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Walter & Group...
[GH] I'LL BE AWAY FROM MY STUDY GROUP SOFTWARE FOR A FEW DAYS.
Gordy
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[GH] Here is an important message for our recently acquired and new members:
Some of you have written that you appreciate reading our messages, but don't know if you should respond or offer your own contributions.
BY ALL MEANS, DO CONTRIBUTE. COMMENT AS YOU SEE FIT in line with any topic under discussion.
Also OK to suggest another topic for future discussion.
This is a vehicle which allows us to teach one another. We're all learning. It's why we're here.
No question or problem is too small or mundane and none to great for us to tackle. Quite often, I don't have the answers, but we have World Class fly casting and fishing experts among us who can help us all.
AS A NEW MEMBER, YOU ARE FULLY QUALIFIED AS A FLY CASTING INSTRUCTOR OR RECOGNIZED EXPERIENCED FLY CASTER.
We value your input no matter how recently you joined.
Our 356 strong current membership is a diversified group representing many different countries including all continents except Antarctica. We respect one another's opinions and experiences all the way from our newly qualified CCI's, on through MCI's .... including CBOG's as well as Internationally recognized experts who have no official IFFF connection.
Putting it simply, we are here to learn. No "pecking order" or hierarchy here !
If you are new to this sort of format, and reluctant to contribute for fear of embarrassment or any other reason, feel free to contact me personally and run your message by me .... we'll discuss it and not publish it until and unless we both agree to do so. All you have to do is to send the message to me or the Group and state: "For your personal review" .... or something like that. No message gets into Group discussion unless I place it there.
We have no "rules". I do like to keep politics, unpleasantries of any sort, and offensive material and language out of our discussions. I prefer to avoid advertisements unless they contribute materially to our learning experiences.
As you probably already know, there are no financial requirements of any kind. Since I happen to be on the IFFF Casting Board of Governors, as in the past, I'll run any ethics question by our Ethics Committee.
Gordy
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[GH] My little story # 5.
We gain a heightened appreciation of the value of our senses when we lose them.
Five years ago, I fell on my concrete ramp as I was getting ready to place my skiff on the trailer. I had done this chore innumerable times in the past with no problems. Four weeks prior to that, however, I'd suffered multiple fracture-dislocations of my right hand when a steel trailer dolly handle had swung loose and crushed my hand against the winch. That made it necessary for me to use my other hand to guide my skiff on the ramp.
I fell and hit the right side of my head on the concrete and was unconscious for probably half an hour. During that time, the tide came in so that I was crammed between the hull of my skiff which had been blown by the wind on top of me. Locked me between the hull and the concrete bottom. Couldn't move. The water was rising and I feared drowning... so I yelled for help. Tom del Bosque and his brother, Craig, heard me and came running over and pulled me out just in time.
As a result of that injury, I lost most of the hearing in my right ear for about a year. Never has come completely back to normal.
Result ?
1. I can no longer hear the "swoosh" of my own fly rod as I cast. (I'm right handed).
2. I can hear it when my student casts .... by using my other ear.
3. When on my customary "dawn patrol", I used to hear the big tarpon "slurping" on the surface as they approached just before dawn. I could make a presentation by hearing and often would get a hookup. With the loss of one ear, however, I could still hear them, but I couldn't accurately determine their position. In time I became better at using a setting moon to see their wakes.
4. Even though my hearing has gotten better, I now wear shooter's ear protectors whenever exposed to loud noises and even when running the outboard motor on my skiff.
5. When I'm out on the field teaching or taking a workshop to learn, I have to position myself to hear with my left ear, particularly if the wind is blowing or there is a lot of ambient noise.
One of life's experiences. I'm doing fine despite all that. My hand has healed and I've learned to accommodate.
Reminds me of something one of my old professors once said.....
"THE DIAMOND IS NOT POLISHED WITHOUT FRICTION .... NOR IS THE MAN WITHOUT ADVERSITY."
Gordy
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