October 19, 2006 at 8:08 a.m.
It was bound to happen sooner or later
It was bound to happen sooner or later
How did this all come about? Well, consistent with typical small town life and the serendipitous intersecting life paths of local yokels, Don McCormack, the FFF chapter president, is a member of Elim Lutheran Church in Scandia. The very same church that my wife’s folks attend, don’t cha know. So the father-in-law and Don begin talking about this and that (no doubt in the Fellowship Hall over coffee and sweet rolls following a service) and as “luck” would have it, they get to yammering about me and what I do up at Seven Pines Lodge. Before you know it, the month is up and I’m begging the brother-in-law for a 10 minute PowerPoint tutorial and desperate to put together a 45-minute presentation for a group of hotshot veteran fly anglers. By the way, for years now I’ve seen the little icon for PowerPoint on my computer, but was deathly afraid to open it up. The presentation is only a few hours away, so I suppose I can’t feign strep throat or scurvy and duck out of this deal.
Aside from writing this column, I also write for a weekly outdoors magazine. I only mention that because I’ve noticed lately that people assume (because I’ve scribbled out a few fishing and hunting articles), that I’m a wealth of knowledge on most matters relating to the great outdoors. Give me a brief minute or two of your time and I can convince you––beyond a shadow of a doubt––that I am not. I’m routinely asked things like, “Hey Dan, what’s the law on ditch-shooting grouse? Does my truck gotta be turned off?” I reply, “Uh, I dunno.” Or, “Hey Dan, how do you determine the age of a deer by lookin’ at its molars?” I reply, “Uh, I dunno. Deer have molars then, huh?”
Well, maybe tonight I’ll be able to shed some light on the finer points of trout fishing to a bunch of smarty-pants anglers. Then again, maybe most of my responses to their questions will be, “Uh, I dunno.” I sure hope they go easy on me. I also hope I don’t hyperventilate, lock up my knees and pitch headlong off the podium like cut timber. Oh, I do hope I remember to breathe and the old boys believe me to be as smart about trout fishing as I think I am. Wish me luck. I’m definitely going to need it.
Dan Brown’s weekly outdoor column is brought to you by Frankie’s Bait and Marine, in Chisago City, and St. Croix Outdoors, in St. Croix Falls, Wis.
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