OLD FRIENDSHIPS

August 23, 2010

We had dinner Tuesday night at the Sport (remember that menu from last week’s column?) with nephew Tom Travis, the Vicar. Robert Spaigth and his lovely wife Ann from the north of England and a couple I had not met before, Lynn and Buck Crawford adopted Montanans like so many of us. Robert and Ann have been staying a ‘fortnight’ with Lynn and Buck in their guest house, which is north of Livingston, while they fish around the area with Tom as their guide.

My husband Trav introduced the late Castwell and I to Robert back in 1995 at the FFF Conclave held here in Livingston that year. Robert is a life member of FFF and was, as I recall, doing something in an official capacity as a representative of the UK FFF. We were all terribly excited about doing something about a national - international casting teaching program at the time. Castwell and I were involved in that and later Tom was also involved in this program.

Robert wrote a series of articles for the now defunct Anglers Journal which Trav edited, usually on historical fly fishing figures, including their flies and how to fish and tie them. After we started FAOL I called Robert in England and asked if he would also write for us. He was very blunt about his dislike for anything computer and declined. He later wrote me a lovely note explaining it wasn’t anything personal he just hated computers. He hasn’t gotten much better with them, and answers email once a month or so if he’s in the mood. He still holds his solicitors license but does not practice law now, managing thirty churches across the north of England takes up more time than he has - and he didn’t fish in the UK this past year at all. His fishing is done here. Ann started her fly fishing career here and doesn’t fish at home at all. She actually is a good caster and did very well in the catching department.

A picnic lunch with friends

We had a very nice picnic lunch with them at DePuy Spring Creek a week or so ago when they had booked rods (and Tom) for the day. They also spent a day in the park (YNP) and a couple of days on Henry’s Fork. They have worked out a schedule, fish a day and take a day off to do tourist stuff. It does get intense to fish hard every day, and all of us have grey hair. Trav and I saw them briefly last year when they were here - but how nice to still be able to carry on an intelligent conversation although we haven’t been in contact since then. Tom has of course, but we just picked up as if we had seen them yesterday.

I had an email from another old friend, CDR Walter (Sonny) Dinkins, Command Chaplain NR-Medical Support Command Bethesda. Sonny is a fishing buddy from the Chico estuary in Silverdale WA who was for a couple of years the Chaplain at Sub Base Bangor WA. We spent some quality time chasing and catching chum salmon. We’ve kept in touch - I think the last contact was about a book he has written, Red Fish On A Fly. I haven’t read it yet, he will send me one and I’ll let you know about it then. However, he was writing to ask if we would be willing to do something to help the Wounded Warrior program again. He knew we were involved with the late John Colburn in getting materials, and tools for teaching fly tying to the Wounded Warriors which John started also at Bethesda. Trav and I will be in West Yellowstone next week for the FFF Fly Fair (renamed conclave) and maybe I can get the attention of someone there to do something substantial to get the Wounded Warriors out fly fishing two times a year through the local/regional FFF chapters. Stay tuned, I have asked Sonny to do an article for us on this. If you are a vet - or a FFF member (or both) you might start looking at what your local group can do. 

My whole point here is there just is nothing like the friendships one develops through fly fishing. I keep saying the nicest folks in the world are fly fishers, and I really believe that. We have met so many people over the years who are still friends - a lot before we started FAOL, and just tons since. The Fish-Ins have been responsible for much of that, because you do get to know folks on a more personal level than just via the Internet. So many people, some who don’t come to the website every day, but who stop by often enough to know what is going on. Occasionally I will receive an email from someone who didn’t see that JC had passed, or one recently who just discovered that Al Campbell was gone. I can’t much help that, but I do feel sorry for their loss.

As you know we get books to review from a variety of publishers, and while there will always be new authors, it really is interesting the number of books we have by people we know. Not every one of course, but a bunch. All part of that friendship thing. Maybe it is because the fly fishing world is very small, comparatively.

We’ll touch bases with more folks we haven’t seen in a while next week - and if you see us there and we haven’t met, please stop us and introduce yourself. I’d hate to lose the opportunity to meet another potential friend.

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