"If there is any merit to my thesis that wildness can be transmitted from one species to another over something so tenuous as a fishing line, then it seems our connections to what little wildness and wilderness is left in our world should be even more precious to us than any of us have yet realized.

"To mirror the fishes we angle for one last time, it seems to me that we all need wildness - deep in our souls, but also at our fingertips. We need ready access to it. We need to be able to touch this wildness, to call it forth when we need it, up and out of the padded cell in which we keep it locked for civilization's sake.

"On those days when we feel gang hooked ourselves, and are headed inexorably toward the gaff or landing net, we need to call upon our wildness to struggle to break away, to right ourselves, and to make good our dash to freedom.

"Thank you, Dr. Pavlov."

-- Paul Quinnett; "Pavlov's Trout"; Page 35
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