Legendary Giants

It's not every day the common man gets to enjoy the pristine mountain wilderness of north Georgia. Or to follow the paths of gin clear streams in the Cohutta wilderness. Furthermore, to do so with a fly rod.
To see this majestic place and all it's wonder is to bear witness to the world as if it were truly a living, breathing, and somehow spiritual thing. Some refer to this perspective as "nature." While it is nature, it is much more. To place such a scientific term on something so astonishing is like claiming Babe Ruth was just an "okay hitter." Surely such an accusation cannot be true. And it isn't. But everyone knows that Babe Ruth is quite possibly the greatest baseball player of all time. Not because he was such a (great) hitter, bit because he was (legendary) hitter. When he hit the ball, it was gone, see ya, outta here! The same holds true to the mountains. They're not just tree covered humps in the landscape that you see when crossing the county line on hwy 76. That would be less than sentimental. They are not just made from stone from the movements of Earth's crust. That would be scientific. They are, however, magical to the eye that wishes to see them as such. When I was younger, my sister Brandi said the mountains looked as if "giants had laid down for a long nap, so long a time that trees grew on them." How can one make such an innocent observation? The eye of a child was once untainted by the exposure to commercialized media or political agendas. To have heard such an idea from her impacted my view of those mountains and helped me to realize one thing; It cannot be illustrated just how majestic our mountains are. Only that they are legendary giants sleeping upon the Earth. I do not know what purpose they serve, for only their creator knows the deepest mysteries of His vast monuments. However, I like to think they help to keep us as children; Innocent, small, and above all free spirited.
-C

Birthday

It's been good living on the "right" side of 30. I hope to make "twenty last" the best. Lots of fish to catch, undergrad to work on, and life to live. Surely I won't be as bitter as I have been the past few years of my life. I've grown to live knowing that all things are good in some shady, unrealistic, moronic way. Looking back on what I consider to be the best and the worst times mending and weaving my life into a tapestry of hope and comfort. The things I've experienced have instilled me an abundance if intangible qualities that cannot be found just anywhere. It is my belief that one can only discover themselves when they experience true heartache and inextinguishable love together. Both allowing for true self discovery. I love my life, and all the people I've had the good fortune to share it with. People I work with like Sgt Smith, fish with such as Caleb and Lew, and even my Lab Bailey. And most of all, the love of my life Lauren. You're all truly a blessing to me and I thank my creator for you loud and clear.
Most people look at Facebook profiles and think to themselves; " man they've got it made, I wonder how he/she does it?". The answer is as simple as looking in the mirror, you are the reason why. Friends are what make life worth living. When I die, I'd like to think that people are full of love and laugher at my funeral. I hope they all see me as a joyous person. My life would be complete to know the hearts I've touched do not mourn my loss but cherish it. (getting too dark)

Well, again thank you all for the birthday wishes.

-C

Creativity in lieu of boredom. An injury worth it's own cause.

The past two weeks I have been laid up due to an injury received while fishing/hiking off the "Bmac" and App trails. A little slice of heaven called Long Creek that teeming with, what a fly fisherman's wife would consider an "unhealthy amount," beautiful wild Brookies. Being that Brookies are only found at specific altitudes in this part of the country, my friend Lew and I had to trod a bit further than we usually did. However, the reward is worth the effort. At 1500' the air is thin and less humid in December/ January. It was very noticeable when we crossed the point of altitude due to the fact we started breathing heavier. Not to mention the snow glistening as if the mountain gods spent the eve of that morning spreading thousands of tiny diamonds across the terrain. The evergreen and mountain laurel droop low, bearing the weight of fresh powder. The scenery is, to say the least, both physically and spiritually breathtaking.
Although we did not catch anything on this day. Most likely due to the late afternoon sun not being in the favor of small blue line stream fishermen. The time was nevertheless well spent. As for the injured ankle, it has kept me out of work and fishing. Which are often confused in my home, most likely because my wife see's me laboriously studying stream anatomy and subsurface aquatic entomology as if I were pursuing a Phd in the aforementioned. It may seem trivial to put oneself in potentially harmful situation just to hold a living thing for a moment just to be released.
But my heart is where the stream lay. In pursuit of such simple creatures who's spirit courses through my veins, I find myself in simplest form. To hold this beautiful thing and feel it's life in my hands is to feel alive. This moment is where all my inequalities bear no importance. The fish do not hold any grievances to my attire, employment, gender, or race. They do not hold a grudge for taking them for a ride on 7' of graphite. Instead, they lay helpless in my grasp as if to offer themselves but a moment for my pleasure. Taking in what beauty this world has to offer. To see this beauty is to experience heaven in its rawest form. Like my first kiss in junior high, or the first time I stepped onto the field at Appalachian state university. I feel very much alive while holding this creature and will continue to as long as I have a breath in my body. A man once said that "happiness doesn't last forever, except in our memories." So I hold dear to each fish I am privileged to meet. That being said, some day if I am grieved with Alzheimer's, I will need someone to take me fishing so that the memory can be revamped.
Maybe tying flies is a way of coping with the fact of having to wait for that next chance of holding a fish. Or maybe tying is a way for my soul to search just as I do in my quest for fish, for beauty, and for my own memories.
And I cast....

First post

Somedays I feel as though things are moving at a stable yet awkward pace. My life consists of constantly wanting yet always having. For instance; my job in juvenile justice sucks but I love it. It sucks because the catalyst employee is ignorant and uneducated. 1/3 of the people i work with either have a GED or did not graduate high school at all. Some of those people are supervisors. So that explains the level of folks I work with. Okay, I'm not gonna rant. All that being said, I am almost finished with my bs in secondary edu biology. Yes I am going to teach. But not as a scapegoat for juvenile justice. Because I understand the value of education. Because hard workers like me should not have to deal with ignorance. Justice depts should value it too. Instead of bs like equal employment opportunity which downgrades education and other related moral values. Okay, I'm ranting. Like I said, awkward. Yet, stable. I know what I want. For young people to see education as being more profitable from a moral perspective.