Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/812511
S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S • 101 Punk TrouT punk trout picked up a guitar. Then others added drums, and all hell broke loose. A tribe of angry young people, somehow entranced by the fish, banded together into small groups and started banging on instruments to make music, apparently without benefit of instructions or practice. Studio microphones and furniture were suddenly in peril. Young people called it music; parents called it noise. On hearing the term Sex Pistols, older Americans thought it must be something like Viagra, only firmer and with more explosive results. And weren't the Ramones that nice Hispanic family down the street? On the other side of the growing cultural divide, the young could be forgiven on high school exams when, asked to name a deceased American president, they frequently said Frank Sinatra, thus earning half-credit for being half-right. The punk trout mellowed with the music, or so scientists say. And, after several studies, it is clear that the punk trout is not a dangerous fish at all. It is not mean or aggressive. It has never committed a felony. Beneath all that show and color and outrageous appearance is a mild-mannered, fun- loving, and perhaps temporarily confused trout who did not wish to be different, but only to love and be loved in return. To understand how chronic mouth pain interferes even with the joy of eating, and how it can change a creature's behaviors down in the limbic system, imagine trying to finish lunch at Sardi's in New York City after you have seriously stuck the tine of an olive fork between your central and lateral incisors. Not only can't you get it out, but Sardi's doesn't carry toothpicks. Bleeding and uncomfortable, and with half an overpriced steak sandwich still lying on your plate, you muster a clever query of your date, "So, I wonder if this is A look at a rare and virtually unknown species of gamefish. By Paul Quinnett illustrations & Photos By Deanna CamP S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S • 101