TBT: Buddies and the “odd pike”

I can't recall the first time I met Ralph Elston. He was one of those family friends everyone has, but no one knows when or where they first met. Perhaps it was in 1958, at my father's funeral. I was still a preschooler, and any recollection of our first encounter would have long since vanished from my memory. Ralph was from Kirkland Lake, where he worked as a miner for 50 years. He'd drive to North Bay to visit his two sisters, and, before heading home, he'd stop by the house to visit Mom. His visits always came as a surprise. I'd be walking up the lane, coming home from school, and notice his old blue '46 Ford truck parked on the gravel lane beside our house. Anxious to see him, I'd sprint up the path, through the shed, and into the kitchen. There they'd be, sitting, sipping tea, and talking about things unknown to me. Ralph was one of those meticulous individuals. His shoes were perfectly polished, his pants pressed with a proper pleat down the front, his shirt white and crisp, and there was never a speck of dirt under his fingernails. He was a man of few words, but he always wore a smile. He'd ask about school, though, and comment about how much I'd grown since his last visit. The visits never seemed to last long. We'd walk out to his truck, and he'd wave goodbye, thinking we didn't notice the five $1 bills he slipped Mom under the table. "One for Jennifer, Susan, Carol, Dianne, and John," he'd tell her. On one rare occasion he called in advance and asked Mom if I'd like to go fishing. I was about 6 or 7 years of age, and the thought of my first fishing trip caused great excitement, as it does for most small kids. I don't know who was happier, me or Mom. She had a tough job working full time and raising five young children on her own. She was a master of time organization, but going fishing together would have been just a little too much for her to handle. Ralph arrived on Friday night. My excitement soared when he handed me my own fishing rod and steel tackle box, filled with an assortment of colourful objects resembling creatures from the deep. Saturday morning couldn't come soon enough. The alarm went off at