Semper Fly

Photo: Richard Gonzalez and tattoos. Collin Brown

Semper Fly: With Wounded Warriors In Quiet Waters -- Weekly Standard

Close after dawn and armed with a local map I take a stroll in empty fields, canyons, woods, but preferably near a creek or river because since childhood I’ve loved the sound they make. Moving water is forever in the present tense, a condition we rather achingly avoid. — Jim Harrison, Off to the Side


Bozeman, Montana

Nearly every fly fisherman I know is a celebrator of the absurd. You have to be to spend years of your life standing in cold water, flogging it endlessly with a plastic stick, hoping to outsmart a fish with a chickpea-sized brain by duping it with feather and fur. If you’re successful and conscientious, you will punch a hole through its mouth with sharp steel, play it to hand, admire its beauty or power, then gently return it to the water to swim away freely, as if this senseless blood pageant had never occurred. It’s a pastime that rewards those who don’t examine it too closely.

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My Comment: My father fought for four years with the Soviet army on the Russian front .... and so did many of his buddies .... but aside from talking about the war and drinking .... when they got together what they really enjoyed was going fishing.

It appears to make no difference on what side you fought for .... or what place in the world you are from .... the peace and tranquility of nature is the best long term therapy for all wounded and traumatized vets.

Hat Tip to D. Wood for this wonderful story and making me remember by dad this Father's Day weekend.