Cold Fish on YouTube

Cold Fish is one of the stories a lot of people ask me to help them find (it’s in the book They Shoot Canoes, Don’t They?), especially in winter. It highlights the wonderful relationship between Pat and his mentor, the cantankerous old woodsman Rancid Crabtree.

As a rule Rancid tries to avoid work at all costs. But he is also prone to inventing elaborate schemes to help him avoid said work, and in the process expends a lot of energy that, to an outside observer looks an awful lot like the kind of work he is probably trying to avoid.

In this story Pat and Rancid build a fish shack with a sail on it so the wind can help move the shack from one fishing hole to another. Of course it works a little better than anticipated.

2 thoughts on “Cold Fish on YouTube”

  1. Hello Lauren, I offer testimony to the calming effect of Pat’s stories on me. During my career as a deputy sheriff I naturally encountered varoius stressful situations. On some of my off duty days, I would settle into my comfy chair & lose myself in Pat’s stories, relax & laugh! It was an honor to exchange communication with Pat on an infrequent basis & I am proud to have some of his books autographed to me personally as a deputy. Thank you so much for taking on such a hudge task to compile the stories & help people find particular ones. I have all of Pat’s books & have gone through them all looking for the story called: A creek too far. or The creek too far. It’s easy to envision Pat in that story with his pals who eventually realize they’re all dead due to an accident. Please help with the story when you have the time. Thank you.

    1. Thank you for sharing your experiences, Alex. What you describe are the feelings I have—and that many more people have with Patrick’s stories. The story, “A Creek Too Far” is found in the book Kerplunk!

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