A story from shopping

Once, while I was still going to school, I got used to frequent visits to a well-equipped fishing equipment store in Sarajevo. It was like a crutch, a poor substitute for months of not going to the water, to fishing. And not only that, it was an enjoyment in many ways. The ability of the merchant boss could really see anything and everything. The most modern things from that world. The man simply enjoyed it, the procurement of equipment. It was as if he was waiting for the customer to ask for something, something that is not yet in his shop, so that he could get it as soon as possible. And so ... I find myself with him one morning, no crowds. A little through the story, he told me about places where he loved to fish and stuff like that. A potential buyer came in the door, it was immediately obvious that he was a keen fisherman. And according to the emphasis, it could be concluded that someone from the diaspora is a guest worker. He says that he lives in Austria, and that he likes fishing in Hungarian lakes. She loves perch hunting. And the man goes shopping: sonar (fishfinder) to track a school of fish at a distance, a transport engine lures the remote control. Then three sticks with a greasy price, made exclusively for perch. He also said what they call him there, and that is Zander, Saunder, Cander. He took two pairs of boots, a vest, a few caps, for winter and summer fishing. Box, purse, bag and net countless. I thought this was some hidden camera. That sonar had some forerunner of artificial intelligence in its software, it predicted some parameters, wind, weather forecast, whatever. Many years have passed since that event, it may not be the last word of technology and technique today, e.g. wireless, but during that time it was that. And the guy made a huge guild, threw a large sum of money on the table. I was embarrassed, whence me here at this moment. I am neither a store owner, nor a worker, nor a customer. I swear to you, the man spent the money, you could buy a nice used car, not to exaggerate, at least a motorcycle. A pile of purchased items covered all the free space on the store counter. The cash was handed to the merchant. That Austrian, and our man, called the taxi driver to come and help him get it all to the car. He did so and left. In the shops of silence for a few minutes. The boss rubbed his palms and with wide eyes said, "Oh, if there were customers like this only once a month, I would be a millionaire!"

It’s all wonderful, and is it true fishing? I mean, you follow shoals of fish on the screen, they're probably doing the same thing to drones now. Is there a charm to hunting and enjoying it? Too military approach, too artificial. But about that on another occasion.

Jednom, dok sam još išao u školu, navadio sam se na čestu posjetu dobro opremljenoj prodavnici ribarske opreme u Sarajevu. To je bilo kao neka štaka, siromašan nadomjestak za višemjesečne neodlaske na vodu, na pecanje. I ne samo to, bilo je to uživanje na mnoge načine. Sposobnošću gazde trgovca se zaista moglo vidjeti sve i svašta. Najsavremenije stvari iz tog svijeta. Čovjek je prosto uživao u tome, u nabavci opreme. Kao da je čekao da kupac nešto zatraži, ono čega još nema u toj njegovoj prodavnici, pa da nabavi u što kraćem periodu.
I tako... zateknem se ja kod njega jednoga jutra, nema gužve. Malo kroz priču, pričao mi je o mjestima gdje je volio pecati i tako te stvari. Na vrata uđe potencijalni kupac, odmah se vidjelo da je neki zagriženi pecaroš. I po naglasku se moglo zaključiti da je neko iz dijaspore, gastarbajter. Kaže da živi u Austriji, a da voli pecati po mađarskim jezerima. Obožava lov na smuđa. I čovjek krenu kupovati: sonar za praćenje jata riba na daljinu, motor za transport primame na daljinski upravljač. Zatim tri štapa s masnom cijenom, ekskluzivno napravljena za smuđa. Reče on i kako ga nazivaju tamo, a to je Zander, Saunder, Cander. Uze dva para čizama, prsluk, kačketa nekoliko, za zimsko i za ljetno pecanje. Kutijica, torbica, vrećica i mrežica bezbroj. Ja pomislih ovo je neka skrivena kamera. Taj sonar je imao neku preteču vještačke inteligencije u svom softveru, predviđao je neke parametre, vjetar, vremensku prognozu, šta li. Prošlo je od tog događaja mnogo godina, ne može to biti posljednja riječ tehnologije i tehnike danas, npr. wireless, ali za to vrijeme je bilo to to. I napravi frajer ogroman ceh, poveću sumu novca istrese na stol. Meni je bilo neugodno, otkud mene ovdje u ovom trenutku. Niti sam vlasnik prodavnice, niti radnik, a ni kupac. Kunem vam se, čovjek je potrošio novca, moglo se kupiti fin polovan automobil, da ne pretjeram, eto bar motocikl. Hrpa kupljenih stvari je prekrila sva slobodna mjesta na pultu prodavnice. Keš je uručen trgovcu. Onaj Austrijanac, a naš čovjek, pozva telefonom taksistu da dođe i pomogne mu sve to odnijeti do kola. Odradiše tako i odoše. U prodavnici tajac od nekoliko minuta. Gazda trlja dlanove i zacakljenih očiju reče: "Eh da je ovakvih kupaca samo jedanput mjesečno, ja bih bio milioner!"

Sve je to krasno, a da li je to istinski ribolov? Mislim, pratiš jata riba na ekranu, vjerovatno sada istu stvar rade i dronovima. Ima li tu čari lova i uživanja u tome? Previše vojnički pristup, previše izvještačeno. Ali o tome nekom drugom prilikom.