Nature Done Wright

Ever since watching (and hearing) master pisher Rob Fanning work his magic at the Celery Farm, I have aspired to be a pisher.

I even bought Pete Dunne's magnum opus on the subject, "The Art of Pishing."

Despite my best efforts, I have had mixed results at best.

As Stiles Thomas taught me,  I use the term mostly for bad puns (is there any other kind?).  See Jerry Barrack's photo above, which features a sign that says "No pishing," often misread as "no fishing."

While reading one of David Moldawer's weekly essays on writing ("The Maven Game"), I discovered another meaning.

Moldawer began his essay this way:

"Last week, I misspelled meshuggaas. It was a real meshuga thing to do. What a pisher I am."

I wondered: What does misspelling words have to do with making sputtery noises to attract birds?

It turns out that the first online definition of "pisher" is:

"An inexperienced person or someone of no or little importance." Yiddish.

Oy vey! Back to Square One. When it comes to being a pisher, I guess I am one.