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Did Johnson Really Owe Harry for the Rod and Reel?

posted 16 years ago by gnolti
4 replies | jump to latest

Much as I enjoyed seeing Harry's devious fishing client get whacked, I have to say he may have had a point that the rod and reel were Morgan's risk and he should not have been charged extra for letting them fall overboard.

a.) It was Eddie, Harry's employee, who distracted Johnson with unnecessary chatter to begin with, causing him to lose focus;

b.) If his clients were responsible for his bait and tackle, they should have been insured, just as the boat itself would have been if he had let clients pilot it themselves.

Just a little speculation here. Or am I way off?

There, daddy, do I get a gold star?

[–] Mediumwest 15 years ago

reading the book currently, it states that Harry warned him multiple times to let the reel drag more to give the marlin more slack. Johnson ignored this advice several times, instead opting to tighten it.

In other words, Johnson didn't really understand what he was doing, but when he was advised what to do - he consciously opted to do the opposite because he felt he knew better than Harry did. Doing so, the rod and reel went overboard, and had Johnson had it snapped on using whatever safety device that was on it, he would have gone overboard as well.

It's a metaphor for the feeling that the poor, working class felt about the rich bankers at the time, which resonates today. Those idiots were told WHAT to do, felt they knew better, screwed up, lost everything we had, then walked away from the mess wiping their hands of it.

[–] nutsberryfarm 10 years ago

good post.

'A kitchen without a knife is not a kitchen.'- Masaharu Morimoto

[–] PillowRock 15 years ago

If his clients were responsible for his bait and tackle, they should have been insured

Customers are responsible for rented cars.

They have the option to purchase insurance to cover any accident that may happen. If they decline the insurance and total the car, they're responsible for the cost of the car.

Same thing applies to other rented items. If you damage a rented carpet cleaner, lose a rented DVD, break rented snow skis, or manage to destroy a rented canoe (I've seen it done) ...... you'll have to pay for it (or the repairs, if that's possible).

[–] Piperson 12 years ago

What gives weight to what Bogie says is that he is the guy saying it. If Bogie had told me I owed him I would have paid him on the spot.

Johnson was planning to skip out without paying anyway but he was the type of creep who had to argue the price on a bill he didn't intend to pay.