Went to the bank today to transfer some funds. The teller was a young man who noticed my FAOL hat, and asked me if I was a flyfisherman. I opened my mouth to reply with the automatic response that I've given in the past, and wanting to be entirely truthful, I hesitated for a few uncomfortable moments while I asked myself the same question. The hesitation was prompted by the fact that I'd been fishing only twice this year, and one of those times didn't count. The first time was from a boat on a reservoir, trolling leech patterns, and the second time I was wading, and the wind was blowing so hard that the cast wouldn't go anywhere near where I wanted it to go. I've caught two fish this year, and both were on flies trolled from a boat. In reply to his query, I mumbled something on the order of: "Well, I used to be". I half-heartedly explained that it was due to age and infirmity, not wanting to go into any detail of my excuses for not being "out there". I'd be lying if I said that they were valid reasons. I've got bum knees, and my balance on a slick rocky bottom is pretty shaky. My wife is disabled and needs help every day, and has become another built-in excuse for not doing what it takes. So, the questions jumps to the forefront of my mind. Can I call myself a flyfisherman? Do I need to turn in the hat? Have I got the gumption to do what it takes to mitigate the obstacles and try to rekindle some of the fire that I used to feel? I look at the posts on this board, and suffer pangs of envy that I'm not willing, or am unable to do most of the things that everyone else is doing and enjoying. My old passion was flipping dry flies to trout in small streams and rivers, which entails hiking and climbing and busting through the willows. I know that I could still do some of that if I would just get out of the Lazy Boy and get to the gym and work on getting some tone on and some weight off, and work on the joints and ligaments. I know how tough that can be when you're my age, but the phrase from "Andy", in the Shawshank Redemption comes to mind. "Get busy livin', or get busy dyin'." Differing circumstances, but I think if works. You're not a truck driver if you don't drive trucks. You're not a skydiver if you don't jump out of airplanes. You're not a fly tyer if you don't get on the vise, and you're not a flyfisherman if you don't fish with flies. It's something you used to be. I'm not quite ready for that, so I'm working up the resolve to do something about it. You're not gettin' my hat back yet!!