TR: North Carolina Meets Indiana- fishin',casting lessons, and bluegrass

warning- the following is a *lengthy*, 3-day, detailed trip report :-)


i had the pleasure of hosting our frank church this past week-end, for the
purpose of indulging in a few days of fishing, casting lessons, and
bluegrass music.

mr. church arrived in boone 10(ish) friday morning, and called me from the
wal-mart parking lot to let me know he was in town. i arranged to meet him
there and have him follow me to my apartment, after he went into the store
to get his north carolina fishin license. i arrived at wal-mart shortly
after that (5minutes at most from my apartment), and parked next to his
truck/boat. not seeing him there, i went to the sporting goods section of
the store expecting to find him there instead, but the clerk said he had
not seen him, so i went back out to the truck. still no sign of him, and
after waiting a few minutes, i went back into the store - again no luck. i
headed back outside, toward our vehicles, and found him standing by his
truck. i knew him at first sight from a couple of pictures i had seen of
him, and we made our introductions. it was a pleasure to meet the man who
has been so kind to me, and in spite of having been nervous about meeting
him for the first time, i found frank very easy and comfortable to be
around.

having planned to do some stream fishing that day, i was eager to get
started, only to be informed by said guest that he had locked his keys in
his truck. having had his request for assistance denied by the boone
police, frank called the local body shop, who, for a "small fee" came out
and got the truck unlocked. i have to say, i was impressed by frank's
ability to maintain his "cool points" during a hot, and potentially annoying
situation. as the fella worked on the lock, frank and i became more
acquainted, and began planning our day in detail.

so, in spite of mr. church's attempt to de-rail our plans :-)-
we were soon back at my apartment, where i showed frank to his "guest
quarters." a few minutes later, while enjoying a glass of ice water, frank
and i went through his extensive fly collection, after which time i came
into possession of numerous, very cool flies all sorts. thanks again, frank
examining, and organizing the flies just got me more excited about our
ensuing plans for the day, and we were soon on the road headed to the south
fork of the new river, in nearby todd.

we found my usual pull off on the side of the dirt road, parked and unloaded
the truck. we donned our boots, assembled our rods, and hit the water. it
was a very warm day, with a little bit of humidity, and some clouds. a good
day for fishing. since we were fishing for bass in that particular stretch
of water, frank lent him his 5 weight to use. although i am used to my 4
weight, i was surprised that this rod, which is also much longer that my
own, was no more difficult to handle than the one i am used to. that is not
to say that i cast well with it- i just didn't cast any worse than usual!
seemingly a natural born teacher, mr. church very patiently gave me valuable
instructions as to casting. he showed me how to cast at a forty five degree
angle, so that the fly would cross the stream as it drifted. this was very
cool. naturally, i became very excited when it actually worked. he had me
aim my fly at a rock structure, and after some misses, i finally got my fly
right to the intended spot. i repeated it a time or two more, and felt
satisfied that i was making some progress.

after spending a couple of hours on that stream, we decided to hit the
watauga. we headed out to the valle crusis park, intending to fish from
there, only to discover upon our arrival that we were missing a much needed
reel. since it was getting on in the afternoon, we decide to just head back
to my apartment. our timing proved serendipitous, as it began raining just
a few minutes after getting into the truck.

our evening consisted of indulging in a pot roast that i had put in the
crock pot the night before, and going through more fishing gear. we planned
the next day's trip to lake james ( about an hour west of boone) to go bass
fishing from frank's boat, and called it a night.

saturday morning greeted us with some clouds, but still a good amount of
sunshine, which by the time we arrived at the lake had turned into quite a
lot of sunshine. the air was warm, if not a little humid. again, the
weather was being kind to us. we arrived at lake james, and scouted out a
boat launch at a pleasant little camp site. after parking the truck, we
crossed the street to the little store there, where we picked up a few
snacks to take on the boat. having felt fortunate that the surly clerk
behind the counter allowed us out of the store with our person intact, we
proceeded to unload the truck and assemble our rods. in the process we were
greeted by a friendly camper - a fella that i guess to be in his forties -
who inquired as to our fishing gear, and the boat. his curiosity as to our
seemingly unconventional appearance was obvious, and so frank and i regaled
him with the story of how we came to be fishing together that day.

i offered to help frank unload the boat, but after his refusal to allow me
to do so, i decided that a quick swim was in order before boarding. the
water was perfect, and while in it, i met a little boy who was throwing a
stick out in the water for his dog to fetch. the boy told me the dog's name
was bruiser, and let me throw the stick for him a few times. it was much
fun. by then frank had the boat ready, and off we were. he steered the
boat close to the bank, which was well endowed with shrubbery, fallen logs,
and as well as a dock. frank taught me how to read the structures, who i
would find there, and why. he instructed me as to my casting targets, and i
know he generously gave up a few good opportunities for my benefit, for
which i expressed my gratitude. my casting was pretty rough at first, but
after much, again, very patient instruction on frank's part i began to see a
great deal of improvement. having not been successful at laying my line out
straight at first, frank began to compliment me on good casts, that hit my
intended target, and said that i was doing very well at laying out my line
nice and straight. i was tickled. each time that i threw a good cast, and
i could see how good it looked, and felt, i became more excited. i found
that throwing a good cast can be very satisfying. in demonstrating to me the
movements involved in producing a good cast, mr. church executed perfect
cast after cast. he humbly chalked it up to luck. i don't think there is
too much luck involved in good casting, and although one might find mr.
church's modesty admirable, i know the truth to be that he's just full of
****! and after allowing my knowledge of such, he had no choice but to
concede with a laugh that revealed my interpretation to be accurate. :-)

anyway, after spending a good amount of time casting, we decided it was time
to take a bathroom break, so we took the boat back in. i adjourned the
tinkalarium to find frank sitting in the shade visiting with some campers,
and i was called over to sit down. frank then asked me if i had the key to
the truck, since i had unlocked it a few minutes earlier, to which i replied
by insisting i had returned the key to him. telling me he was unable to
find it, we began to retrace our steps. as it turns out, i was the culprit,
having left the key in the lock. frank pocketed it, satisfied that it was
now safe, and we laughed at our mis-adventures with the keys that week-end.
anyway, the folks he was talking to were a mother and her (very grown) son.
they were also curious as to this "odd couple", and we again explained our
"story', which revealed us to be fishin buddies, who met on a fly fishing
newsgroup, and were out for a week-end on the water. they seemed impressed
at frank's willingness to drive from indiana for said purpose, as was i.
after a few minutes, we headed back out to the boat, this time for a ride,
and to take in the scenery, which afforded a beautiful view of the
mountains, as well as numerous uninhibited herons, and egrets. our
pleasure soon turned to concern though, as we spotted the 'water cops."
while i had my fishing license with me, frank was a less confident than i,
because his was in the truck. we hoped they might by-pass us, but in a
short time we were proven wrong. they stopped, and asked frank for his boat
registration, and inquired as to his flotation devices. it was determined
that one of the flotation devices was not federally approved, but the
gentlemen were kind enough to write a warning. they too, were curious, and
came right out and asked frank and i if were husband and wife, and we again
related our story. i was amused at the interest that the two of us fishing
together generated that day. relieved at the generosity of the rangers, we
began our trip back to the shore, since we could no longer keep the boat in
the water. a few minutes later, a couple of fellas boated up to us, and in
demonstrating the kindness of the folks in the park, informed us that we had
left our key in the lock of the truck. we told them that we had found it a
few minutes earlier, and expressed our gratitude that they boated over to
let us know. all in all, a nice bunch of folks.

once ashore, we unloaded the boat, packed up our stuff, and again, my offers
to help frank with the boat denied, i went for a quick swim. by now it had
become quite cloudy. floating on my back, i watched the clouds roll in, and
enjoyed the weightless feeling of floating in the water on my back. after a
few more minutes swimming, i got out, put on dry clothes and we headed back.
our drive home saw a few sprinkles, but nothing very intrusive.

after arriving at my apartment, we again dined on pot roast, collards, and
rolls. after dinner we sat down, and went through frank's tune file on his
lap top. we listened to songs, and laughed as we sang the lyrics, and after
a very satisfying day, adjourned to our respective sleeping quarters.

sunday morning, began with coffee on the balcony, looking at the mountains,
and chatting. breakfast consisted of bacon, eggs, and orange juice. having
been up late the night before, we lazed around before heading out to blowing
rock, for my usual sunday bluegrass jam. frank kindly cleaned up some stuff
on my computer, and installed some good stuff, while i enjoyed some back
issues of fishin magazines that he brought along for me. i picked out a
few tunes on my dulcimer, and we were soon heading to blowing rock. i was
very pleased to have frank come along, because i know he enjoys bluegrass,
and had never been to a pickin before. we had a great crowd there that day-
lots of musicians, and dancers. in between playing, i flatfooted a few
tunes, along with a few of our regular cloggers. i looked out several times
to see frank thoroughly enjoying himself, and taking pictures.
after working up an appetite fiddling and dancing, frank took me out for a
bbq dinner. the meal was delicious, and in spite of a close call, i was
able to save frank from having his food poisoned by the waitress - but you
won't get that story from me! you'll have to ask frankie about that one!
suffice it to say, i saved his sorry ass! :-)

the evening found our bellies full, our bodies exhausted, and after
downloading pictures from the week-end onto my computer, we decided an
"early" (that being midnight instead of the wee hours) night was in order.
unfortunately it wasn't long after that that the biggest downfall of living
with students invaded the night. a party had ensued right outside of my
apartment, which seemed to grow louder by the minute. up to that time, i
had made every effort to be a good hostess, and feeling bad that about the
turn of events, i knocked on frank's door, apologized, and headed outside to
put forth my best effort at squelching the noise. i approached a group of
three fellas who were drinking and smokin a bowl. i informed them of my
distress at not being able to sleep. i explained that i had a house guest
who had to get up in the morning and drive to indiana, and assured them that
it was not my deisre to call the police, but i had to insist on some measure
of courtesy. the guys practically begged me not to "take drastic measures"
as they called it, assured me that they would quiet things down and thanked
me for the warning instead of calling the cops. i thanked him for his
effort, reminding him however, that if his attempts failed, there might be
less desirable consequences. needless to say, that in spite of a straggler
here or there, things quieted down drastically. i think i scared the ****
out of 'em, hee hee. i felt satisfied that i had done my best to provide a
comfortable stay for my guest, and returned to bed.

after again sitting on the balcony and enjoying the morning sun, while
drinking coffee, mr. church and i recalled some of our favorite moments of
the past few day, after which we loaded his truck, and he headed home.

all in all, i have to say that mr. church proved to be a very pleasant house
guest, a valuable mentor, and a good friend. i can begin the new school
semester tomorrow feeling satisfied that i spent my last school free
week-end of the summer in a most satisfying, and enjoyable way.

thank you frank ;-)

snakefiddler -
how'd i do mr. church? did i leave anything out? i did my part- now the
pictures are up to you ;-)

"snakefiddler" wrote...
warning- the following is a *lengthy*, 3-day, detailed trip report :-)

snip
Holy ****! If you read the words just right, this is one tawdry dime-store
romance novel. And POT ROAST to boot! Frank - you dog! I'm gonna have to go have
one of them glasses of ice water just to cool down!
--
TL,
Tim
who has just completed the Fortenberry Speed Reading course.
------------------------
http://css.sbcma.com/timj

"snakefiddler" wrote...
warning- the following is a *lengthy*, 3-day, detailed trip report :-)

snip
Holy ****! If you read the words just right, this is one tawdry dime-store
romance novel. And POT ROAST to boot! Frank - you dog! I'm gonna have to go have
one of them glasses of ice water just to cool down!
--
TL,
Tim
who has just completed the Fortenberry Speed Reading course.
------------------------
http://css.sbcma.com/timj

"snakefiddler" wrote in
:

warning- the following is a *lengthy*, 3-day, detailed trip report :-)


i had the pleasure of hosting our frank church this past week-end,
for the purpose of indulging in a few days of fishing, casting
lessons, and bluegrass music.

...whew, where do I begin? To the allusion that I gave up opportunities to
teach you to cast, I just never had a student in a bikini before..screw the
fish. ;-) I am not a good caster as I had a poor instructor (me) I swear,
just a lucky day for me. I won't reply to each point made, but I will say
this..never have I ever had a better hostess, I know ol'Snakefiddler went
out of her way to see that I was well taken care of, and I certainly
appreciate the effort. Helluva weekend, is all I can say. Not only our time
together fishing, but the bluegrass jam was a real kick for me. Thanks
again Jennifer.

Frank Sr.
...but I didn't forget my walker and geritol

"snakefiddler" wrote in
:

warning- the following is a *lengthy*, 3-day, detailed trip report :-)


i had the pleasure of hosting our frank church this past week-end,
for the purpose of indulging in a few days of fishing, casting
lessons, and bluegrass music.

...whew, where do I begin? To the allusion that I gave up opportunities to
teach you to cast, I just never had a student in a bikini before..screw the
fish. ;-) I am not a good caster as I had a poor instructor (me) I swear,
just a lucky day for me. I won't reply to each point made, but I will say
this..never have I ever had a better hostess, I know ol'Snakefiddler went
out of her way to see that I was well taken care of, and I certainly
appreciate the effort. Helluva weekend, is all I can say. Not only our time
together fishing, but the bluegrass jam was a real kick for me. Thanks
again Jennifer.

Frank Sr.
...but I didn't forget my walker and geritol

"Tim J." wrote in
:


"snakefiddler" wrote...
warning- the following is a *lengthy*, 3-day, detailed trip report
:-)

snip
Holy ****! If you read the words just right, this is one tawdry
dime-store romance novel. And POT ROAST to boot! Frank - you dog! I'm
gonna have to go have one of them glasses of ice water just to cool
down!

....I guess the old babe magnet's still got it. :-))

Frank Church
...ha, you're a piker Timmy, I had to have numerous glasses of ice-water...

"Tim J." wrote in
:


"snakefiddler" wrote...
warning- the following is a *lengthy*, 3-day, detailed trip report
:-)

snip
Holy ****! If you read the words just right, this is one tawdry
dime-store romance novel. And POT ROAST to boot! Frank - you dog! I'm
gonna have to go have one of them glasses of ice water just to cool
down!

....I guess the old babe magnet's still got it. :-))

Frank Church
...ha, you're a piker Timmy, I had to have numerous glasses of ice-water...

"Tim J." wrote in message
...

"snakefiddler" wrote...
warning- the following is a *lengthy*, 3-day, detailed trip report :-)

snip
Holy ****! If you read the words just right, this is one tawdry dime-store
romance novel. And POT ROAST to boot! Frank - you dog! I'm gonna have to
go have
one of them glasses of ice water just to cool down!
--
TL,
Tim



who has just completed the Fortenberry Speed Reading course.

LMAO -
snake ;-))
------------------------
http://css.sbcma.com/timj

"Tim J." wrote in message
...

"snakefiddler" wrote...
warning- the following is a *lengthy*, 3-day, detailed trip report :-)

snip
Holy ****! If you read the words just right, this is one tawdry dime-store
romance novel. And POT ROAST to boot! Frank - you dog! I'm gonna have to
go have
one of them glasses of ice water just to cool down!
--
TL,
Tim



who has just completed the Fortenberry Speed Reading course.

LMAO -
snake ;-))
------------------------
http://css.sbcma.com/timj

"Frank Church" wrote in message
9.11...
"snakefiddler" wrote in
:

warning- the following is a *lengthy*, 3-day, detailed trip report :-)


i had the pleasure of hosting our frank church this past week-end,
for the purpose of indulging in a few days of fishing, casting
lessons, and bluegrass music.

..whew, where do I begin? To the allusion that I gave up opportunities to
teach you to cast, I just never had a student in a bikini before..


ah, ****, frank! now you've done it. you said the "B" word.

screw the
fish. ;-) I am not a good caster
as I had a poor instructor (me) I swear,
just a lucky day for me.

yeah, lucky over and over again....

I won't reply to each point made, but I will say
this..never have I ever had a better hostess,

you're very kind

I know ol'Snakefiddler went
out of her way to see that I was well taken care of, and I certainly
appreciate the effort. Helluva weekend, is all I can say. Not only our
time
together fishing, but the bluegrass jam was a real kick for me. Thanks
again Jennifer.

you are quite welcome, mr. church :-)
it was the least i could do, after all, it was your kindness that made this
the most fun summer i have had yet


Frank Sr.
..but I didn't forget my walker and geritol

aw, you get around pretty good for an old man, but whatchya want me to do
with that toothbrush?
BSEG

snake