Yer Bonita's a fightin' fish

 Yer Bonita's a fightin' fish



   Just a sentence  typical of Greg's love for the sound of words and the richness of language. This was just an offhand remark that tickled the imagination of the man and was used randomly over decades. For Greg, phrases were like loved pop song lyrics that might resurrect when you were in the shower or driving home from the store. These words came from the Bobcat who was chillin' on Clarkson one day when his brother Allen returned from some fishing off of Huntington. It could have been from a boat or the pier. A.B. as he was known let Bob know "yer bonita's a fightin' fish!" He may have described it that way since most fish caught from the piers or surf fishing were not the kind of prize catches you might take on a deep sea fishing boat. The Paciific Bonito (almost always pronounced bonita in California)  are tuna-like fish with a cigar-shaped body, a large mouth, and a pointed head. They have a dark blue upper body that fades to silver below, with dark stripes on their back. Bonito can grow to be 31–40 inches long and weigh up to 24 pounds and are considered decent eating for fish lovers. While Greg was a man who enjoyed a nice piece of fish I never heard of him holding a fishing pole in his life. He did love a good sportsfishing turn of language though  like "yer bonita's a fightin' fish. Bobcat used it on Greg and the rest is history. He might preface the statement with a query like "you know something?" and then go to the bonita.



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