Missing school October 29, 2008
Posted by saltcastings in Family.1 comment so far
You don’t have to go to missing school, Jack. You already know how to miss real good.
–Noah to Jack after the ball Jack threw across the living room whizzed past his head.
LuLu gotsa toofer! October 27, 2008
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Lucy cut her first tooth this weekend. Dawn noticed it while feeding her in the car on the way to John Jones’ annual pumpkin carving bash in Greenlake. I may be biased, but it’s one of the cutest little teeth I’ve ever seen.
Shutout on the Stilly October 21, 2008
Posted by saltcastings in Family, Fishing.Tags: sea run cutthroat, Stillaguamish, Stilly
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The boys and I headed north on Sunday to fish for sea run cutthroat on the Stillaguamish. We met Gary K. at the Denny’s just outside Arlington, and after a quick map consult and a cuppa, decided to try our luck around where the river intersects the town of Silvana.
Our first attempt at gaining river acess came up short when the friendly caretaker of the town’s nicest trailer park reminded us we were on private property. And that we had also been driving over the park’s posted speed limit. Apparently the cordless phone he was waving around also doubles as a radar gun.
We found some legal ground just north of where Larson Rd. crosses the river and dropped in to fish a long sweeping hole. Beautiful water, semi-clear, perfect temp. I was carrying both rods set up to fish different depths while the boys were armed with a Zebco and Mepps spinner.
Thirty minutes after we hit the water, the boys had given up on fishing. A while later I could see them badgering Gary at the far end of the hole, then they slipped out of sight. When I caught up with them about a half hour later, they were covered in wet sand, shoes off, hurtling themselves off a sand cliff and tumbling to the bottom. Thank god I’d brought changes of clothes for the trip home.
In the meantime, I threw everything but the fly box to no avail. Muddler, yellow spider, reverse spider and even an egg pattern in frustration. Made some great casts, too, and even made a game out of hitting the eddys on the far side of the river. Gary picked up a steelhead smolt and a decent sized cutt from a hole down the way, though he had to cover a bit of water for both of them.
Fantastic day on the river. Can’t wait to go back.
Trying hard not to be political October 17, 2008
Posted by saltcastings in All-purpose.Tags: McCain tongue
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But what’s up with McCain’s tongue? Is this some sort of medical condition or something? It’s like a train wreck. Can’t… look… away.
He’s gone October 3, 2008
Posted by saltcastings in Family.Tags: Shawn Gier
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I just learned my cousin, Shawn Gier, died late yesterday. I don’t know what to say. Unbelievable. He was such a great guy. Kind hearted, polite, caring and a wonderful sense of humor. He was also fearless, tough and wasn’t the type to give up on something until he got it right. I’ve done a lot of reflecting on my time with Shawn since I first created this post and as a result have re-lived many more memories than I could find time to describe.
- Trips to Levy in my Jeep Wagoneer to jump off the cliffs and swim; the long, hot walk down the train tracks; Harry’s trunks splitting up the sides after hitting the water with very little material left to protect his modesty; swimming across the pond and getting into a mud fight on the other side.
- Watching Shawn skate in a contest in downtown Kennewick. He was trying to pull a ho-ho and the board hit him in the back of the head. He got up, shook it off, and kept going until he nailed it.
- Working with Shawn and a team of derelicts in the corn and sorghum fields across the Columbia Basin one summer for Pioneer Seed Corp.; I’ve never been so hot and laughed so hard in my life.
- Listening to Jane’s Addition, Soundgarden, The Pixies, PWEI and tons of other music at ear-splitting levels in your room.
- Christmas Eves and Thanksgivings at our grandmother’s house on Cascade Street when our parents actually rented both a VCR and tapes to keep us occupied in the back room.
- Watching Shawn drop into the half pipe he and Heath built in their backyard and wondering if I’d ever have the balls to do it myself. Answer: still haven’t found them.
- Sneaking into Elliot’s Lake with snorkels and fishing spears, finding some huge bass and then taking turns flying off the rope swing until we couldn’t hold the rope any longer.
- Feeling bulletproof whenever we were together, no matter what the situation. I never questioned whether Shawn had my back.
Love you, Shawn, and will miss you. You’re a huge part of who I am today.
