Some Excellent Advice

Everyone has heard (and understands) that old adage “Don’t eat yellow snow”! Here’s a few other equally important admonishments to ponder:

• Never wake a sleeping dog by poking it under the tail with your toe.
• If the deal seems too good to be true, it probably isn’t.
• While it is certainly a good idea to keep yourself healthy, always remember that being healthy is merely the slowest way to die.
• If you are feeling blue, start breathing again.
• Be careful when you consider taking up a “hobby”. The word “hobby” is very often just a word to disguise what is really an obsessive-compulsive-disorder.
• Be careful what you say to people. You never know which words you might have to eat.
• Consider the pain when you really want something; We usually contemplate the pain of not getting what we want. However, often we discover there is also pain when we do get what we want.
• Be cautious of a gift with strings attached, that is not a gift, but an arrangement.
• Yesterday is dead and gone; tomorrow hasn't yet arrived. Therefore, there is really only one day. Be happy in it.
• If you can't have what you want, then want what you have.
• Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.
• Oh yeah… and don’t eat yellow snow!

Going Back…

They say that you can never go back again. For the most part, I guess that I agree with that. The one constant in life is that nothing is constant; there is always change. But in a way, I am going back… and I’m really enjoying it. As I described in an earlier post, I am finding my way back to fly fishing, practiced (poorly) for many years, and abandoned when time became a precious commodity to be used for other things.

I procured my fishing license ($19 at the local WalMart) which cedes me the official blessing to try to capture any of those various elusive fishies which reside in Ohio’s lakes and waterways. I gathered up all my new equipment – rod, reel, tackle box, belt pack, etc., etc… all the assorted junk we fishermen seem to think we need. (Notice that I count myself as a fisherman now, but this is yet to be proven.) Oh, and my wife’s dog too. I wanted an audience to approve of my successes, but I didn’t want anyone who could laugh at my failures. The dog worked fine. And I headed to the nearest lake. I picked a weekday afternoon – less people to see me (see above about laughter) and no crowd near the water’s edge leaving me plenty of room for my back casts.

Well I had a ball. Most of the old skills are coming back. I was able to get the line out there for 50 to 60 feet and even handled the wind fairly well. I did have a few line pile-ups when my timing was off, and I got a few “wind knots” in my leader from getting my loop too tight; but all-in-all, the dog didn’t laugh too much. It was fun! I didn’t catch any fish, but I did get a few strikes on my fly which is encouraging and fun. The dog had a good time too.

I’ve gone out once again since then too. The second time I took my wife and both dogs. It was OK, the laughter was minimal. I guess the sum result is: Who cares if you make a fool of yourself, as long as everybody has fun.

This is really taking me back. Back to those days when I rode my bicycle for miles just to spend the afternoon fishing. Back to my first tentative casts with a hunk of flyline on a pole.

Who says that you can’t go back. Phooey on them!

Tommy and The Squidge
Tommy was the ruler over all that he could see;
The beds and dishes all were his, and all the toys were free.
Of treats and snacks, he claimed them all, and wolfed them down with glee;
And picked the lap on which to lie and sleep so peacefully.
For many years he reigned supreme, and planned to never end;
For Tommy’s world was as he wished, on this he could depend.

But suddenly the Squidge arrived, invading Tom’s domain;
He’s short and long, with silky hair, and Toby is his name.
He plays with all of Tommy’s toys and sleeps in Tommy’s bed;
And eats Tom’s food and steals the snacks and wants to rule instead.
Squidgy has the world upset and Tommy is chagrined;
But even though he rules no more, his love he’ll not rescind.