We have been very lucky in love.

It was thirty years ago today.    The first date.   One of us was divorcing, the other was six months out from the end of a relationship.   I can remember the beginning of our first date, but I can't remember it ever ending.   We have been together ever since the first 'clink' of the glasses that night.

Through the years, we hear people talk about how marriage takes "work".   We always look at each other, shrug our shoulders, and wonder, "are we doing something wrong?".   We have just always fit with each other.   Our individual wants and needs have always been closely aligned.   As have our hopes and dreams for ourselves and each other.

We were two people whose lives intersected by happenstance.   Now that I think about it, we were very lucky indeed, as well as, in love.

Some places are just down right perfect.

Once in a while, life is perfect at the very moment you find yourself in a perfect place. It all comes together and washes over you like a dream that you have wished for all your life. These are glorious times. Nothing can touch you. Your connection to the beauty of nature has such a solid bond, that for an instant, you feel you will never break away. You don't want to break away. And when you do feel its release, you go away savoring every detail of the memory. For a long time.

It's just another fish story.

It all started with that silly movie. You know the one. All the sudden every guy I knew wanted to be able to throw a fly line and tie the perfect flies. So when faced with the choice of becoming a fishing widow or joining the journey, I chose to go for the ride. And it was a long and bumpy one. I was not what you would refer to as a "natural". Quite the contrary. The first five years were pretty much skunked. That's right. Five YEARS! But I was determined and slowly but surely, I began to land fish. Or at least get them close enough to look them in the eye.

I remember my first fish, because it was my first. A respectable 16" trout. Then a couple years later, I remember that big hog wild rainbow (swear it felt like a salmon) that my buddy Bill had to help me land. That sucker jumped five times and almost spooled me. And now, I remember this one. It was my first lightweight (3 wt.) take and I was being cheered on by many of my favorite people as I brought this beauty in.

When I got started in this I really didn't understand the deal. But now that I've been doing this for ten years, I get it. Now that I think about it, fishing provides me the stillness that I need to balance out my ever moving, ever changing life! So here's to you my slimy, scaly, little (and not so little) friends. Thanks for the tight lines and quiet times.