Originally Posted by
Joe Valencic
JL,
Yes, many of us are crazy and have the papers to prove it (including yours truly). I live here only because my bride wanted to be close to her people, but now most of them have passed away except for two sisters and some relatives we only see at marryins and buryins. We don't count the kids as holding us back, because they'll find us no matter where we live (loans and meals).
I will say one thing about the changing seasons. You cannot beat it for its beauty. When the first flowers poke their heads through the last of the snow, you know the transformation has begun. The barren branches on the deciduous trees begin to show their buds, and you watch each day as the leaves mature and the canopy once again fills to provide a cool shadow for the warm days ahead. The splendor of the leaves changing colors in the Fall is so spectacular that people schedule their vacations just to drive through the deciduous forests and soak in the beauty before the trees once again fall back to sleep for almost six months.
Changing seasons give you something to look forward to, knowing that your entire surroundings will transform before your very eyes, and each season has its own special beauty. Yes, even the dead of winter you can find beauty in a wall of icicles on a river-side cliff, or a frozen waterfall on a backwater tributary. Its only boring if you allow it to be boring, because there is much to see and enjoy, you just need to get off your butt, bundle up and go looking.
I agree that some folks here get waaaaaayyyyyyyy to serious about fly fishing. I try to give them a wide berth, because that's the way they are about their lives as a whole. I have a friend that thinks it's heresy to put away a fly rod without going through a ritualistic cleansing and drying with special cloths and fondling prior to neatly rolling it into its chamois shroud and gently inserting it into its properly ventilated container of appropriate length (can't allow it to shift in the tube). I drive him crazy (intentionally) when I lay my rod in the back of the truck and head on down the road to the next fishing hole. I could easily slide it into its travel tube, but he feel so good about himself and his special ways of doing things after a day with me, that I just can't see depriving him of this unique pleasure. Besides, I don't believe in spending a lot of money on equipment, because it's ME that catches the fish, not the $600 rod or $500 reel. If the darn thing breaks I'll just build or buy another one. Ain't no big thang.
The winter Shack Nasties can get ugly on all fishing boards, and it's really kind of fun agitating the natives. I get a simple pleasure from doing this, and feel I'm doing my part to keep their blood pumping.
So much for my morning ramblings. Time to get ready for work.
Joe
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