We Digress

ANTICIPATION REIGNS

A Return To Childhood

foreign to fly fishers

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.. Each year at this time our fragile psyche and it's inherently schizoid perspective is torn between the opening of fishing in Yellowstone National Park and the Indianapolis 500 Race on Memorial Day.

.. For most fly folks it's a "no-brainer." For us, it recalls the radio and a central event in our nation's culture, (far less now than then,) and a simple childhood that was not cluttered with the nagging minutia of adult life.
.. That period of fourteen lustra past is stuck in our fiber. We remember the names and brands and events with sunburst clarity. "Memorial Day" brings them back.
.. Some memories are fuzzy at our age. Some are gone: we're sure. Some burst into our head - unbidden and hoary. They were forgotten. But some are enduring.
.. Through the decades, for us, baggage was added to "Memorial Day."
.. It got confused with "Armistice Day," "Decoration Day," "Veterans Day," and other death and dying memories in our young and growing gray matter.

.. Yet throughout the fuzz in our brain about the meaning of the day, one thing remained persistent and constant: "The Race."
.. And, so it is today. We could have waited to vent for another month or two but there is a gut-rumbling tremor in the world of Indy Cars.

.. Chevy, a marque once associated with "AMERICANA" has been bailed out by our government and has returned to racing in grand style.
.. They are making engines, (along with Roger Penske,and Llmor Engineering,) to compete in the Indy Car Series. And they are winning. Forget the similes and metaphors; this interests us.
.. The twin turbo, direct injection, alloy engine rumbles instead of whines. It is corn-fed on ethanol, and it's not a V-8.
.. We're not beguiled because it's 'Chevy,' not because it's GM, not because it's a touch of Spring, but because the race and the marque are a bit of our Americana.

.. For instance: William C. Durant, (founder of GM,) Louis Chevrolet, Gaston Chevrolet, Frontenac, Offy, Belond, Meyer-Drake, Granetelli, Marmon, Jimmy Clark, Back Home Again in Indiana, Eddie Rickenbacker,  Tony Hullman, Janet Guthrie, Borg-Warner, Milk - and so much more are nailed to the race.
.. We've already made up our mind, (in a fuzzy sort of way.) We'll tune in on Saturday, listen until noon or so and then make a brief foray into Yellowstone National Park, (weather be damned!) On Sunday we'll get up way too early, briefly visit the park and return home in time for the green flag on the radio.

.. It bespeaks mountains of information about our psyche that opening day and race day are a full two months away and we're already agitated.
.. What flies? What starting grid? What rod? What station? Which run? What snacks? Which Cigar? Which single malt?
.. We've got two months to figure it out. Hell, in that time the MFWP will have already guaranteed the world perfect harmony and beautiful leisure experiences to all in our fair state.

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Memories

MANY MILES GONE

Many Miles To Go

maybe another trip or two this year ?

Click on image for large view.

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.. This fine old warrior was completed from a Ray's River Dories kit in May of 1995. It's been a guide's boat ever since and is a one owner craft.
.. Of course it was a community project. Friends pitched in with expertise and honest labor. Many a cold one was enjoyed after the labors of the day. Stories abound and are frequently recalled in the neighborhood. Remember when . . . ?
.. The outfitter that owns the boat remembers the first client, in this boat, during the second week in May of 1995 on the Big Horn River. It was just a month before his son was born.
.. Rough calculations place the river miles at about 40,000. That's not counting trailer miles or leisure trips with colleagues and friends and neighbors. It doesn't count lake time either. Most of those miles have been on the Madison River.
.. Like all the beloved accoutrements of any pleasurable pastime the memories pile up. Rods, reels, vests, waders, etc. have remembered stories. Occasions of warmth, occasions of despair, occasions of just plain exhilaration. So too this old boat.
.. It's a rare thing for a guide / outfitter to keep a boat for 15 years - and more. The boats are tools, they get used hard and must stand up to the rigors of every thing that can be thrown at them: from heavy coolers, to portly first-timers, to hidden rocks this little stallion has seen it all.
.. We wonder how many times the little craft has heard, "STAY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BOAT!"
.. Only those that know, covet this rig. It's been continuously upgraded and maintained. It's heavy enough for big water and nimble enough for anything that can be thrown at it. If you can drive a boat this is the one for you. BUT - it's not for sale yet.

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It Can Get Cold