The Perfect Gift

By Kenny Billings

Let me start off by saying that without question I have the greatest wife in the world. No caveat’s or qualifications – Wanda Billings is hands down wife of the year for 2010.

As the wife of an avid weekend angler, just like so many others across this great land, she doesn’t have it easy. So many weekends our wives sit tolerantly by as we disappear for hours and, on occasion, sometimes days at a time in our fishing pursuits. And when we are not fishing we are often talking about fishing with our buddies or reading about fishing in one of the six or seven magazines we subscribe to. Between tournaments and trips to the nearest Bass Pro our wives patiently, and sometimes not-so-patiently, await their turn for a bit of our time while never truly understanding the affliction we suffer that takes us so far away from them even when we are by their side.

I’m sure it is much easier for the wives of guys like Skeet Reese, Kevin Van Dam and Mike Iaconelli to understand the obsession we share because for them there is something of substance waiting for them at the boat. After all it is their vocation and livelihood. Our wives are not so fortunate. They see us pour so much our time and money into obsessing over this greenish fish with seemingly little return. It is beyond their comprehension. And if we’re honest with ourselves it’s not really that attractive of a fish. Yet through our affliction-colored wide tail, pot belly, bugged out eyes and giant mouth transforms into something of such profound beauty we stare at it glassy-eyed much like we would over a Hooter’s girl long before our wives came along.

This Christmas, however, my wife earned her wife-of-the-year honors when she moved one step beyond the passive acceptance that most bass fishermen enjoy from their wives and with a simple Christmas gift took the giant leap of fully supporting and encouraging my bass fishing endeavors.

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