I took a walk around the lake in my town today...

...and noticed a sign by the shore that listed all the rules for fishing. There were quite a number of them, and since I don't fish I had no reason to read them. There was also a sign immediately below that said, Don't Disturb the Wildlife. This struck me as a little odd. If fishing isn't disturbing wildlife, what is it? Coddling wildlife? Pampering wildlife? I don't see how. As I understand it, fishing begins by digging a perfectly good earthworm out of the ground (that has thus far avoided being eaten by a bird) and impaling it on what must seem to him a huge metal hook. Sounds like something out of "The Sopranos." The night-crawler is then cast into the lake several times (which must be the equivalent of water-boarding to a worm) in the hope of deceiving some innocent sea creature. When an unsuspecting fish finally does chomp down on the hook he is then violently yanked with a pole from his marine home only to be manhandled by some beer-swilling lout, all the while trying desperately not to suffocate. Eventually he gets thrown back into the water, but now with a bloody gash in the roof of his mouth. Before, he had about a 21-day life expectancy. Now he has to worry about dying prematurely from tetanus. As for the worm, God knows what happened to him in all this. Oh well, just make sure you don't disturb the wildlife.