When I received the invitation I was thrilled, I had heard about this trip for years and the stories that came from it. 

Excited to get the invitation at the time, I was also saddened by the reason for that invitation. 

You see John's family has been going into this area to fish for trout and explore the region for over 80 years. 

Generations of his family have hiked and explored the region in pursuit of the iconic Maine Brook Trout. 

Fathers have introduced sons and daughters to the area for generations, while only trusted friends were allowed access to the tradition over the years. 

Even Johns mother was taken into this area as a small girl and floated on homemade rafts with her dad to get to good fishing spots.

For decades it was the yearly outing of family and only the closest of friends and colleagues.

For the last 20 years John, his brother and their father Bob kept the tradition going. Each year they would come together to embarked on a 5-day trip to chase trout and continue this long-standing tradition. A tradition for Bob that was simply apart of who he was.

Sadly, the ravages of time forced Bob to end his long standing tradition last year. He simply could not make the trip anymore. For the first time in over 50 years Bobs presence would not be felt at camp. 

Johns brother also went in a different direction leaving John to continue the tradition alone. So last year John made the journey alone and spent the week fishing just the same. Sadly, John was the last man standing in a tradition that looked destined to finally fade away.

Fast forward to a discussion last fall where the invitation came for me to join this tradition.

 An invitation to possibly carry on the traditions of the past while starting a new chapter.  

I quickly accepted while not completely realizing the gift I had been given.

 What started as the two of us, soon developed into Johns son Isaac accepting an invitation to come out for a few days to “give it a try" .

An invitation also went out to my son Justin who would have gladly attended if not for his few week-old new baby girl, he reluctantly declined, but a strong commitment for future years was given. 

We just got back from the trip and it was a great success. 

John and I spent 5 days following in the footsteps of the generations that preceded him.  

We caught trout all week with an effort fit for the much younger. We were up by 3:am each day to head afield and returned most days well after dark. 

Throughout the week there was always an eye to the past, 

“dad and I used to” …  

“one-time uncle Bill and dad” ………. 

“You should have seen the time Mark and I “. 

It became clear to me just how much a part of Johns life this trip was and how important it was to him that it continue. 

And continue it will! Johns son had a great time and vowed to return every year. I loved every second of it and cannot wait for next year already and Justin is looking forward to it also after hearing my tales of the week.

So, we have started a new chapter in this book, a chapter with a remnant from the past combined with new faces and a promise for the future. 

Each year we will make new memories without forgetting the ones from yesteryear.

 We will tell stories of those who came before us to ensure their memories live on.

 We will exaggerate fishing tales in an attempt to keep up with those who have done so successfully for 80 years. 

Bob has passed on and we are all saddened by our loss, but we know every year he will be there with us as we embark on this adventure.

I know Bob will be silently guiding us through the woods as we head into the remote ponds each year.  He will be guiding our flies and delicately laying them on the water as we wait for the trout to take our offering.

John has assumed the role of his father, the torch has been passed and he is now the leader of this new effort. He is the camp cook, the organizer and the gate keeper of the knowledge that only he can share. 

 Bob would be proud of how this next chapter has unfolded and how his son is leading the way.

 You will be missed Bob but never forgotten. 

We will do our best to carry on the traditions you have passed down from those who came before you, share the countless stories you shared with us over the years, while we  make new ones of our own. 

The dedication you showed to this tradition will carry on!

 How?

36 years ago, on this day in June my life changed forever.  In a ceremony that to me sadly, was not much more than a formality at the time. Something I “had” to do to get on with my life.

 I married Lisa Crooker on June 2, 1984.

She was all I ever wanted and all I ever needed but it would be years before I figured that out.  All I knew at the time was that she was beautiful, sexy and I thought I was in love with her. (Oh, how little I knew about real love)

It would be many years before I knew just how much she completed me. How she softened my edges, cooled my temper and rained in my crazy ideas. 

Years before I knew she provided the stability I needed in my life to be happy and years before I truly knew what love was and how much I really did love her!

She would become my best friend without my even realizing it.

She has quietly sacrificed so much for me and has never gotten or expected a thank you for her efforts.

She wanted to go to college for computer science right after high school, but I wouldn’t wait. I had a life to live and if she wanted to be with me it was time to move forward. I would not be tied down to any collage, town or schedule. So, she gave up her desire to go to collage and we were off. Something I truly regret taking from her.

When a Job in Alabama called after 16 years of marriage and it was a great opportunity for “ME”, she gave up her career and her life in Maine and we moved the family 1400 miles to middle Alabama. A sacrifice she made with no hesitation or complaint. She left behind lifelong friends and family so I could follow a dream. A dream that faded just 3 short years later.

While I chased a career so I could “make a name for myself” she selflessly stayed home and raised our two boys. I would spend weeks on the road while she worked a job, took care of the kids and kept the house going. Some years I would be on the road up to 200 nights a year. 

“I” had the pleasure of traveling to every state in the United States except North Dakota, all the providences of Canada and Mexico within a short three-year span.

 I did all this while she sat at home fighting with teenage boys and silently dealing with the loneliness caused by my absence.

The nights I was not there to hold her were many! Too many nights she had to struggle alone to make it all work, while I enjoyed life on the road seeing some of the best places in America. Sleeping in high priced hotels and eating at the best of restaurants around this country. 

So I ask you how?

In 36 years, she has been laid off once from a job. I have had 19 jobs!   I have gone home 4 times with a pit in my stomach to give the news that my job had been eliminated and I was unemployed. I have gone home twice with the embarrassment of having to say I had been fired and our income was now cut in half overnight. 

Through all the years of upheaval and change she still made the budget work and we never missed a payment and never fell behind. 

So I ask you how?

She never blamed me for the turmoil I brought into our life together, and boy there was a lot of it over the years.  She accepted it and made the best of it. If she resented the upheaval and the chaos that seemed to follow me at times. I never new it, I never heard it.

We have lived in 3 different states in at least 11 different houses and 4 different apartments. She made each one a warm and loving home for us.

We went from Maine to Alabama, Alabama to Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania to Maine, Maine back to Alabama, and finally Alabama back to Maine ! (Oh how I have learned to pack a moving truck !) 

You see if there is one thing I bring to this 36-year love affair, it is the element of the unknown.  What now? when? Where?  

Good or bad I seem to be drawn to the element of change. Maybe I get bored, maybe I am just not satisfied with an “average” life. I really do not know what drives my desire to always be on the go but I am. 

Some change caused by me, some thrust upon us! Yet through it all she remains right beside me.

That is the one thing I can always depend on, the fact that Lisa will always be by my side. She will always be there to love and support me. To protect me from myself and lift me up to accomplish what I can. 

So, I ask you again........ How?  

How do you thank someone like that? What tribute is befitting such a level of commitment and sacrifice?

How do you ever repay the years of love, support, kindness and understanding she has brought to our life together.

 How?

How do you thank someone who provided years of love you did not deserve; support you did not earn and forgiveness you did not asked for?

How? 

Happy Anniversary Lisa, I love you!

And yes, 

Thank you!