Caddis Chronicles

So, as is the norm in this abnormal world, I wasn't going to participate in The Fly Fishing Show this year and it was one of the best in all the years I've been there. Saw lots of friends, old regulars to the shop and met some new ones. Enjoyed some time talking to a couple of the masters of our fine sport, thanks to my being scheduled to be in the author's booth with them...thrilling and humbling at the same time. Here's to you Joe Humphrey's and Dick Talleur - you set the bar high for those of us that you inspire to pass along the "bug".

Here's a photo of some truly passionate trout bums enjoying the show. From L-R - BroadheadsCreek, CaddisChronicles, Hollywood76, OneMoreCast and CatskillLover - photo by ArthurKillSkim. Now, on to that asshole of assholes, Rush Limbaugh. Only a jackass of his proportion would say that he wishes that Obama fails. This guy represents exactly what is wrong with this country -too many selfish, self-important, arrogant, me, me, me, I'm right your wrong, no decorum or respect for others or self, and I'll say it without regard to whether it is devisive or not, because that hole in everyone's head but mine is too dumb to know otherwise........oh, and I'm getting paid the big bucks to make assinine statements on behalf of my network. SHUT UP!

I always wondered whether people like him that feel they have to yell the whole time they are speaking, behave that way because they have so little confidence in what they are saying that is the only way they feel that people will listen to them.

As much as could not stand W, I would have never wished that he failed either publicly or privately, as that is not the kind of thinking that made this country what is is today.

And finally, before one of the celebrities at the show began his presentation, he lamented that he was worried that when he passed away, his wife would sell all of his fly fishing gear for what he told her he paid for it! HA!

Life is good. Especially when you get to see tons of your friends and peers under one roof at the same event.

So, I thought I would take a break from speaking and tying at the big show this year after doing it every year since its inception - I think that was 1992. After buying a home and getting married in 2008, and speaking all over the place promoting my book, I thought maybe the program (and I) needed a rest to recharge my batteries and come up with new stuff. I didn't get the show sign up materials due to the move, and although it crossed my mind to look into it, it just didn't register strong enough for the reasons stated formerly and below.

In my mind, my material was getting stale, and I decided that it was better that I made that decision than someone else telling me it was getting old. I'm working on a new book, actually two, and figured by later this year I would have enough material for a fresh presentation and power point show.

Well, the fly show had other ideas and contacted me today. To make a longish story short, when opportunity knocks on the fly fishing door, you gotta open it and jump in. As of now, I'll be in the authors booth all three days signing bboks, doing a presentation on Saturday, and possibly tying and sharing some of my creations at other times. I may also be found tying at a Trout Unlimited booth or two.

Book signing times - Friday 1:00pm Saturday 3:00pm and Sunday 10:30am

My book and just about any other FF book you may want will be available at the show from - The Angling Bookstore: http://www.theanglingbookstore.com/

Presentation - Saturday 10:00am

For more info on the show: http://www.flyfishingshow.com/

Hope to see you there.

Live is good.

And this deli I was in yesterday says.........

Life is Good. The melting pot is alive and well.

It's five degrees outside and as I look out the bedroom window eastward, the bright, golden sun appears to struggle up from behind the horizon. Whispy, curling vapor rises in slow motion from the glassy, liquid surface of the pond, back-lit by the frail early morning light. As it rises, it fades as the cold, dry air breathes it in. Along the base of the hill where it meets the flat yard, several deer lie still, heads held high and their eyes half open and drowsy.

Somehow, all this makes me feel warm and full. Not because the climate of the house separates me from what I see and mentally feel, but simply because I am alive to experience and absorb the seasonal flows that nature so wonderfully brings each day, week, month, year.

It amazes me that the pond is free of ice. As though the warmth of the earth from which the water seeping in to the pond gets its heat is balancing out the coldness of the air above - the universe maintaining its balance. Yin-Yang.

Life is good. Feel the cold, breath it deep and be glad you are alive to experience it.

Yes, I'm back and ready to go. Hope the holidays were good for you and your travels were fulfilling, fun and entertaining.

Have you ever been to Africa? Beautiful place. Vast landscapes, wild animals and cultural variations that are found no where else in the world. If you have never been there, go at the first opportunity, you will not regret it.

Or the wilds of Western Canada? Also, an awesome trip - mountains, big rivers, trees and vast amounts of untamed land.....did I mention the fishing?

And if that isn't possible, go West. Montana, Wyoming, Idaho...........

Anyway, 2008 has come and gone and lots of stuff happened. I won't dwell on the obvious, but despite what many feel was a year to forget, I am most thankful for 2008. It was a good year from my perspective. My kids are doing well, I'm doing well, traveled extensively, bought a house after years of apartment living, and of course, I got married to a most wonderful woman.

What else??.................I hope I'm not boring you with this crap, but it's my train of thought now that I have a few minutes to sit and reflect. I won't be offended if you don't read this, but you'll miss some fine examples of literature.

Now for the highlights and lowlights of 2008 and what I learned if anything................in no particular order:

I really have only one lowlight, and this I only mention because it reveals the tenuousness of this one life each of us has the gift of. Early in 2008, one of my very favorite friends passed away at the early age of 48. No signs did fate show him, he just up and died one evening while watching a football game with his sons. And just this week, another dear friend passed away at the young age of 44 of cancer. She was only 44, full of life and humor, and only just beginning to raise her two young children. So, before I move on, there's only one life lesson here...........

The Future is NOW! Sure, I know, you've all heard it before. But have you HEARD it and Synthesized it in your gray matter? Live, love, seek, learn, see, feel, hear, taste every day as if it were your last. Oh, and laugh your ass off every chance you get........without regard for what anyone else may think.

Now for the highlights if I may:

A couple of books:

The Journals of Lewis and Clark - A vast, fascinating volume of a trip Jefferson entrusted to two bold pioneers. You think you have it hard some days? Forget it, you have no idea how good you have it. Read about what these two men and their companions went through traveling from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean and back from 1804-1806. Thanksgiving will have a whole new meaning for you.

Infinite Jest - David Foster Wallace - An intellectual hayride.......read at your own risk. Touching, ironic, bizarre, sardonic, serious, and absolutely hilarious throughout. I've never laughed so many tears while reading a book.

Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer - Wow, fascinating book about a bright, disillusioned, fatally determined idealistic kid. The sound track by Eddie Vedder is good stuff, too.

Music:

Lots of good stuff:

Oscar Peterson - All of it, digitally remastered...........jazz piano at its finest.

Ray LaMontagne, Scott Weiland, James Taylor, Eddie Vedder

The Buena Vista Social Club - Latin, can't understand the words, but the music is tight.

Stanley Jordan - State of Nature - This guy has chops..............still.

Life is good. Get out there and live it!