The old man and the C

the long version

Meet Charlie. He’s never been the luckiest fisherman on the coast, just the oldest (and to hear him tell it, the smartest). With his sun-seasoned face and vegetable brush beard, he looks like King Neptune himself. Charlie’s dream is to catch the biggest fish in the sea, so when Roger down at the bait shop announces the first annual Fish-or-Cut-Bait Fishing Tournament, Charlie signs up. In his trusty rowboat, the C-Worthy, with a squishy, squirmy little worm on his hook, Charlie goes to sea and sits patiently waiting for a Big Fish. But what he catches—after the battle of his lifetime—is not only a surprise to Charlie but to everyone at Roger’s Bait and Supply Shop. As a matter of fact, it means they’ll have to change the rules of next year’s tournament. Unlike Hemingway’s hero, Charlie turns his quest for a big fish into an amusing adventure that involves a bad case of the hiccups. Charlie turns his discouragement into triumph. This is a story of optimism, perseverance . . . and fisherman’s luck.