Many things set me on the path I follow today. One such thing is a copy of a book titled No Shortage of Good Days, by John Gierach. That copy sits on a shelf next to a number of pieces of literature, now far more tattered and worn than it was when it came into my possession. Actually I think I'll grab it now so it sits next to me while I finish writing this short post. The page and cover corners are folded, some torn, and brownish stains mar the lovely illustration on the cover. This collection of stories from Gierach's fly fishing adventures was an introduction into non-fiction fishing writing that wasn't a how to. The stories within weren't there to tell me how to tie knots, or read water, or cast a fly rod. Sure, there were little bits in there, but only to further the stories. The stories were to entertain. They were true, apparently, but laced with humor and were about more than fishing. This goal wasn't unfamiliar to me as I was on an atypical path compared to the other kids my age in school. I was reading mostly nonfiction novels at the time, spanning a broad range of my own interests from geology (John McPhee's Anals of The Former World) to exploration (Alvah Simon's North to The Night). I enjoyed reality but through someone else's perspective, true things told from a specific voice. No Shortage of Good Days was my first introduction to that with fly fishing. That novel means rather a lot to me. It's a not insignificant reason why this silly blog exists, and how the words running across this page exist at all. It steered my course as a writer, and it's one of many things that resulted in me being where I am now.
So, thank you John Gierach. You will be remembered fondly.
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