The moment I told fellow Fair Haven Ministries choir member Doug Wybenga—who works with Bill Haagsma, a fellow fly guy and friend of my bud and RVRQST guide, Don Graham—that I wanted to get some dirt on Bill so I could have some fun with him, I knew it was a mistake. Well, today the proverbial chickens came home to roost: “Sure, Bill, I’ll join you and Doug for breakfast…. Hey, what’s Don doing here?” And so it was game on…
Confessional: Last spring while fishing with Don, I hoisted a steelhead on my Boga grip to weigh it and then release it. As the steelhead slipped into the depths, I tossed my Boga grip toward the tackle tray on my boat, only to miss high! And there she went: a $100+ Boga grip overboard—gone!
To compound things and make matters even worse, I earlier was frustrated that I couldn’t find my camera to capture chrome for all to see, only to later happen to reach into my shirt pocket and there it was! Of course, as a result of these and other TK faux pas, I’ve suffered no small amount of approbation from the RVRQST guides for what they are convinced are screw-ups wholly related to my advancing age!
Today, Bill and the guys officially documented their concern over my losing my grip figuratively and literally with a breakfast roast of one guide Tommy. Pictured below are my Christmas “gifts:” an eye popping float to attach to my Boga grip, personally messaged and autographed by the guys, and a one-of-a-kind camera case. All of the notes written on the float smoked me pretty badly, but my son Steve’s topped them all:
“Worse case, you can use this float as an indicator for your aging eyes!”
And so it goes with the RVRQST guys. With friends (and a son) like these, who needs enemies? Rest assured though, boys, I’ll be watching and investigating; your turns are coming!
Captain “Gramps” Tom Kuieck
