Aha!

Thought For The Day

As long as I am alive, there's a chance I might learn something today.

Herb Ratliff, April 30, 2012

The First Opener on the North Branch

Thought For The Day

Thirty one years later: August 2008

 back row l to r Paul Stenglein, Dave Stenglein, Jim Trembley, Jim Allerdyce, Me

Front: Jeff Stenglein, Bill Stenglein

During the winter of 1977 Jim Trembley and I had bought a piece of property on the North Branch of the Au Sable. A large section, about sixty acres had been split up into parcels, we had gone to Grayling, MI and got five of them, acres, with a little over two hundred feet of frontage on the river. We couldn't see it very well, it was wooded and pretty steep but it was ours and we were anxiously awaiting a chance to see it in the Spring. So on the Friday before the opener, it was the first official Arbor Day,  we headed north to our new spot to investigate.

The drive north is about two hours. We were pretty worked up about seeing it. We talked of building a place that overlooked the river, teaching our kids how to fly fish, lunkers just waiting for our mighty fishing skills and all the years we would get to fish together. When we finally arrived we were out of the car like a couple of kids going into Disneyland. The land looked absolutely pristine. I felt like the lord of the manner, OK, co lord. It was beautiful. The land sat near the foundations of the halfway house where the road crossed the river. It was a rest stop between Grayling and Mio. The fireplace stood high even though the hotel was long gone.

We wandered down by the river. It was difficult to walk because the ground was knotted up with grass and bog, a minor inconvenience. The stretch of water was straight, flat and deep, a perfect place to watch the surface dimple when the trout were feeding. We were mesmerized. It was getting late and dark and we had to find a place to spend the night. So we headed back toward the car. We were going in a different direction than our trip in and so we ended up passing near a cabin. A man was standing in the doorway. We waved and Jim said, "Let's go introduce ourselves." That shocked me because Jim was not the most social person I knew, especially when we were fishing. But, I said sure and we walked over to the house and met Bill Stenglein, the owner of the cabin.

He invited us into the cabin to have a beer. We said yes. We ended up having a pizza, meeting his sons and some family friends, spending the night and becoming life long friends. Telling you about Bill Stenglein and his family will have to happen another day. They deserve a lot of space. Enjoy the weekend friends, I will miss being there with you.

 And to you Bill, what can I say? I've never met a better fly fisherman or a better man. Thank you, my friend.

Herb Ratliff, April 27, 2012, All Rights Reserved

Old Friends and Old Habits

Thought For The Day

Jim Trembley

The last Saturday in April is the traditional opening of Trout Season in Michigan, a day that I looked forward to above all others for many years at least for my own benefit. The long, cold, grey winter could not diminish or dilute the longing to enter the river, fly rod in hand to test my skills against the wary trout. It was one of those spiritual moments when I became a part of the water, the environment and the promise of life's goodness. Here began the soft music of the fly line whistling through the air, the soft gurgle of the river, the ambient sounds of birds and insects all arranged in such precision that I felt weightless and intractably immersed in pure harmony.

Sometimes I got immersed in the river. Wading in a stream is an interesting way to spend a day. It is not without problems and surprises.

When I graduated from University of New Mexico and moved to Flint, MI I met a man who would become my closest ally in the world of fly fishing. Jim Trembley had grown up in Flint and in his pursuit of his goal of Eagle Scout had been exposed to nature in the best possible way, through the leadership of men who cared deeply for a good design for living, respect of people and the environment and a love of nature. Jim and I became frequent partners on the ride to the Au Sable  River. We would often take off on Tuesday evenings and drive north to the South Branch and fish the Mason Tract late into the night. We would fish all day Wednesday and return that evening. We rode together, had lively conversations and then fished alone and met at an agreed upon time to discuss our results. Sometimes the results were less about fish and more about how many different kinds of larvae live in the river that you can see quite clearly while sitting on a log by the bank or the richness of bird and animal life in the area.

Jim also ties flies and provides me with an endless supply them. Truth be told, every fish of size and memory that I have ever caught has been deceived by Jim, but he's a lawyer. What can I say?

Saturday I will not be fishing with Jim but I will be thinking about him and all the openers we spent together, I am in Atlanta, GA now and he still lives in Flint. Hopefully we will get together this summer for a fly fishing appreciation day if he isn't too old and tired for it.

Herb Ratliff, April 26, 2012, All Rights Reserved

The Pelican Brief

Thought For The Day

It was just a few months into being a single parent. Scheduling ended up being one of the bigger problems. Everyone seemed to have something to do other than being on time. The lives of the kids get busier because they were busy to start with and now the going back and forth just added to the normal confusion. I was on my way to pick up my youngest from her alternate home, wondering what we would have for dinner, whether we would make it to the meeting on time and reminding myself to make sure she had all of her school books. It was an unusually pleasant evening for south Florida. The humidity was low, temperature very comfortable, a clear sky and just a zephyr of a breeze off the ocean. I pulled the car up to the house and Lindsay was waiting with her things on the porch. It still seemed odd to do this dance. Lindsay has a smile that can light up a room. When she saw me she was smiling and when I got out of the car she met me with a big hug and a handful of stuffed animals.
After we loaded the car, we exchanged our hellos and got to the business at hand, what are we doing for dinner? Most of the reliables were not hitting the target and I needed to get some gas so I pulled into a station to fill up. We went into the station together to settle up and Lindsay spotted some junk food racks and asked if she could have something that could not have been anything but colored sugar. I took a quick inventory of the available food stuffs and decided to attempt to make a meal out of what was there.
Loaded up with what could only be termed the most non-nutritious meal since Boy Scout camp, we headed out and Lindsay said, "Let's have a picnic.", I agreed and we headed for a local Park. It was pretty much deserted so we had a lot of choices for a spot. We parked and for some reason which now escapes me, decided to eat in the car. It was party time and the sugar just helped it along. We were laughing and talking and giggling when out of the blue it sounded like someone had launched a basket full of oranges into the air and they had all individually fallen on the top of the car. It absolutely shocked both of us into statue like states. We were frozen in place, looking at each other and then out the window. I immediately thought it was kids making mischief but unable to see anyone or anything, I got out of the car and there in perfect formation, just beyond the car were a half dozen pelicans. I turned and looked at the car, it had been thoroughly whitewashed and the mystery was solved. Lindsay let out a primal yuuuuuuuuuuck and we headed for the car wash.
Now, whenever Lindsay and I are together, if we should happen upon a pelican or two, a wide grin begins to form and sometimes uproarious laughter emerges without control. The food may have been without any nutritional value but the laughter and the memory still makes us smile.

Herb Ratliff, April 25, 2012, All Rights Reserved

Let Me Explain.....

Thought For The Day

When I was very young it was normal to ask questions. That's what children do, sometimes to the absolute distraction of the people being asked questions. But, it was expected and joked about and most of the time the questions were answered until the adult involved reached the end of their knowledge base and had to bow out of the discussion gracefully or not. My experience was quite normal in that respect.

As I continued to grow up and entered into relationships with others a good deal of my experiences still created questions, but the willingness to answer questions seemed to diminish. Sometimes the reason for the change in willingness was connected to religion. Let's face it, "Because God said so." is a real conversation stopper when you are a child. Add to it, "Do you want to go to hell?" and here ends the curiosity for most. However, there is always school and there in the halls of learning questions and dialogue are welcomed, right?

I will admit that I may have had more questions than the average kid, if not more questions, more persistence than most in pursuing clarification. This often led to a most frustrating condition for me and most likely for the teachers. They ran out of interest in my questions before I got my answers. Now, leaving a student with more questions is not a bad thing. Seeking information is the milieu of the student. But, asking the student to perform tasks when information has nothing to adhere to is likely to leave both student and teacher in confused state, one about the purpose of this information, the other about the teachability of this student. In this arena, both fail to accomplish their objective.

My curiosity was never sufficiently stunted to leave me without questions. It created some problems for me in the classroom but who doesn't have a problem or two to deal with anyway? What it did to me was sow a seed of passion for explaining things to people, never to leave a person with an incomplete set of reasons for anything I could explain and it drove my kids loony. As loving and caring as I was in my quest to never leave a question unanswered, my children lived in a world that existed on the hope that they would never have to ask me why.

And so the loves you have and promises you make to create a better life for your children can, on occasion, be the bane of their existence. But, that's why they make chocolate and vanilla, right? You can love, you can love deeply, passionately and selflessly the sweet children who enter your world as your babies but how well you love them will be decided by them. Just because your intentions are honorable does not mean they are successful. And in the final analysis isn't the real job of a parent to teach his offspring to be independent anyway?

Herb Ratliff, April 24, 2012, All Rights Reserved

Bulls-eye!

Thought For The Day

In the mid summer of my seventh year my parents were investigating the merits of a variety of churches. One Saturday afternoon they had invited some missionary's over for dinner. I don't recall whether it was two or four but there were enough that I was able to snare one long enough to take me down to the local market to buy something my mom needed for dinner. Because this was in many ways like a hunting trip, I decided to take along my bow and arrows for protection from bear, wolves and cougars. There was enough diversion that my mom and dad were unaware of my need to bear arms and even though the missionary questioned my motives, she was more interested in attracting my interest than offering another source of judgement.

As we walked I stalked all forms of game for the larder. Rabbits abounded and I think I saw a deer or an antelope on the edge of the woods. There was even a moment when in the shadows I'm quite sure the movement my eagle eyes detected was a black bear. My hunting persona was alert and prepared for any challenge and I was feeling very strong and manly.

As we walked together we talked and laughed. I would aim and draw back on my bow from time to time to stay alert in case of danger. Without any warning an open milk truck drove by and without a moment's hesitation I raised the bow, slotted the arrow, drew back and released the perfect shot into the unsuspecting milkman and hit him in the knee.

I do not know who was more surprised, the milkman, the missionary or me. What I do know is that I stopped breathing, the missionary stopped breathing and the milkman stopped the truck. He got out, arrow in hand, (the arrow was the kind that had the little pink suction cup on the end) and began to walk toward the missionary and me. We were transfixed. He slowly advanced until he was standing, towering over me, knelt down and offered the arrow with a simple, "I believe this is yours." . My heart was in my throat. In the deadly silence that followed I knew that I was headed for jail and maybe the hangman's noose. Then, he stood up and laughed the biggest belly laugh I have heard before or since. His parting words were, ""That was an amazing shot."

It was a while before word  of the event reached my parents. I used a bit more restraint with my bow and arrow for a while but I still think that was a bear I saw in the woods.

Herb Ratliff, April 23, 2012, All Rights Reserved

Searching For Raisins

Thought For The Day

I was two, maybe three, but whatever the age, it was pure focus that led to this little tale
We had arrived the night before at my grandparents house in Pocahontas, Arkansas. The house was simple in design with two or three bedrooms, a dining room and a kitchen. The year was 1944 or 45 so plumbing for interior conveniences had not yet reached this particular house. I was in the care of my mother who was discussing something with my grandmother. Grandpa was at work in his smithy, a card he played quite effectively when company came.

I wanted some "razers", raisins to those of you who do not speak early childhood English. As politely, then as forcefully as I could the request was made only to fall on deaf ears. This, of course, resulted in an unaccompanied adventure into the kitchen in search of treasure. It was not far and the conversation was engaging enough that I was able to quietly slip away.

I was appropriately sized for a two year old, short basically and therefore everything I could see or reach was pretty much at ground level. This was useful for frequently used staples which were building blocks for baking primarily. So I began where I could and pulled out a container which turned out to be sugar. Since I pulled from the top it became unstable and softly fell forward and my little hands accidentally removed the top which resulted in a rather nice sized pile of sugar on the kitchen floor. Undaunted, I sought another container, even larger which I unfortunately handled in much the same way with the same result. Now I had two merged piles of white stuff and containers which were in the way of my quest and so I managed to crawl into them as I searched for the elusive "razers".

Before mother and grandma found me I had combined a month's supply of baking supplies into a pile in the middle of the kitchen floor and found not a single raisin. When you are young desires are not complicated but the desire is intense, good stuff to remember.

Herb Ratliff, April 20, 2012, All Rights Reserved

Differences

Thought For The Day

When friends and family gather 

it's rather like a late Spring field 

filling with wild flowers, 

many and various colors, 

tall and short,

full and sparse 

but 

splendid in their variations.

The perfect bouquet.

Herb Ratliff, April 19, 2012, All Rights Reserved

Dew Drop In

Thought For The Day

The air is heavy with moisture,

orb webs beaded with droplets

of dew drape like bejeweled tapestries.

The birds sing with more insistence,

their voices loud in the early morning light,

bright with promise, each singing 

just a bit louder than his neighbor.

And my neighbor because we live next to a pasture,

insists a rooster belongs here with his brood

who crows victoriously and teases the hawk

who lives in the tallest pine across the meadow.

The great red tail lifts his voice to the chorus

It is morning, time to celebrate.

Herb Ratliff, April 17, 2012, All Rights Reserved

If not now, When?

Thought For The Day

There's an interesting set of conditions at play in our world that give one pause. There are probably a number of places one could start to enumerate those conditions. If you have a set or just aren't interested, that's OK, but here are a few that might make the list. A couple of them might headline it.

Both parents in a lot of families are working. Working is neither good nor bad, but it strongly influences the amount and type of parental care that children receive.  It also affects the substitution of parental care for alternate care that rather opens wide the philosophical, moral and ethnic traits of the child.

Now someone from my generation would think that churches would be a logical place to join in as a family in order to tap that resource of like minded thinking, moral grounds and boundaries to live by. Churches in many social groups represent ethnicity as well as moral and social values. But as it turns out the churches that offer traditional religious practices are being replaced by churches much larger in scale that are auditorium sized venues that in many ways depersonalize the action between church and individual. They are very active in breaking the large mass into smaller more manageable groups that extends the boundaries of the church and offer a more personal relationship within that group. Whether or not that makes the church and individual's relationship more intimate is largely conditional.

There is a lot of digital support for our youth. Video games, interactive things like X-box and Connect, Wi and so many others that stimulation of the body and brain are easily accessible if you have two parents who work so they can pay for the games and interactive excersize.

Then, of course, there are the parents who are extorted at every turn for fees for athletics, music and art if they are fortunate enough to have schools that provide for it. Then there are Charter Schools, Target Schools, Parochial Schools all who seek their pound of flesh from the exhausted, ravaged parents who are struggling to stay afloat in an economy that has done little but feed the already overgourged bankers and financiers that seem incapable of providing even a tiny bit of service to the community they siphon blood money from.

What's crazy is that I don't even have an ax to grind, I'm just commenting on what is out there. Well, I do have a lot of axes to grind but here I am just asking a question:

Aren't you tired of the lack of leadership at every single point of light that you look toward?

There's a comment section on this blog, I hope you will use it. I'd be fascinated to hear your point of view.

©Herb Ratliff, April 16, 2011, All Rights Reserved

"God Shed His Grace On Thee"

Thought For The Day

America the Beautiful Words by Katharine Lee Bates, Melody by Samuel Ward   O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties Above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed his grace on thee And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea! O beautiful for pilgrim feet Whose stern impassioned stress A thoroughfare of freedom beat Across the wilderness! America! America! God mend thine every flaw, Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law! O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife. Who more than self their country loved And mercy more than life! America! America! May God thy gold refine Till all success be nobleness And every gain divine! O beautiful for patriot dream That sees beyond the years Thine alabaster cities gleam Undimmed by human tears! America! America! God shed his grace on thee And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea! O beautiful for halcyon skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties Above the enameled plain! America! America! God shed his grace on thee Till souls wax fair as earth and air And music-hearted sea! O beautiful for pilgrims feet, Whose stem impassioned stress A thoroughfare for freedom beat Across the wilderness! America! America! God shed his grace on thee Till paths be wrought through wilds of thought By pilgrim foot and knee! O beautiful for glory-tale Of liberating strife When once and twice, for man's avail Men lavished precious life! America! America! God shed his grace on thee Till selfish gain no longer stain The banner of the free! O beautiful for patriot dream That sees beyond the years Thine alabaster cities gleam Undimmed by human tears! America! America! God shed his grace on thee Till nobler men keep once again Thy whiter jubilee!

New!

Thought For The Day

October 2011 St Joseph, MI

There is no certainty in any day. 

We awake and have plans or not, 

but waking is not a given, 

it's a gift. 

What follows is never routine

even if it's the same thing 

you did yesterday morning 

because, it's new. 

You are new,

life is new,  

possibilities run wild across your path.

Herb Ratliff, April 12, 2012, All Rights Reserved

Musing

Thought For The Day

I've been a bit under the weather with a nasty cold or something very mean that starts like a cold and then removes every ounce of energy from your body and leaves you a very sore throat. I don't get sick much and so this is not a part of my planned activities. If I don't plan it, I don't like it, usually and this time I am absolutely sure I don't like it.

What I've noticed is that when I am out of sorts my muse is hiding out somewhere. That is a fairly common malady for the amateur, a real writer would gut through the doldrums and create something of value in spite of a missing muse. I cannot imagine Stephen King whining about a missing muse. He doesn't whine, he writes. And, Hemingway would just muster up the courage to carry through wounded or maligned and create clean, exact sentences that pull the emotion from inside the reader. James Joyce never worried about a muse. He was so filled with thoughts and experiences of Dublin, a place he never left in spirit, and figured if it happened there it happened in any other big city as well. And Robert Frost could always look out a window and see a road or a fence, a tree or a brook and when you get right down to it, what else is there really?

In the final analysis I don't write because I think you need the benefit of my art or point of view, I write because I love to. I love the words and emotions that come as the result of words. I love the places words can take me. I love that I can fly with words, sing with words and dream with words and if I am never a star at least I can be a lamp for someone even if it only happens once on a day after I have long since become a part of the music of the spheres. If I were a pianist would I not play because I was not Mozart? If I were a cellist would I be sad because I was not Yo yo Maa? Or would I celebrate my ears because I could hear the result of my own effort. One's art as an amateur is offered from a posture of joy and a wish to share it. You would not criticize a child's mother or father's day hand made gift. Why would you not be willing to create something yourself to share with those you love? Gertrude Stein may have judged Hemingway and Fitzgerald severely or lovingly but there are more who know them than her because, A rose is a rose is a rose.

Herb Ratliff, April 11, 2012, All Rights Reserved

Polite Conversation

Thought For The Day

Have you ever tried to engage in a conversation with someone who was simply incapable of focusing on the topic/topics the two of you were discussing? Better yet, have you ever had a conversation with anyone who simply ignored or was unaware of the "echo tradition" in polite conversation? "Echo Tradition" refers to the "I am interested in you too." attitude in friendly conversation. For example:

"Where did you go to University?"

"I did my undergraduate work at University of New Mexico."

"Where did you go?"

"I went to Michigan State."

Instead, if you ask the question of the person I am thinking of you get a complete vitae with footnotes and the names and publications of all of their professors and all the while they are offering this canned dissertation they are eavesdropping on the the couple at the table next to you. And should you deign to comment, you are all but shushed for making it difficult for them to do so.

What's hard to swallow, I guess, is that there are people with whom you exist who care not a whit about you, anything you have done, are going to do or would like to do but are always ready to describe in great detail every drab piece of tapestry in their villa. Remarkable, isn't it? It just concerns me that there are people who will completely miss the opportunity to know me and my adventures in complete detail. Their loss!

But, enough about me. What do you think about me?

Herb Ratliff, April 9, 2012, All Rights Reserved

Courage

Thought For The Day

Courage is one of those word thoughts that comes ready made with a kind of picture that defines it. For me it is either a soldier in battle or an individual being confronted by a fierce animal that threatens life and limb. Sometimes it can be facing fear thoughts like walking across a handmade primitive bridge that crosses a deep chasm in a jungle setting. Those situations do call for a kind of courage to be sure but it is pictures like that which suggest that courage is in large measure a physical thing, grinning in the face of danger, as it were. And, that is true. Courage has a side to it which calls for confrontation, bowing up the chest and arms and going forward against seemingly insurmountable odds but courage has a softer side as well. Softer in the sense of quiet, determined, persistent assault against an insidious adversary that means to beat you down with a cruelty far beyond death and test your resolve to rise above it with endless love and energy.
There are many such challenges that we see every day. There are people who have worked their entire life in the service of others who have suffered economic or physical injury that limits their ability to live but continue to give to others freely and with love. There are parents who have to deal with physical, emotional and spiritual injury to their children but do so with a positive belief that there is hope and value and freedom in their future.
Courage is not a quality which arises in a moment of crisis and then leaves or goes to sleep. Courage is not a quality found only in the physically strong. Courage is a belief that in your hands lies the only chance for something to happen that will protect, defend and enlighten an otherwise hopeless situation and an acceptance on your part to do whatever it takes to succeed in that objective.
When you have it, be thankful. When you see it be grateful. When you need to, you will do it.

Herb Ratliff, April 4, 2012, All Rights Reserved

Choices

Thought For The Day

I was reading about Graham Nash yesterday and how he left The Hollies and came to America because of artistic differences. The article pointed to the Hollies other members not being willing to record The Marrakesh Express and Teach Your Children because it didn't fit their style. That sent Nash on the road and he ended up in Laurel Canyon with a teeming lot of artists including David Crosby and Stephen Stills who, it was said, made only a periferal pass through the music before they recorded it. The rest, as they say, is history. I have been a fan of Crosby, Stills and Nash from the first time I heard them.
It just proves that no matter how skilled you are at your art, someone will find it distasteful or lacking in appeal. So the question becomes, who is really lacking? Would that be you or your critics?
Let us not overlook the value in criticism offered when sought or by people who have a vested interest in your success. Just remember that ice cream makers have been making chocolate and vanilla for a long time. It only opened the door for more ways to be happy.

Herb Ratliff, April 3, 2012, All Rights Reserved

Building Blocks

Thought For The Day

I have had the privilege of knowing a lot of interesting and inspirational people in my life. Some of them have managed to find a bit of notoriety and others are localized heroes, some are just important and famous to me, you might be one of those yourself. The people that have impressed me the most are those who have written or spoken about something that has great value and practiced it as well. More importantly they have interested me not because they sought my approval or support but because what they did attracted me to them because of the value of the way they lived and what I could learn from them by watching their actions.
There are many people I could spotlight but the man I am thinking of today was bit of a philosopher who made few predictions and gave little advice. The advice he did give was of great value and simple in it's premise.
All of us face difficulties and we have all tasted fear. There is no shame in bowing to the many headed monster of fear. It is what my friend said about that encounter that has stayed with me for many years. And here are his words:

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow death, I will not build a condominium there.

Larry Ward, Architect, Philosopher, Dreamer

Herb Ratliff, April 2, 2012, All Rights Reserved