What I learned on the river was joy

Went fishing yesterday.  The water was almost to warm for trout, and what few trout we saw, were very tight lipped.  I was basically just enjoying the casting.  A mindless endeavour that just seemed to occupy my time until we left.  Not that my heart wasn't in it, it just didn't feel "trouty" enough for me.  I tried every bug puppet in my box with empty results.  Just one of those days.

About an hour before I clipped and headed to the car, I spotted a man on the far bank carrying a folding chair out into the water just off the bank.  He secured its legs firmly in the soil/rocks and disappeared.  He came back with a girl, perhaps in her mid teens, I was far enough away that judging her age was difficult.  She clung to his arm as they stepped out into the water with two spinning reels.  He sat her down, cast her rod and then began working with his own.

The girl had Down's Syndrome, a condition brought about by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome.  My Jill and I have friends who have a daughter with this condition, and in sharing their journey from a distance of space and time, I have learned a lot about it.  I won't go into the details, but I will tell you that without a doubt some of the greatest human beings I have ever encountered in my life have children with Down's. 

So...having this knowledge, I watched. 

I would cast my fly, and just let it swing in the current.  If I got a hookset, fine, but I was getting more out of the open display of love and of life happening on the far bank.

It wasn't long before she hooked into a fish.  Folks, I have had many memorable days on the water, and have caught some truly remarkable trout in my day, but nothing I have done as an angler could come close to touching the joy that young lady had as she fought with that smallmouth.  Her cries of joy and excitement literally echoed up and down the river.  She was so loud that anglers far upstream stopped to look.  Had they looked my way, they would have seen tears falling down my face.  My spirit was lifted to untold levels watching this life event take place.

Who cares if I didn't catch anything.  My soul was stirred, I was moved, and life became much sweeter to me.  And that is one of the biggest reasons I go fishing in the first place.

My friend has a blog that I am going to link you to.  She is a remarkable woman, and spectacular mother, and her husband is a fly fisherman so you know its gotta be good.

http://superdownsy.blogspot.com/

Be blessed my friends. where ever the river may take you.