"We think of them with lasting gratitude; we miss them with lasting love; and we pray for them. And we trust in the words of the Almighty God, which are inscribed in the chapel nearby: 'I give unto them eternal life, that they shall never perish.' God bless."
Heading to Florida tomorrow to take care of some business, and evidently I was in need of some river therapy today as my wife ordered me to go fishing. Being the obedient type, I went. I thought these pictures were kind of cool. The water wasn't quite clear enough for good underwater shots, but I took advantage of the waterproof camera to try and get an interesting point of view.
Project Healing Waters helps wounded members of our armed forces rehabilitate their bodies and minds by teaching and participating in fly fishing and fly tying. The PHW first annual 2-Fly tournament and fundraiser was held yesterday at the beautiful Rose River Farm in Syria, Virginia. The weather was perfect and we had a great turnout. So many volunteer man-hours go into putting something like this together you could never calculate it! But the day was a huge success. Here are a few photos from the day... (above is all the wounded warriors who participated in yesterday's event.)
This might just look like a piece of paper with a bunch of marks on it. But what it really is, is a Good Day. Friday night before Preakness I printed this out, along with the past performances of all the horses running at Pimlico Saturday, and I made my picks. There were no odds listed, so I didn't know if I was picking favorites or longshots. My handicapping capability is sketchy at best, but I like to try it anyway.
I was impressed with Street Sense in the Derby, and he'll certainly see some of my money tomorrow. But I think early Derby favorite but then quickly forgotten Curlin (pictured above) might win tomorrow's Preakness. (Keep in mind, my Derby pick finished 8th.)
I was behind a stunningly beautiful car today. I didn't recognize the logo, so I got up next to it, close enough to see 'DB9' on the back, and a luxurious leather and amazing wood interior getting ruined by cigar smoke from the midlife crisis havin' driver. I looked it up when I got back to a computer and it's made by Aston Martin. The price tag is about what you'd expect by looking at the car: Out of range. You can get one for about $170,000. 
Today was the kind of Sunday I needed very badly. A beautiful day, spent with a friend, surrounded by nature. The fishing was not stellar, but the therapeutic value of the day can not be underestimated. I needed to stand in cool water and warm sun, and feel the tug of life at the end of the line. This, without question, counts as church for me.
My Mother passed away last night, suddenly, though she had multiple health problems. Last year for Mother's Day I wrote this for her, and it pleased me greatly to see that she had it framed and hanging in her bedroom. This year the gift becomes a tribute. Odd place for it, maybe, but this journal is about who I am, and I am that person because of my Mom.I recently held a hummingbird in my hand. He had accidentally flown into a window and fallen, unconscious, on the ground in front of a busy doorway. He looked like nothing, upside down, his white belly close to the color of the concrete beneath. But something made me look closer, and when I picked him up he moved a bit.
I moved him away from the human traffic, and sat on a nearby bench. Alive. Stunned, but with no visible injuries. His eyes opened, and I gave him the opportunity to fly from my open hand. He politely declined, and with an invisible gesture asked for a little more time to gather his wits. I assured him – by holding my hands in a way that he was protected and secure, but could leave if he chose to – that this was now the most important thing in my day, and if he needed all day he could have it.
So we sat there. Him clearing cobwebs and me just thinking, how lucky for me to have the opportunity to hold a hummingbird in my hands. How lucky for this bird that I came along.
My thoughts drifted back many, many years. Back to the house I grew up in, back to an injured bird in the gutter in front of that house, and back to my Mother. A shoebox, some paper towels, a lamp. It was exciting, I thought, to have part of the outside world sitting here in a box on the dining room table. I asked her how long before the bird would be better. She was a nurse, after all, clearly she knew how to fix a bird.
I wanted to name it.
When she told me that she wasn’t confident the bird would get better (it wouldn’t), I remember instantly distancing myself from the bird emotionally. I felt like I had dodged a bullet narrowly by being moments away from deciding on a name.
My Mother, of course, saw instantly what I was doing and we had what stands now as my Earliest Remembered Meaningful Conversation. She asked, as a nurse, what would happen if she stopped caring about patients who were not getting better? Patients who were going to die? They needed her more than ever during those times.
I was young, I don’t recall how young. And I don’t recall the words she used to express and make me understand compassion. And Lord only knows how she made it be a part of me. But that’s how it is with these things. You can’t identify how it is that your Mother makes you who you are, exactly. But you know that she did.
And now so many years later, on Mother’s Day, I think about how at many other moments in my life my Mother taught me. Showed me. Shaped me. Held me, protected me, and gave me room to fly away. And I hope she knows that I noticed. That I remember. That the only thing I really forget is to thank her, and for that I am sorry.
With a big smile and a full heart, I watched my hummingbird finally gather himself, walk with his little feet to the edge of my palm, and fly away.
I am my Mother’s son. For that I’m glad and for that I’m proud. Happy Mother’s Day.
England's Heather Jansch Makes amazing horse (and other) sculptures out of driftwood. I get, as everyone gets, a ton of crap forwarded to me via email, but these really caught my eye. Beautiful. Visit this web site and see many more great sculptures.
Today was going to be the day I took my brand new Sage Z-Axis -- and some new techniques -- to the river to try for the first smallmouth of the season. But I woke up with a touch of that flu I always get the day after enjoying a wedding reception. The combination of that and the fact that it was really, really windy, almost caused me to bag it. But early afternoon rolled around and I just had to try this rod out, wind or not.
I put on a white and red streamer my buddy Matt recently gave me, took some line out, and made a down and across cast into a seam that had produced fish for me before. I let the streamer swing at the end of its reach, began stripping it in and BAM! I caught the first smallmouth of the year on the very first cast with my new smallmouth weapon!! He wasn't that big, and the glare was in the camera so I couldn't see the display. Bottom line: I didn't get a good picture. But at that moment, that Sage rod caught a fish every single time it had been cast into water. 
All in all, a really enjoyable afternoon. The rod worked great in the wind. I was worried that the 7 weight wouldn't be as much fun as the 5 with a fish on, but this 9'6" rod is quite sensitive, and these larger smallmouth were a LOT of fun with this rod. And the quality of fish that I caught today was remarkable. I don't catch huge 20" smallmouth like I've seen pictures of, fish like the one at the top of this post are as big as I've ever caught, and I caught three that size today. I am hopeful and optimistic this is going to be an exciting smallmouth season!
Well I never get this right. But this year my Kentucky Derby pick is Any Given Saturday. Trained by Todd Pletcher, this horse has the blood of some of my favorite race horses of all time running through his veins: A.P. Indy, Spectacular Bid, Seattle Slew.
My Sage Z-Axis arrived today and it is beautiful. 9'6" 4-piece 7-weight. It's a perfect match with my Orvis Battenkill Large Arbor IV (a discontinued size that was always too small for my 8-weight) loaded with Rio Grand fly line. A little time in the wind in the back yard when I got home gave me reason to be optimistic that it won't take me long at all to get used to this fast action rod.
