Trying to finish as much work as possible today, in order to fish
all day tomorrow. Not sure if I will head to the Middle Provo or will fish the
Lower. I really like the Middle and there's plenty of great runs to fish.
Hoping the weather stays overcast, colder, and a little rainy--should cut down
the weekend traffic.
On Monday, one of my close friends, "IQ," will be
visiting me for a week, which will include a Vegas trip and showing him around.
IQ is not coordinated nor patient enough to fly-fish. Growing up in Washington,
he was an only child/ city-kid who my brothers and I rescued and introduced him
to the great outdoors. Mostly, the invites, which over time became less of an
invite and more of a sales pitch, masked our underlying selfish intent. You
see, IQ's parents owned an indestructible fiberglass canoe, which we also
adopted.
IQ was is the type of individual who can't start a campfire
in the middle of summer, but on a whim, could cause a forest fire in the middle
of winter. Perhaps nothing illustrates IQ's luck in the outdoors better than
several fond memories. After convincing IQ that he was needed to even out the
teams for a game of capture the flag on a summer night, we headed towards a
field near our mutual friend's house in Hockinson. The field required us to
cross over Chinaman's ditch, which separated the road from the field. During
the winter, Chinaman's ditch resembles something in between a creek and river,
whereas in the summer, the ditch is filled with stagnant muck.
While still dusk and at the start of the games, the group
had crossed over Chinaman's ditch using a scrap 2x4. After the games had
finished--11 pm or so, we searched a short distance for the 2x4 and couldn't
locate it. I suspected that my friend's older brother may have removed it.
Nonetheless, we were forced to jump the ditch, which was certainly possible and
it quickly became an extension of the games we had just finished. Some of the
more athletic types, such as myself, my friend, and my brother, Brian, jumped
first in order to show some of the less athletic guys that it was easily
possible. Each of us knew that it was more like a 50% chance that one of the
others wouldn't be able to clear the ditch. One-by-one, each guy managed
to clear it and though somewhat sadistic, some of us started to feel a little disappointed.
Then, one of the guys observed that IQ
still stood on the other side of the ditch. With a flashlight, we shined it on
IQ and prodded him to hurry and get it over with. He kept looking up and down
the ditch for a scrap piece of wood, but eventually came to terms that he'd be
force to follow suit. As we had done, IQ got a running start and managed to
clear the ditch. However, he also managed to land on a family of opossums.
We stood in awe as IQ tap danced in the middle of weeds and
long grass, while the beasts made terrible noises and lashed at IQ's pants.
Given the size of the group, where we jumped, and where IQ jumped, the possums
must have decided that they were going to make a last stand, which meant that
IQ had managed to land on the one spot the group hadn't. IQ escaped relatively
unscathed, though his escape route included Chinaman's ditch.
What's truly amazing about IQ, Chinaman's Ditch, and the
family of possums is that it fits within protocol . It is the reason that my
brothers and I still request the presence of IQ whenever we are looking to
create an outdoor adventure.
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