Reading Journal #2 March 12, 2009

Two Quotations:
1.Thoughts about fly fishing are often carried on in dialogue form where Hope and
Fear-or, many times, two Fears- try to outweigh each other (p.18).
2. Sunrise is the time to feel that you will be able to find out how to help somebody close to you who you think needs help even if he doesn’t think so (p. 28).
My Reflection:
During the reading from page 11-30, the writer mentions the relationship between Paul and him, including his experiences to go fly fishing together and to take Paul home from a police office after Paul hurt someone in a restaurant. It can tell that the write wants to help his brother to be optimistic to his own life, instead of street fighting and drinking alcohol. I think it is hard to help someone close to us if we, as helpers, do not understand the person who we are going to help. Or I should say that we want to help, but do not know how to do it. Sometimes we want to help the poor and the disable, but we do not know how to help them. So we choose the easier way, money donation.
Questions:
1.Page 11, the writer mentions that in his town, people know his brother and him are the Preacher’s kids, and most mothers prevent from pointing them out to their children. Do you think these women refrain from pointing them because they respect them as the preacher’s kids, or demean them because they are street fighters? Why?
2.If you were the writer, how could you help Paul? Go flyfishing?