Catch of the Day

It’s 7 a.m. I make a carafe of coffee and turn CNN on. I check my email account and then pour my first cup. As I prepare to start my day, I hear some excited voices coming from the backyard. I go out on my back balcony and see Coco and his sister Yvette, the fisherman’s children who live across the street. Spike, Elizabeth’s dog, is barking with excitement. The children are visibly expressive and their happiness is contagious; at least for a moment.

“What are you doing?” I see a large white bucket and some boxes made of wood. Coco responds by holding up the white bucket. Inside is a very large crab. Yvette says, “We caught it!” Knowing its destiny is the dinner table and knowing it is a feeble, naïve, unrealistic city-viewed attempt, I said, “Ah, you aren’t going to hurt it are you?” They looked at me quizzically as though they couldn’t understand the question I just asked. Then Coco smiled as if I just made a funny joke. I didn’t press for an answer.

“How did you catch it?” Yvette points to the wooden boxes. “What do you use to lure it in?” Coco says, “banana, they like bananas”. The crab will bring the family $10.00 from some hungry person seeking the crustacean delicacy. I watch as they prepare to catch their next victim.

They re-set the traps, leaving with their catch and undoubtedly proud to show their father, a village fisherman. I can only imagine the pride these children must have felt when they presented that big crab to their father. The children will set traps throughout the week filling the three cages in their backyard. Their father will take the filled cages to Martinique.

So, here are two opposite reactions largely due to culture. I am horrified to think this large old creature will end up on a dinner plate satisfying a moment of pleasure for a hungry diner, while the children’s father will feel a sense of pride that his children are learning a trade that will sustain them throughout their life.