The Campfire: Grandpa Was Vegetarian When Vegetarian Wasn't Cool

[Droopy]

I generally don't have much of a problem with killing critters and eating them- particularly fish. I don't take pleasure in it, but I can do it. I understand some of you here are vegetarians and vegans and I'm sensitive to that and I respect you guys. So you won't find me posting here about the wonderful steak dinner I had or the 100 crappie I helped my step-dad clean for the fish fry. But I'm going to have to post about that kind of thing a little bit here to make this story work. Just letting you know in advance so you can ditch now if you want to. If you decide to stick around maybe I'll give you something to think about.

My grandpa and grandma on my dad's side were originally from Tennessee. They moved to Ohio when my dad was a baby to work in the factories here and hopefully escape poverty. And it worked. They owned a nice house here and put two of their four children through college. My dad and an uncle chose the military over college. When my grandparents retired they moved back down to Tennessee. Grandpa had inherited 150 acres down there. He built a house on it and a couple of small barns. He kept goats, cattle, chickens, and a sheep dog that rounded up the herd. He also had a farm pond put in and he stocked it with catfish. He told me how he much enjoyed feeding the fish. He'd throw the food out on the water and they would come to the surface and munch on the pellets. He talked to them while he was feeding them, too, and had the impression that they were waving at him when they turned around to go back down into the water while flipping their tails.

Grandpa loved animals and he very rarely ate meat. He would eat eggs and dairy products, but the only actual meat I ever saw him eat was chicken and that was very rarely. My grandma made the best fried chicken and I guess it could be hard for even a vegetarian to resist. Most of the time all grandpa had on his plate at dinner time was vegetables and bread. He didn't do that for his health. The guy chewed tobacco his whole life. And I don't think he had an aversion to the taste of meat. I think he just thought about all of the critters he had on his farm and how much he enjoyed them and couldn't see them being on a plate. I vaguely remember grandma telling me something along those lines one time.

My dad and I were down there visiting one time. Grandpa told me it was okay for me to fish in his pond. I told him I was just going to throw them back in. So I had brought a fishing pole with me- a medium light 6 footer with an open-faced reel strung up with 8 pound test line (for you anglers out there :)). I was fishing with a bobber and raw chicken livers. It didn't take long before they were all over that. The fish were about 16 inches and maybe in the 5 pound range. That makes for some fun fishing on light gear. And these were beautiful, clean, healthy, channel catfish. That's probably something you would only hear an angler or a vegan say. :) And, like I told my grandpa, it was all catch and release.

Well, here comes my dad. He sees these catfish I'm catching and doesn't see anything but catfish fillets for dinner. He doesn't understand why I'm throwing them back. I tried to tell him, but I couldn't get the point across. So he grabs his pole and a bucket and pretty soon he's hauling 5 catfish up the hill and he wants me to clean them. There wasn't anything I could do for the catfish at this point, but I wasn't going to let him get away with that without getting his hands in some fish gore.

He had never cleaned a fish in his life. I thought it was time that he learned. I told him that I would not clean the fish unless he helped me. It felt like our familial roles were reversed. I made it clear to my grandmother that this was not my idea. Grandpa was out running errands and I was hoping we could get the fish cleaned before he got back. So we're out on the front porch with a cutting board and some fillet knives and my dad is getting a lesson that he won't soon forget. I think he got nauseous at one point.

Then I see grandpa's old pick-up rolling up the driveway. We are in the middle of fish 3 and 4 and he was going to see what we thought of his fish. Grandpa walked onto the porch and saw what we were doing. His face got kind of long and he walked inside. I wanted to run my fillet knife through my dad's hand.

Grandpa didn't have any catfish at supper. He didn't have anything at all.

[NYC_SKP]

1. Being Vegetarian still isn't cool, but I love this story!

At least where I live, there are a few too many Vegans and Vegetarians who preach about their dietary preferences and make thus make the whole group seem like royal pains in the ass.

Of course most are not this way, they are humble and generous.

I'm reminded of a vegetarian friend from college who was quite annoying, sharing his flatulence with us all and telling us it was a natural result of his very healthy diet.

I've forgotten his name but heard that he died a while back from some disease or condition.

[Droopy]

2. Thank you

I guess the coolness of being a vegetarian is debatable. :)

[NYC_SKP]

7. It should be cool, it's so much more sustainable.

Maybe in time it will be as cool as a hybrid.

The Prius had a rocky start...

Here's mine:

[Schema Thing]

3. Meat is Merde DUr!

[NYC_SKP]

6. Oh, it's not just animals. I murDUr plants with ease.

Pass the RoundUp!

I remember when I first read about Fruitarians.

Fruitarians will not harm plants, will only eat things that fall from trees, etc.

I thought it was a satire but it's a real approach to food choices.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruitarianism

[Schema Thing]

10. and still DUs best pun ever goes unnoticed :le sigh:

[NYC_SKP]

11. OH shit.... I missed it.

Merde.

:rofl:

[Schema Thing]

12. shouldn't that be "oh SHIT.... I missed it."?

:)

[Shell Beau]

4. Aw, that is kinda sad. Your grandpa thought you were

throwing them back only to come home to y'all skinning the fish. x(

Your grandpa sounds like he was a cool guy.

[sammythecat]

5. Nice story. Thanks.

I don't imagine your grandpa got much, if any, support for his way of seeing things. Sounds like a good man.

"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." -- Immanuel Kant

[flvegan]

8. Your grandpa sounds very cool.

Made a pretty loud statement with zero words, it seems.

[MajorChode]

9. I have a similar story about my great grandfather

I didn't know him well as he passed away when I was young, but he had a farm in Iowa. He didn't really have much in the way of livestock other than cows and chickens for eggs. Dad said he figured they probably threw the chickens in the pot after they got too old to be useful, but other than that they ate very little meat. He fed the local wild critters and particularly enjoyed the quail. His cousin came on his farm one day and shot several of his quail. My dad said he would never have anything more to do with that cousin after that day.

I don't really think people like that saw themselves as vegetarians. Perhaps it was just that they had very little meat so they just didn't eat enough of it to really develop a taste for it. When it was necessary they ate meat, but rarely otherwise.

[JitterbugPerfume]

13. I adore your grandfather Droopy!

I remember seeing a hog butchered when I was a child and it was the most brutal act I have ever witnessed!I can still hear the pitiful sounds and see the gore.

am not a vegetarian , but I eat very little red meat.