I quit watching the news. If I really want to be depressed I
can turn on any of the major news channels and they will tell
me how bad it is. Except it really isn’t. So there.
Yes, there was a bunch of sleazy stuff going on in the financial
institutions, but you know what? I suspect that sort of thing has
been going on for a long time, they just got caught this time. Are
the American automakers in trouble? Well duh.
Do you remember when you saw your first Volkswagen?
My husband JC and I are a bit older than some of you, but
he was working at Saginaw Steering Gear and driving a red
Volkswagen. And parking it in the parking lot there. Opps.
He was told “never do that again” or your job is gone. Maybe
they should have figured out their jobs were gone.
How many years has it taken for the American automakers to
figure out the big gas guzzlers are out? Sure there are people
who want to drive the biggest, badest vehicle they can buy.
So make it very expensive to buy - maybe a dandy federal tax?
It just burns me that yesterday everything was fine, today
some jerk from government says the financial institutions are
in big trouble and need a bail-out. Like when did they discover
that? Twelve hours ago? Maybe six months ago? And who
else is in trouble? Everybody. Why not? If there is free money
to be had, let’s all go get some. (You do know the free money is
your tax money, right?)
Okay, thanks for listening to my rant.
Here’s the thing; when times are good, people fish. They may
travel more because there is more ‘disposable’ income. But
when times are bad? People fish. They fish because it is their
connection with reality. Not a manufactured recession, real life.
For fly fishermen the fishing part isn’t absolutely necessary. One
can tie flies, clean fly lines, talk with a fishing buddy, do something
which keeps a person connected. Fly fishing isn’t a ‘hobby,’ it is
a way of life.
One of the candidates for president claimed people in Pennsylvania
“cling to their guns and religion” in times of stress. He doesn’t know
the half of it. Kirk Deeter in his column in Angling Trade said,
“I, for one, find flyfishing to be an even more important salve for
my soul when times get tough. I suspect you might rank flyfishing
right up there with beer and tobacco consumption in the context of
“fixes” most Americans will cling to, even in the toughest of times.”
I heard business is up at McDonalds. Does that mean people
who might have eaten elsewhere are eating there instead? If
the numbers at McDonalds and Wal Mart go down, then I will
start to worry. There is a difference between being conservative
with your money and not having any. I don’t mean not having
disposable income, I mean out of toilet paper and no money
to buy any. People in that situation aren’t eating at McDonalds.
Keep your values. The gloom and doom folks have always
been with us. From the farthest back I can remember, there
were always those who felt ‘we’ were going to hell in a handbasket.
The naysayers and others who can only discourage. They have
no ideas of their own, only negativity.
For the most part, those people are not fly fishers. Fly fishers
operate, function on hope, and blossom with positive thinking.
Start a little savings. Put your loose pocket change in a special
place each day. Set some goals for your spring and summer fishing.
Make some positive plans. Life goes on … let’s make sure
we’re ready to take advantage. ~ LadyFisher
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Originally published December 15th, 2008 on Fly Anglers Online by Deanna Lee Birkholm.