During a bright sided moon I met me when I was much younger. Man did he have questions, the first was, well how did our life turn out? I had to answer honestly, well, it’s not over yet, but many things have gone exceptionally well and so as not to spoil the fun, I leave the goods and the bads off the list of answers. Okay young me, he responds, fine old man.
He wanted to know if I still hunted, I said I most certainly do, and before he could ask, I said, I fish more than ever and still like trapping. Then I broke a rule I told him about a beaver dam I had set in my twenties, gave him perfect directions to the place, told him to look close on the dry out edge for my favorite machete, I told him when he finds it, it’s his. Then I got off on a tangent, I said I wonder where I could leave this 22 long rifle for him, I have a matched set of them, such a fun plinker of a gun, and I wished I had had one when I was younger. He liked that idea a lot, he even said he would leave a wad of cash with it, then we both laughed. I said when you get to be me today, be prepared tho, 22 ammo has gone way up in price. Oh and after saying that, I probably shouldn’t have, it caused him a bit of concern over many things but before he got too long in the chin, I said your gonna fish, hunt, hike in some of the most amazing places, and even at my old age I think northern Minnesota still tops them all. He said that’s the only place he’d been so far, he being much younger, I just quietly agreed knowing exactly where I was, when I was, how young, he still is, and I ain’t. And I left him as the moonlight was fading with this: Don’t worry kid, you got lots of great years ahead of you and take your time about it, because it goes way too fast.
--The trout whisperer
