How Much Is Enough?

Today's mission:
1)  Fish one lake for large-mouth bass, using a spinning rod and a plastic worm.
2)  Fish another lake for rainbow trout, using a fly rod and one of my own hand-tied flies.
Mission Accomplished.

That sounded really moronic.  That is how much outdoor writing reads nowadays.  Did I fish the lakes?  Yes.  Did I catch fish? Yes.  So what?

I've read books and articles by writers who have reached the stage in their fishing lives where they say it doesn't matter anymore if they catch anything, it's all about being out on the water.  I'm not there just yet.  Close, but still not there.  I still need to catch one fish.  Just need to look at a fish up close and take the hook out of its mouth.  That's what I did today, one fish from each lake.  Had some other fish on and lost them, but caught one tough-looking large-mouth and one elegant rainbow.

The first lake was spent paddling around the lily pads and along the brush-lined shore casting into every likely looking pocket.  There were a couple of bald eagles chattering at each other, and there were many small fish splashing around.  There were a few other folks out fishing but I was lucky enough to get the spots I wanted without any competition or crowding.

The second lake I had all to myself.  It's a small lake, with a single house on the end by the boat launch.  The rest of the lake is pretty wild along the shore line.  Never did see one fish rise, except for the several leaps my rainbow executed on its way to the pontoon.  With the wind, I mostly rowed around with a sinking fly line, cruising proven locations around the lake.  Big clouds, wind, sunshine, all made for a grand day out on the water.

No, I'm not to the don't-need-to-catch-anything stage, but it feels pretty good to be completely satisfied with one fish.

Worth It

Our school is participating in a fantastic program called AVID.  AVID is set up for kids who show academic promise but are from homes that don't have a history of attending college.  This is the second school I've worked at that supports AVID, and I've become a big advocate of the program.

The problem with worthwhile endeavors in education these days is that they usually encounter strong opposition from politicians and some administrators.  Also, teachers with massive egos that don't participate in AVID for some reason seem to greatly resent the positive attention AVID receives.

The three of us who teach the AVID elective classes have encountered such opposition this year.  Many of the better, more level-headed teachers at our school have embraced several of the AVID strategies, and have been tremendously supportive.  But, as Einstein once said, "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds," and we have.

Such opposition requires tons of energy and time to circumvent, time which would be better spent helping kids.  Oh well, such is the hand dealt.  Today, after some semi-violent opposition, we were granted our one and only college visitation.

Was it ever worth the struggle.  A blue-sky day greeted us as we explored our way around campus and completed many a fun task and challenge.  The smiling faces made it all worthwhile.

Dark Sides

I've posted here several times here how much I love coaching track.  The camaraderie yesterday of nine kids pushing each other in friendly competition to make their way through a tough workout was inspiring.  Great kids and a great day.  I couldn't be more proud.

The flip side was the whole mess with trying to get the Seattle Sonics back in town.  A big part of me wants to tell the NBA and David Stern and his sleezy entourage where to shove it.  I grew up with the Sonics being my favorite team and the NBA my favorite sport.  I was in awe of Wilt Chamberlain and loved Lenny Wilkins when I was in third grade.  Dr. J was the coolest guy on the planet to me when I was a teenager, and Magic and Larry brought a decade of the game played at its very best.

As with many things as I get older, the shady characters behind the scenes have tarnished something I grew up with.  Stern is a slimeball.  Those Oklahoma guys must have set him up really nice for retirement.  You could see and hear Stern's ongoing resentment toward Seattle with his little of-handed remark the other day.  Guess the Seattle group was just a little too honest publicly and not willing to sweeten the pot privately for the Commissioner to bless the Sacramento deal.

Too bad for Lenny, Gary, Freddie, Jack, Spencer, Xavier, Gus, Shawn, Nate, Lonnie, Slick, and everyone else that their accomplishments and contributions are being erased by an egotistical lawyer.  Seems to be a lot of that going around lately.  Thank God there is still middle school track.

Dream Game

Enough of the heavy stuff for a while.  Typical Sloth & Gluttony night of eating silver salmon, watching Deadliest Catch, and putting off grading tests.

With the NBA playoffs going now, I was thinking, what would be the dream game to see?  The Dream Team of 1992 certainly stands out.  What if pro players had always been able to compete in the Olympics?  My two ideal teams would come from 1964 and 1988.  To me, these would have been the two best times in NBA history, with the best players at the best stages of their careers.

Now I just thought about putting up today's best and see how they might stack up.
Here goes:

                   1964                               1988                                2013
1        Oscar Robertson             Magic Johnson                Chris Paul
2        Jerry West                       Michael Jordan               Kobe Bryant
3        Elgin Baylor                    Larry Bird                         Kevin Durant
4        Bill Russell                      Karl Malone                      Lebron James
5        Wilt Chamberlain          Hakeem Olajuwon          Tim Duncan

I changed Bill Russell, Lebron James and Tim Duncan's positions to allow for the best players of each era to be on the court at the same time.

Looking at the match-ups:
At point guard I'd have to go with Magic, but I only was able to see Oscar at the tail end of his career, when I was too young to know what a triple-double was.  Either one could post up Paul all night long.

Shooting guard would have to go to Jordan, but I would love to see he and Kobe in their primes head-to-head.  West was great but not in their league.

Small forward is hard because I don't remember seeing Elgin play.  This one is the closest to a toss-up.

Power forward is a matter of how you view the game.  To me Bill Russell is the greatest team player ever.  It's a team game.  Lebron is absolutely spectacular, but he's never been guarded by anyone approaching Russell's caliber.  Malone was a stud, but he is third here, in my opinion.

Center would have to go to Wilt, but Hakeem would make him earn his money.  I think both would be too athletic for Duncan.

The 1988 team is the over-all tallest of the three, but the other two teams are quicker.  I think the '88 squad has the best back-court.  The '64 team would be the toughest up-front, with the two greatest rebounders of all time.  If I had to bet on outcomes, '88 would finish first, followed by '64, then this year's team.

Earth Day and White Guys

Earth Day!
All these specials on PBS this weekend.
Grow a beard and tell everyone how smart you are.
Give me a break.

Thoreau, Muir, Leopold, Pinchot.
Ahead of their time?
No, you smug little intellectuals.

The real earth ethic was already here.
Before Gore Tex and REI.
Before Stetsons and barbed wire.
Even before Columbus and Leif Erickson.

"Is it really important for a boy to learn the name of a wild animal, what it eats, where it lives, and how it rears its young while at the same time the boy never gets to live near the animal?  Would it not be better to let nature be, and let the boy live with unspoiled affection for all creatures, instead of teaching him to boast of knowledge?"

"Of all the teachings we receive
this one is most important:

Nothing belongs to you
of what there is,

of what you take,
you must share."

- Chief Dan George