The Ignorant Angler

I was going to call this piece the "Annual Report", but somehow I didn't think it right.  The title would have been borrowed from a piece that Gene Hill often wrote about his yearly endeavors.

"The annual report is a misnomer.  I don't know what it should be called, since it's a mishmash of glossed-over misadventures, distorted emphasis, selective memory, and a very human inability to face any facts that seem harsh, or unpleasant, or postponable." From "A Listening Walk, and other stories" by Gene Hill" 
So here it is, a few random thoughts about the year past and a few wishes for the next. With all due respect to Gene Hill and his fine writing.

I find ways to visit the spring creek more, yet find myself fishing less.  It's a treasure.  In the short time that I've been preoccupied with this blog, the creek has served as the subject for many posts. Few of the posts dealt with the great fish that I've caught (there have been few…

What would you do if you had planned an elaborate dinner and the guest of honor failed to show up? It happened just the other day.  I got up early, real early, o.k. ridiculously early, say before 3 a.m., just to make a special trip to pick up said guest of honor.   I drove a couple of hours in the dark, first on pavement, then on several miles of bumpy, pothole infested "road".  Then, it was boot sole time. Down one hill and up another, to our appointed meeting place.  Did I mention that it was steep? Along the way, I slipped, fell, and bruised my…."ego". Square edged rocks leave peculiar, persistent marks on ones butt.  My "ego" is still sore.

I had even offered to make it easy.   I offered to carry said guest all the way back to the vehicle. On my back. But he failed to show.  Bastard.

Maybe he didn't like wild turkey picatta.  Or a nice white sauce that included morels and fresh chives.  Perhaps it was the wild rice?  Surely it couldn't have be…