Fishing is a world apart from all others, and inside it are special worlds of their own--one is fishing for big fish in small water where there is not enough world and water to accommodate a fish and a fisherman, and the willows on the side of the creek are all against the fisherman.

This quote shows that just a small area of river with willows on the side are just a

scenery to some but an overwhelming task to a fisherman searching for a great catch.

They weren’t the biggest or most spectacular fish I ever caught, but they were three fish I caught because my brother waded across the river to give the fly that would catch them and because they were the last fish I ever caught fishing with him.

In this sentence Norman acknowledges that Paul is a btter fisherman, which he has known all along, and he gives his brother credit for wading all the way across the river just to give Nroman a fly that would catch the fish. Paul could have used the fly for himself and let Morman go home with an empty basket, but he didn't. Paul helped Norman in a loving brother sort of way. Little effort meant a lot.

Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters. 

This quote says alot about reality. Comparing this to a relationship between two people brings out the real meaning in this quote. The river represents some conflict between two characters created by a larger meaning (the world's great flood). In the quote it says that the river runs over rocks from the basement of time, this symbolizes the foundation friendship between the two people and this river will flow over it and not affect it very much. The timeless raindrops on some of the rocks represent unforgetable memories. "Under the rocks are the words", the words of life, in the foundation (basement of time) are the answers to conflicts that arise. Some of the answers can come from one party or the other, other conflicts will haunt them for the rest of time as the waters will haunt Norman.

"Help," he said, "is giving part of yourself to somebody who comes to accept it willingly and needs it badly. "So it is," he said, using an old homiletic transition, "that we can seldom help anybody. Either we don't know what part to give or maybe we don't like to give any part of ourselves. Then, more often than not, the part that is needed is not wanted. And even more often, we do not have the part that is needed.

No one is perfect. Everyone needs some help. Some people will take the help and learn from what they have done and change their ways to benefit their life. Others feel like there is nothing that helps and that the help being given to them cannot possibly effect the life they are living. In some cases the help people need is impossible to find. An example of this would be the loss of a very close family member. The help that would really help would to bring the person back  but that is impossible. Help can be provided by giving helpful memories but realizing and understanding that the person truly is gone, but this will only take the edge of the pain, but the heart will still die inside. Help as you can, but when there is nothing left just be by their side.