Outdoor Guide
September-October 2021
Photo and Text By BRENT FRAZEE I read a meme on Facebook the other day that hit home. “The trouble is that you think you have time.” As I cross the threshold of old age, I realize I am running out of time. I am approaching 71 years of age, and I still have dreams and goals. But the older I get, the easier it is to procrastinate. “We can do that next year,” is my common refrain. But there are no guarantees that next year will come. I got a reminder when my friend and fellow outdoor communicator Thayne Smith passed away recently. We talked for years about getting together for a couple days of fishing on the lake on which I live. When Thayne was in relatively good health, we talked about how he and his long-
Time’s rule: Don’t put your dreams on hold
time partner, Jeannie Farmer, would visit my wife and me in Parkville and stay with us. We would fish during the day, go out to dinner in the evening and tour different sites in Kansas City. That was the plan, and it was discussed just about every time we’d talk. But we ran out of time. TOO BUSY, REALLY? Old age caught up with Thayne, he could no longer travel and he passed away before we could get together for our long-planned fishing trip. It brought back memories of the sad role procrastination played when I lost my dad. My dad took me to Canada or northern Wisconsin nearly every year when I was a growing, and we had some great times. As he got older, I decided I would take him back to Canada for one last hurrah. I would pay
the way, I would pick out the lodge, and I would pamper him every way possible. But life kept getting in the way. Either I was too busy building a career and tending to family life or he and Mom had things planned. Eventually, we ran out of time. My dad became ill and couldn’t travel, and our plan became just an unfulfilled dream. That’s one of my greatest regrets in life. I’ve often wondered what it would be like to see Dad fighting an acrobatic northern pike or enjoying a shore lunch of freshly caught walleyes. But it never happened. GRANDPA ERIC & J.D. I regret running out of time with other family members and friend, too. When I was just a grasshopper, I used to fish with my Grandpa Eric. I was an impatient little guy at the time, often skipping rocks and trying to hit the bobbers when the fish weren’t biting. But Gramps would grit his teeth and
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Missouri fishing guide Dennis Whiteside paddles on an Ozark stream with Thayne Smith one recent spring.
bare it, knowing that someday I would appreciate the solitude of being outdoors. He was right. As I developed a passion for fishing, I wanted to get together with Gramps for one last trip. But we ran out of time. The same could be said for some of the guides I wrote about early in my career. My favorite was always J.D. Fletcher, a self-proclaimed Ozarks hillbilly and a guide extraordinaire. I just loved being around
J.D. He always made me laugh, and he always got me into good fishing. I planned a reunion trip with the help of his son Jeff and his friend Johnny White as he became old and feeble. We went out on Table Rock and I’ll never forget the look of joy on J.D.’s face as he caught a bass. “The old man’s still got it,” he sputtered. We had such a good time that we all vowed to do it again. But it turns out that this was J.D.’s
last fishing trip. He passed away not long after that trip. DON’T WAIT The moral to this story? Don’t procrastinate. Follow your dreams while you can. Get together with old fishing buddies and makes some new memories. Go on that trip you’ve always wanted to take. Tomorrow isn’t promised. The trouble is that you think you have time.
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