Monday, January 14, 2008

Listen to the river




Back when I was at Furman for undergraduate studies, I sometimes had a weakness for skipping out on western civ or poli-sci and hopping in the Jeep for a day of fly fishing in the middle saluda river up in Jones Gap State Park. Jones Gap is a valley in the mountain bridge wilderness area, and a river runs through it. The river, more like a creek, is home to native rainbow trout. I've only gotten the small dumb ones to bite, but I've heard tall tale of anglers pulling 14 inchers out of the Middle Saluda in Jones Gap before.

It's been over 6 years since then and for a while, my fly fishing went dormant. I explored other avenues of life and forgot about my passion for listening to the river. Over the past 2 weeks, I've found that passion again, this time in Columbia at the lower Saluda below the Lake Murray dam.

Unlike the spinner fishing I grew up on, fly fishing is much more about preparation and awareness. Hours of tying flies on Friday night make the trip to the river on Saturday that much more worth it...especially when you pay attention to the insects around you so carefully that you can tie on a fly that almost resembles them...

...and then it happens. A rainbow trout rises, popping at the surface to bite the Blue Wing Olive fly that you spent so much time perfecting the night before...

...as the line tightens against the fish you feel the world slow its spin...the wind through the trees and the sun off of the river seem to harmonize in a chord that only you can hear...and for just a moment, the world seems perfect...

it's the kind of perfection you experience in your wife's embrace

or from the look in a baby's eyes

I plan to keep listening to the river for a while, and see where it might take me.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Chicken Joe

So quite possibly one of my new favorite movies is "Surf's Up". Sounds like a cheesy Disney cartoon flick, but it's filled with so much philosophy that I really dig.

One of the main characters finds his way from being an up-tight, fame-hungry, out-to-prove-his-worth-to-the-world surfer...to a pretty laid-back guy just looking for some fun.

The other character that I can relate with is Chicken Joe. Quite the oposite of our high-strung hero, Chicken Joe has made an art out of relaxing and playing it cool.

So let us learn from Surf's up a bit.

Recently I've been spending my Christmas vacation at home...much unlike the Christmas vacations of the past, which have been filled with adventures here or there at break-neck speeds. Most of the time those adventures made me much more tired at the end than I was willing to admit.

During the break I spent a lot of time working on little projects around the house that ended up being very fulfilling in the long run...and I think I made my wife happy as well...which is always good for the soul!

All this to say "thanks" Chicken Joe. I'm a little older now...a little wiser hopefully, and a little more able to know that the trail will be there when I need it, but for now, it's good to sit back and enjoy the homestead for a while.