So it goes...

A few weeks back, I wrote about a friend of mine from back when I was in high school. His name is Pat and he and I have been friends ever since. My point was that there are certain friends in your life that impact the person you are, what you think and believe. Pat is one of those guys, especially in regards to helping me form my faith. So in keeping with the spirit of writing about close friends, I have to mention another of those guys, my friend, Steve. He and I met through our wives over 25 years ago. Our wives worked together at the Southeastern Wisconsin Center for Independent Living (SEWCIL). I still remember the first time we met, the four of us went out to a movie (in 1991 or so) and then went back to their apartment where we grilled out and talked. Over the years, our wives grew to be best friends. We attended Brewer games, bowled together, helped each other with house projects, attended the same church for a while and much, much more. While Steve and I were friends, we we...

Spring seems to be approaching fast and furious this year. We've had a decent stretch of weather ranging in temperature from 40's to the 60's. The warm weather has me thinking thoughts of open water and fishing. Whether it is from my kayak, my buddy's boat, or from a dock somewhere, it is one of my favorite warm weather activities. Because I've been doing it for decades, I have a number of great fishing memories. Here are a few that include a broad range of friends and family. Hibbing For a short time in the late 60's my mom dated a guy who had a cabin in Hibbing, Minnesota. One weekend he took her and all of us kids up to it for a weekend of fishing and swimming. In the early morning hours on Saturday, my brother Tom took Rob and I out fishing. All three of us caught northern pike. It was both Rob and my first northerns, a sizeable upgrade from the many panfish we had caught over the years. More importantly, it put the three of us brothers in the boat at ...