by Andy Weddington
Sunday, 01 May 2016
I'm interested in how innocence fares when it collides with hard reality. Geoffrey S. Fletcher
Last week reality, for the most part, set aside; in a sense.
After hundreds of miles of lonely desert highways and byways, rainbows the reward. And browns. A trout stream, that is, the pot of gold.
The weather sunny. And cloudy. And windy. And chilly. And rainy. And icy, too. The fish cared not. Nor did we.
We, my brother and I, landed trout. Some required a net.
I painted, too, a baker's dozen. More intended but big finicky trout favored the tiny drifting fly. Fish while the fishing's good.
For five days, I mimicked the casual life of yesteryear's outdoorsmen (John Singer Sargent; Winslow Homer; Frank Benson; and Roy Mason first come to mind) who wielded rod and brush.
'Changing Flies'
11 x 14 in. acrylic
Bit and pieces of reality - news - came along at the end of each long day wading the cold waters.
So there was time to mull things over before sleep and the morning next before again focusing on trout and paint.
Then backtracking over hundreds of miles of asphalt, quiet time to settle on a few thoughts about the bits and pieces of reality.
Donald Trump. His California appearances are missed opportunities - for evicting trespassers (the term "illegal immigrants" hogwash). Surely many showing up causing trouble, including destruction of private and public property, should be herded and unceremoniously escorted to the border. Build the wall - physical and virtual - Mr. Trump. And carry out evictions.
Ted Cruz. He's Al Lewis (Grandpa) and the image of him brewing bubbling concoctions in the Munster mansion basement is how I see him. His recipe of announcing Carly Fiorina as his running mate as kooky and desperate as anything coming out of Grandpa's lab. And an explosion looms.
Hillary Clinton. The most amoral, unprincipled, unethical, detestable human being in my lifetime. It'll take some doing to top her. Unlikely.
Marines. The 30th woman who attempted the Infantry Officer Course was dropped after less than two weeks. No surprise. Another female who, too, did not complete the course wrote a couple years back the deck is stacked against the women. In reply to the Marine who sent me the article...
"Santangelo's [2ndLt Sage] claim "the deck is stacked against the women..." is correct but her thinking is twisted ergo she garbled the arrangement of her words - reality is, courtesy of Mother Nature, most women are stacked and that is problematic to conquering the deck of cards, also derived from reality, dealt in tough training. Men play poker, go fish, and war. Women? Hearts."
I guess it's possible a woman could dunk over LeBron James but probably not - as in never.
Women in ground combat, especially the infantry, is just dumb.
Public restrooms. Yesterday on talk radio I heard a recorded conversation between a heterosexual male and a manager at a Target. As follows...
Male customer (to Manager): "I just want to make sure before doing so that it's okay for me to use the women's restroom?"
Manager: "Yep, sure is. No problem. That's our policy."
Male customer: "Okay. I just didn't want to go in there and a woman have a problem with it."
Manager: "Well, if she does, we'll set her straight."
Nuts! Law should now require a sign posted outside all public restrooms: Enter at Own Risk!
Hollywood elites et al., are threatening to leave America if Mr. Trump is elected president. Good! Less pollutants.
Barack Obama. He claims to have saved the world's largest economy (as an accomplishment). Hilarious! The man is a (presidential) train wreck. And has caused the largest comprehensive derailment (including our economy) in American history. Untangling his domestic and international mess will require decades.
In conclusion...
I may not wait six months to again wet fly line and paint aside the gurgling water - a place where the primitive heads are clearly marked "Men" / "Women" and the fishermen and fisherwomen comply. How about that, civility in the wild. Maybe those heads are better marked "Rods" / "Reels".
In the meantime, might America get real again?
As patiently as waiting for trout to strike, eyes wide open for indicators.
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1 comment:
Bravo, Bravo Col Andy. Another that hits home. As you know I, too, am an avid "match the hatch" aficionado. Have not had the opportunity to attempt the match in many years. High on my bucket list is to return to my prior residence in Roscoe, MT and wet a fly in the East Rosebud one last time. Where may I ask was your latest attempt to match and paint. And as always you hit the nail square on the head as to your thoughts while fishing and driving. Am being hounded by a liberal wanting to discuss "things," a retired Marine to boot. Amazing. But I do not discuss anything with liberals it is, in my view, a total waste of time. Of what benefit may be derived? I find that while I am willing to "discuss," theirs is always to change me. Unfair and as I said a waste of my valuable time I have left in this world.
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