Article About Dad.....

(Richard Simms wrote and published this article about Dad on Chattanoogan.com under the Outdoors section...I have copy and pasted it here for you because it is simply too good not to share..Thank you Richard)


A Friend Indeed
Don't wait until your words ring hollow...by Richard Simms
posted January 16, 2009

One of my first trophy cats shared with "A Friend Indeed."A good friend of mine is suffering. Cancer is the culprit and Hospice has been called.I won't say who it is... our mutual friends will know. For those who don't, it doesn't matter.What should matter is that you appreciate your own good friends who have shared special days and special memories.I met this man through another mutual friend who knew that we both had an interest in catfishing. After some encouragement from our mutual friend, and the regular "dance" that people do before sharing their hunting & fishing secrets... he invited me to join him for a day on the water.

It was a revelation. Until that day I only thought I knew how to catfish. For me, at that time, a 5-pound catfish was a behemoth. But this man showed me the ropes... the rigs, the baits and the places where truly big blues call home.The first time my rod tip bowed to the water, and I could barely move the beast from the bottom, I knew I had entered a new and incredible outdoor world. Since that first 30-pound blue was captured many years ago, catfishing has been my passion.My friend went on to teach me much more about fish, about fishing and about life. I relished our days on the water, although they were too few.I'd give a great deal to have some of those days back now... and I wonder if we will ever sit together in a boat again.I know that everyone reading these words has such friends. You think your days ahead will last forever.They will not.Enjoy them while you can... and tell your friends how much you care before the time when your words might ring hollow, or perhaps even go unheard.

Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same. - Anonymous