A Bucket List Check-Off …

Bucket List
BobLee
December07/ 2020

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December 7, 2020

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A Bucket List Check-Off … Sort of

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Did the term “Bucket List” even exist before the Jack Nicholson / Morgan Freeman 2008 movie of that name?  If not, what did we used to call “stuff I want to do someday”? … just “stuff I want to do someday”? Bucket List

Last week I enjoyed a special experience that might not have been on my Top Ten “Do Someday” List … but, upon being invited to do so … was promptly placed there … and summarily “checked off” upon completion.

I was invited by BobLee Buddy Bo to… 

Go Fly Fishing in a private trout stream in Western NC.

As you know, I have, over the past 5-6 months, become somewhat of a zealot in my passion for “fishing”.  But the fishing I have done locally in ponds and lakes for bass and “panfish” is to “fly fishing” as “playing slow-pitch softball” might be to “playing golf”.  While both softball and golf involve swinging a club … the techniques involved are totally different.

Fly fishermen – with the exception of BL Buddy Bo – tend to be “snobbish” when comparing their “elite” avocation to the rest of the fishing community… in the way that a Formula One driver might perceive a NASCAR driver.  That has nothing to do with the delightful experience Bo and I had Saturday week.  Just thought I would provide a bit of context.

Bo had all the specialized equipment – waders, boots, fly rods/reels, flies – and in-depth knowledge of where we would be fishing … behind two separate locked-gates and several miles down a rambling “two-track” including several “fordings”of the stream / river.

I expect everyone who visits this location makes reference to Deliverance due to its remoteness.  Millions of years of water and gravity has carved out a beautiful forested chasm with a portion of the Yadkin River suitable for an Orvis brochure.

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Bucket List

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Bo gave me a 30-minute “how to” since I had never held a fly rod in my life.  Imagine never holding a golf club and being given a 30-minute lesson on the driving range before teeing off at Augusta ???

30-minutes after Bo’s 30-minute “how to” I caught a 10″ rainbow trout.  Keeping with the golf analogy … I birdied #1 at Augusta.  Damn, this Fly Fishing isn’t so complicated.

If “Did you catch anything” is the only measure of a fishing experience – It Isn’t – then the rest of the day I was playing with house money.

Catching that 10″ “rainbow” was very cool but was NOT among the Top Two Highlights of the day.

In no particular order … those Highlights were … Managing to Not Fall Down in The Stream … and Getting to know Bo better … and see the passion he has for Fly Fishing … and For His Family.

Do not dismiss “… not falling down” unless you have waded mid-thigh-deep down a fast moving stream filled with slippery rocks while wearing the equivalent of a Fishing HazMat suit.

As for “Bo and his passions” … I am at that point in my life where I can be very selective with whom I choose to spend my time.  Bo Thomas met every qualifying criteria and then some.  We met 15+ years ago on a Fall Saturday in Kenan Stadium back when it was named for “the racist” and not for “son of the racist”.

Thelma Louise

When I was not concentrating on NOT falling down … Bo and I discussed and concurred on darn near every topic imaginable.  He has been a long time BLSays enjoyer so most of my opinions were already on-the-table.

Yes, we share a concern that “America” is a smidgen away from “going Thelma & Louise” and there is not much he or I can do about it… so let’s go fly fishing in a beautiful setting in Western NC.  Bo is also addicted to audiobooks and we share many of the same favorite authors.

Bo is also very proud of his wife of 40+ years and their two adult sons.  A man talking glowingly  – NOT Bragging – there IS a difference! – about his family may seem like “a given” to most of you.  It really isn’t.  But it oughta be.

You may recall that I gave up golf because 5-6 hours of what passes for “typical guy talk” depresses the hell out of me.

We spent almost 12 hours together – just the two of us and Mother Nature – and yes – “America going down the toilet” – IS a bummer but that aside … we shared life experiences and random thoughts that reaffirmed there ARE enough “good people” left to share a lifeboat with as The Titanic’s orchestra plays Nearer My God To Thee.

Who knows?  This may have been my one & only Fly Fishing experience.  It was “a good one”.

Now I can concentrate on Running With The Bulls at Pamplona and Climbing The Matterhorn.

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I notice that Mack’s Boys had their names back on their jerseys this past Saturday.  Was the “Social Justice” Thingie just for the national audience for the Notre Dame game?  I wonder if Mack has any criteria for what can / cannot be “said” on the back of a UNC Football jersey?  Would “Rich White Rams Are Racist” be allowed?  Does Mack have a clue what Black Lives Matter is REALLY about?  For sure “Ol Roy” doesn’t have a clue.  Can Roy even spell BLM?  Oh well … it’s all about blowing smoke up the butts of semi-literate 17 y/os … right Coach?

Am I the only one who thinks this convoluted College FB season is “a Bobby Ewing Shower Scene” or, at best, just a bunch of meaningless exhibition games?  Did The NFL Season ever start?

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My apology AGAIN for so long between BLSays commentaries. I PROMISE to do better.

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A show of hands of everyone having their THIRD Cornea Transplant this Tuesday morning at 7:30.  Huh … I must be the only one.

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More of BobLeeSays … CLICK HERE!

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