I gotta turn it up a notch

I don't know how you turn it up when you're already at full throttle but something has to give here. Those two guys are my old/good friends Ty Tobias and Lowell Upton after  a day of heart stopping, fast action silver fishing with guide # 003. I tired to convince myself that Lowell is just talking and not yawning but that sure looks like a yawn....this has NEVER happened to me before. I'm feeling like Willie Mays must have felt when he fell down on the way to first base as he neared retirement. I'm feeling like Mohamed Ali must have felt when he got beat by Leon Spinks...ouch....So Lowell, don't give up on me. I promise I won't tell the Sir Francis Drake Hotel joke again. I won't keep trying to persuade you that Seattle Mariners actually have a playoff chance. I'll give the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game rave reviews...whatever it take to avoid a yawner, I promise.

You might remember that every year I list some goals on the board in my prep shack down at the river. It helps keep me on task and reminds me what direction I'm headed in this old life. So here's a pic of it and lets see how I'm doing...

#1. Well I think I'm doing that just fine. In fact I had more fun guiding this season than ever. I guess it's because of a couple things. For one I'm not taking it for granted as I close in on my golden eras of guiding and with the King situation I'm doing less trips. There was a day when I worked so hard at it that I sometimes lost my humor and was to intense...not anymore, we're out to have fun.

#2  I'm 3 weeks into my training season and have already lost 3 or 4 pounds. For the first time in two years my shoulder is pain free so I'm lifting weights again and loving it. Last year I went to Mazatlán at 193 and came back the same but I put pounds on in the summer as I need carbs and calories for warmth and energy.  I think I can hit 185...I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.

#3  As you can see I amended that mid season. We have a new Park Ranger here named Jason and well, he's disrespectful, accusatory, unprofessional and in another life he'd be considered a bully. So sticking with my mantra of treating all people the way they treat me I just can't be nice to this guy. I've arrived at a place in life where I don't have to go along to get along and I deserve some respect. So here's the deal if you're reading Jason.... You will never catch me doing anything illegal or unethical on the Kenai River so meet Jeff King, guide #003 who always has and always will stand up to bullies like you.

#4 I can't believe I haven't caught it yet but this year it HAS to happen. All my team mates have caught a large Robalo. So when I catch him I'll take an ad out and announce it in the real paper, the Alaska Dispatch News.

#5 Road trip....it's only 200 short miles from Mazatlán. We'll take the number 1 bus and it should be a blog researching, new sites, new music, new pescado kind of trip. C'mon MP lets do this trip.

#6 I started with 1/3 the weight I was using before I hurt the shoulder. Today I did shoulder's and did my shrugs with only 35 pounders....but I'll work up to 75 for sure.

#7 This is the hardest thing in my life...which is a good thing really. But I'm so frustrated. I get something going I like then I give up on it because it's no good. Sometimes I think it's to dark or to stupid. I need to finish and let the people decide I guess, quit being so crtical.

#8 I was hoping to have a good enough season to get a Gibson Hollow body electric. They say for amplified rhythm guitar it's the best. Well, $$$$ is a factor so I've done my research and a couple inexpensive guitars get great reviews. I'm going to reward my season with either an Epiphone Dot (Epiphone is Gibson's other label) or and Ibanez Artcore. I'll go to Mamouth music in Anchorage and play them and if the prices is right I buy local but if it's more than 100 bucks difference I'll order from Sweetwater.com.

#9  That's the biggest goal in my life and I'd bet in yours too. I look at life like a I'm the trunk of the tree and everyone around me are the limbs...if I stay healthy and happy the limbs will too. That might sound a little selfish and maybe it is but I want to stay healthy in mind, body and spirit so I can be with you MP for as long and with as interesting a ride as possible.