Worm Grunting

Under the spread of White Oak trees at the edge of a swamp, we found gray mounds of earthworm castings. Just what we were looking for. John Will Voss, my cousin, and I planned to go fishing in Deepstep Creek. But we needed earthworms, and there was not a fish-bait shop within miles. Each of us had what was left of a hoe handle, so we were well armed to get fish-bait on our own, by worm-grunting. This adventure was new for me. I usually found earthworms in moist places near flower beds and the water well. John Will assured me that we would find eonough by “Worm Grunting”. I was wary, but his adventures around Deepstep were always interesting and fun. So I was all in for it.

I followed intently what John Will did: he located one of the little gray mounds, and stuck the broken hoe handle into the mound. I did that too. The earth was soft, grassy, and moist. As he pressed the handle into the dirt, he wobbled it as it sank into the ground. Somewhere about twelve inches into the dirt, as he kept wobbling it there appeared an earthworm, crawling onto the grass about a foot and a half away. John Will kept wobbling the handle—but more vigorously. As I did the same thing, I too, found earthworms crawling out of the ground. As we moved from mound to mound, “Grunting” the earthworms out of the ground, we got enough for this day, We gathered up our bait buckets and headed off to the edge of the millpond to catch what we really wanted for the day—Red-Breast Bream.

I often think of that day and is produce—which was abundant; not just the earthworms for fishing; especially other benefits of the day. The growing friendship with John Will, learning a fascinating way to collect fish bait, the joy of the outside, and the abundance of God’s creation—these and more, enriched, and continue to bless my life. There are times in life, brief though they may be, that open galaxies of opportunities and memories, enriching our lives. John Will’s family moved away and I never saw him again. But the memory of our treks in and around Deepstep Creek and millpond linger. They continue to enrich my life.

I hope that you, dear reader, have an abundant cache of memories that enrich your life and personal relationships. If you grow really close to someone, you develop a binding trust. I think of numbers of times when I was uneasy or fearful about a venture and remember when John Will’s friendship and support bore me up on eagles’ wings, and made success possible. Who would have ever though “Worm Grunting ” would do that?!.

Jesus found such a relationship in Simon Peter. Yes, I know. We think of that Apostle as the one who denied Jesus—not once, not twice, but three times. And yet, early on Jesus had seen in this man a solid rock. And said so. Well, we all are human beings. We make mistakes. We fail. Often. But it is that at the heart we can, and do embody the Holy. Just as Jesus lifted Peter out of the stormy sea, He will lift you out of your sinking despair.

©Copyright Willis H. Moore 2024