Louis L’Amour, prolific writer of cheap Westerns, described them as, “ …women to ride the ridges with – the kind of gal that walks beside her Man instead of behind him …”
This being a fly fishing blog, I don’t expect my readership knows a truly good woman nor a true Angel from Heaven was he to trip over one .. mostly because he’s preoccupied with “Miss UnderAge” in the line behind her.
On rare occasion even my caustic-prick-nature is struck speechless by the profound nature of someone else’s actions, and reserve this moment of admiration for a Mrs. Ellen VanOss …
Ellen believes she will lose her battle with cancer and asked Rongey to make the rod for her and surprised Jack with it at the end of January. It is an 8-foot-long fly fishing rod hand-crafted of split bamboo, inscribed with the Biblical reference Deuteronomy 31:6, where God guarantees he “will never leave you nor forsake you.” Ellen said she wants him to think of her every time he uses it after she’s gone.
Miss Ellen, there ain’t a dry eye in the house …
“Miss Ellen, there ain’t a dry eye in the house …”
Amen.
Is there room for a dry-eyed interpretation here ? Ellen may be wishing to remind her man of the many times he slud away to go fishing and left the family strife and domestic chores up to her. “Forsake” hardly covers it, and ol’ Jack may want to run some tape over Deuteronomy 31:6 if he wants to fish at peace with himself.
All them times she said, “go brush your teeth – you’n them filthy cigars” – means the fellow is never to have a moments peace puffing the mosquitos away.
(Ma, I was all straight & respectful until Yomama made funny …)