues when it ends. The fishing alone that Pickhardt imagines is captivating cap·ti·vate tr.v. cap·ti·vat·ed, cap·ti·vat·ing, cap·ti·vates 1. To attract and hold by charm, beauty, or excellence. See Synonyms at charm. 2. Archaic To capture. enough to keep the reader turning the pages and wanting more. Fishing, the author writes, is a ``metaphor for pursuing what I have wanted and have been willing to work for in my life.'' And maybe that's what's wrong. Or, as they say in Pickhardt's biz, that's overanalyzing. Dammit dam·mit interj. Used to express anger, irritation, contempt, or disappointment. [Alteration of damn it.] , fishing is fun. Nobody in this book seems to have any. - Michael A. Anastasi DUCK SOUP duck soup n. Slang An easily accomplished task or assignment. Noun 1. duck soup - any undertaking that is easy to do; "marketing this product will be no picnic" The Duck Hunters Refuge Web site (www.duckhunter.net) is the proud home of The Refuge Gang. This site has plenty of information. Worth a hit is the ``Ducks at a Distance'' icon, which features duck identification. ``Hunters can contribute to their own sport by not firing at those species that are either protected or scarce,'' the article says. Here, you can view portraits of Puddle ducks and Diving ducks, geese and swans. It's hard to imagine anyone knows the difference between a Hooded Mergansger and a Common Merganser The Common Merganser, (Goosander in Europe), Mergus merganser, is a large sized duck, which is distributed over Europe, North Asia and North America. It is most common on lakes and rivers. Its nests can be found in treeholes. , or can tell apart an American Wigeon against a Shoveler shoveler Any of four species (genus Anas, family Anatidae) of dabbling ducks having a long, spoon-shaped bill. The migratory northern shoveler (A. clypeata) inhabits shallow marshes and lagoons in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia. . Good duck, er luck. --Good houseboating seal: All you need to know about the Bakersfield-based Silver Valley Yacht Club (http://outworld.compuserve.com/homepages-nbanks/) can be answered with the first line on the Web site's front page: ``Who hasn't gone skinny-dipping in a backyard pool or hot tub? Millions of Americans have discovered the joys of nude recreation?'' The club also promotes nude houseboating. - Chris Cocoles CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: (color) no caption (book: ``The Trout King'') Box: TUNE IN |
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