Think first!
A few weeks ago on one of the many topics on this forum in which some members regularly complain about the methods others use to catch fish I said that I remembered a poem by the late Richard Walker and that if I found it in one of my old "Angling" magazines I would post it here. Well, one and all, I give you, "Grizzleguts".
When men looked very much like apes, five million years ago,
They only caught small animals, or old ones that were slow.
They hadn't learned to use a tool, nor yet invented huts,
But each tribe had a member whose name was Grizzleguts.
"It's really most unsporting," he would furiously roar,
Whenever he saw something he had never seen before.
About each new invention he would angrily complain,
Saying it should be made taboo and never used again.
One day, while hunting in a group some men disturbed a deer,
It brushed asidetheir grasping hands and very soon broke clear.
Inspired, one hunter threw a rock and hit it on the head.
Old Grizzleguts then raised his voice and this is what he said:
"It's really most unsporting, we shall have to see it's banned.
The only decent way to kill is with your own bare hand,
If everyone starts throwing things, if rocks & stones are tossed,
The fine old art of throttling will very soon be lost."
A few ice ages later a man picked up a pole
And found that if he sharpened it, the thing would make a hole.
And when he stuck it in a boar, his quarry quickly died,
But Grizzleguts was watching him, and this is what he cried.
"It's really most unsporting; we shall have to make a rule,
That says a sharpened hunting pole is a forbidden tool.
If not, we'll kill off all the game! We'll wipe out all the stocks!
And soon, society will lose the art of throwing rocks!"
Another ice age later a hunter made a bow,
And aiming at a bison, saw his arrow lay it low.
The hunter was delighted when he saw how well he'd aimed,
But Grizzleguts, who stood nearby, immediately declaimed:
"It's really most unsporting, and it shouldn't be allowed,
If this is not prevented it will spread to all the crowd.
There won't be any bison left, and that would be a shame;
And society will quickly lose the art of spearing game."
Today, if you invent a better fishing rod, reel or gun
To do what once we did for food and now we do for fun;
If you devise a more effective cartridge, bait or fly,
Old Grizzleguts is still around,and this is what he'll cry:
"It's really most unsporting, and a rule we must adopt,
That says the use of this new thing is permanently stopped.
I've never even seen it, no sight of it I've had,
But I am quite convinced that new things must all be bad!"
Do not let his cries concern you, for he seldom gets his way.
The inventions that improved man's lot have come, and come to stay.
And but forthese inventions we can very plainly see
That Grizzleguts would feed on nuts and live up in a tree!
Enjoy, but think before you criticise in case you too are labelled "Grizzleguts"
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