Showing posts with label thanks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thanks. Show all posts

November 23, 2011

giving thanks

Roughfisher Oval

2011 has been a year of turmoil, not just in the scheme of world politics but there has been a lot going on behind the tungsten curtain over at the roughfisher command post. It's been a state of upheaval and change, including a brief stint of unemployment, however it also brings about the opportunity for reflection, self discovery, and growth. So here's what I'm thankful for this year:

The Family - My support staff has always been number one. Thank you for holding the rudder straight and firm, even when I was listing off course.
The Kids - You guys are my life blood. Thanks mateys!
The Lady - You keep the wind at my sails. I love you!
My Fishy Friends - Thanks for keeping me in the scene even when I haven't been able to be on the water.
Hurricane High Gravity - If it wasn't for your $1.39 price tag, high ABV, and delicious taste hitting my lips, I don't know how I would have made it through those fierce gales and turbulent high seas.

Happy Thanksgiving!

March 30, 2011

The Chimes of Freedom

Old Glory

It has come to my understanding that there is a small faction of my viewership, or should I say former viewership, that is unhappy with my recent posts on firearms. To all you folks out there who don't believe in our right to bear arms, well, you can all go and fuck yourselves. That's right, I said it; I don't really care if you don't follow the blog anymore. The Second Amendment is a core of the foundation of our great nation, whether you choose to believe it or not. I'm not going to go into a rant on here on why the Second Amendment is a necessary component of our freedom, or of the merits of gun ownership, but I will give you a virtual bitch slap for comparing my responsible ownership of a firearm to a violent crime committed by some dipshit who disrespects life.

This is not an issue of Left or Right. Gun crimes and deaths unfortunately occur across the country every year, but so do malpractice deaths, vehicular accidents, lung cancer deaths, poisonings, falls, etc. Yet, if you look at the actual numbers, gun deaths are one of the lowest causes of death. Don't believe me, then take a look at the facts. So how can some "hippie fly fisherman who listens to the Dead", support guns and gun ownership? Because I am an American first and foremost, and transcend above labels and stereotypical ideology.

For those who may ask why a fly angler needs guns, the answer is simple, I like to harvest my own fly tying materials as well as provide the occasional meal to my family. While I don't feel obligated to justify the needs nor defend my rights to gun ownership, I will say that a game animal taken in the humane manner of hunting suffers far less in providing its flesh and hide than any livestock slaughtered from a feed lot. For those fly anglers or tyers who think that they are above the need for guns or weapons of any form in order to participate in this sport, think again. Hand over those flies. Hell, handover those gotdamned $50 Abel nippers hanging from your vest, as the TSA likely classifies that as a weapon too.

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

I don't tolerate violence of any form, but in the course of preserving freedom, understand that sometimes it is a necessary evil to bear arms in order to defend the rights that made this great nation what it is today. The very fact that we are able to voice opinion in an open forum without fear of persecution or even death (unlike the folks in Libya, Egypt, Turkey, the list goes on and on) is a very testament to the rights many have served and died to protect. For all those servicemen and women and members of the law enforcement community, I want to thank you for your service. To all of the men and women who have died while in the line of duty, there is nothing that I can do or say other than to proudly honor your memory for sacrificing your lives defending the freedoms of our great nation. You will not be forgotten.

November 24, 2010

Thanksgiving 2010

Last year's Thanks were a classic, so why would you want to mess with a good thing? Here's an updated list of thanks for 2010 and a ghettofabulous clipart image:


roughfisher turkey
Time for the roughfisher to throw around some thank yous:
I give thanks for the little roughfishers,
and the fact that Mrs. Roughfisher stuck around for another year.
Thank you for Columbia River carp, surviving death on the DSP, spectral dubbing, and my new stash of antron.
Thank you Phil, Bobby, Jeff C., John, Joe, Sunshine and Jeff P. for futhuring the unbroken chain of music on stage and in my ears.
Thank you High Gravity malt beverages.
Thanks for cleavage, tight shirts, and cold breezes.
Thank you carnitas.
Thanks to my 5 eight readers.

Happy Thanksgiving!

September 13, 2010

Money Shot

el bandito, Michael Gracie © 2010
Photo used by permission from Michael Gracie © 2010

A big thanks to Michael Gracie for not leaving me out to die after a severe bout with "altitude sickness".

brutha from another mutha
Stay tuned for the full recap on the DSP.

June 30, 2010

Admiral Akbar

Admiral Akbar solarized
Thanks go out to The Daily Fly Paper Blog for recently featuring the Admiral Akbar pattern on their site. The Daily Fly Paper often showcases patterns from legends like Carrie Stevens, Davie McPhail, Paul Schmookler, the Global Fly Fisher, and now me. Now I know I made it. Bask in my glory.

April 23, 2010

Project Healing Waters 2-Fly Tournament

PHW2Fly promo
Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing (PHWFF), in conjunction with Eastern Blue Ridge Fly Fishers, is hosting the 4th Annual 2-Fly Tournament Fundraiser to benefit PHWFF. PHWFF is a nonprofit organization that has been utilizing fly fishing and fly tying in the rehabilitation of wounded servicemen and women at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for the past two years.

PHWFF is expanding and has begun to offer its program to other Military Medical Centers and VA Hospitals nationwide. Please support this worthy effort by joining all of us at the Rose River Farm (www.roseriverfarm.com) on the 2nd of May for a fun filled day featuring a 2-fly tournament with the wounded Vets of PHWFF. Teams will compete on over a mile and a half of the Rose River that runs through Rose River Farm near Syria, Virginia. The fish will be plentiful the action hot, so take in the beauty of Spring in the Blue Ridge mountains while supporting those who have sacrificed for us.

PHW2Fly flies
When our friend Douglas Dear from the Rose River Farm asked us to help out with the 2-Fly tourney, it was a no-brainer. Normally, I'm not a tournament kind of guy, but for a cause like this, I happily made an exception. Last year the PHW2Fly Tourney started a super raffle/auction with boxes of flys tied by great fly tiers like Bob Popovics, raising over $100,000 for PHW. This year's contributors include fly tying Jedis Bob Clouser, Russ Forney, Steve Silverio, Jim Finn, Captain Chris Newsome, and the venerable Singlebarbed. Not bad company to keep.


More information can be found over at the Project Healing Waters 2-Fly Tournament blog.

November 25, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving

roughfisher turkey

Time for the roughfisher to throw around some thank yous:

I give thanks for the little roughfishers,
and the fact that there is even a Mrs. Roughfisher.
Thank you for switch rods, glimmer flash chenille, tungsten, and chemically sharpened hooks.
Thank you Jerry, Bobby, Phil, Billy, Mickey, Keith, Brent and Bruce for your wonderful magic on stage and in my ears.
Thank you Brown Ale; Thank you IPA.
Thanks for cleavage, tight shirts, and cold breezes.
Thank you bacon.
Thanks to my 5 readers.

Happy Thanksgiving!


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November 11, 2009

Salute

subdued camo SHR logo
The roughfisher sends his thanks to all the vets out there who have defended this great nation. All gave some, some gave all.

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