June U Ary

 Last week I drove high into the Washington Cascades to fly fish a small lake I’d only seen in short video clips. Had I waited one week more, the weather would have been ideal. Life doesn’t work that way so I made the best of the cold wind and rain. 

My destination was primarily a ski resort area, but being very close to the Pacific Crest Trail it is equally popular with hikers and sightseers I never the warmer months. The trouble is the warmer months have been late in arriving this year. In the Northwest, we call this situation June u ary  

Despite battling cold, constant winds, I managed a few fish. All released to fight another day, one, the best one, of course, released a little quicker than I would have liked. Thus, no pictures of the beautiful markings on brook trout.  The brook trout shown here was not from this trip but looked similar in size and coloration.  By early Fall, the spawning colors will be very much in evidence and the greens will be offset with deep orange and reds.

I learned a few crucial things in this little venture. First that I can spend time alone successfully. I learned much about the geography of the area and the lake I fished from a float tube. 

I hope to go back before the summer that finally came is over. Possibly in August. If the timing is right, the sun will be out, the water calm, and hopefully, the mosquitos are mostly gone.

Do Something

 The President has become a pleading father figure.  Some of his offspring detest him, while others cow down as with all fathers.  His complaints are predictable.  Why can't you just behave?  But he is not talking about appropriate peer group behavior.  He speaks of carnage and compassion fatigue.  He is the leader of the nation that cannot seem to ban assault rifles.  So, we set records.  

We go from one mass shooting to another.  3 this week alone.  

I've yet to see how anyone needs an assault rifle for anything, in any circumstances.  The public school is being sacrificed on the alter of the 2nd amendment.  As one politico recently labeled #2, the greatest hoax in American political history.  Some of us see a marked difference between a well-regulated militia and an 18-year-old misfit with an AR-15.  

The President tells his story.  How the people appear before him with one request.  "Do something" they urge.  He is paralyzed by a Congress enmeshed in gridlock.  He speaks only of compromise.  

Is changing the age of AR-15 possession from 18 to 21 enough?  Is it anything at all?  

The Republicans can't see what is before their eyes.  Getting re-elected is the only priority they have.  That means not rocking the boat.  The boat is full of cash for their next campaign.  

They pivot.  It's about mental illness.  That's the culprit.  No matter the red flag provisions might help, no matter that not one reason has been provided to explain why anyone needs an automatic assault rifle.  How do we make those who obfuscate see the illogic of their thinking?  Some suggest the Emmit Till effect.  

When the 15-year-old Till was brutally beaten and then drowned by a racist mob, his mother decided to let people see his wounds in an open casket.  The media responded and people were shocked into reality.  It might give those who aren't quite there yet something to think about if they saw the damage that an AR-15 does to a 10-year-old in an elementary school.  It's brutal, but it seems to be necessary.  After all, we live in an image-oriented culture, where appearance is everything.  

So we wait.  We wait for something.