last night was the high light of my season....nothing that happens this year will top it...Last October, my long time.. young friend walked into my office and dropped a bomb shell...he told me he had stage 4 lyphoma..... I was stunned.. Mike is 37 with a wife and 7 year old twins... I've known Mike since he was very young...I fished with both his grand father and Dad ( I still ice fish with his father) ... after aggressive Chemotherapy he is schedluled for his final pet scan on Friday.. the last two have been clean... the treatments have left him weak and vulnerable.. but he's fighting back and looks good....it was like old times, him on "point" like a bird dog on the bow, casting at breaking fish... we didn't land any monsters, the fish were averaging about 10 lbs.. but we got a bunch of 'em... when late in the tide ( our third last drift) Mike did what he has always done when I put him in posistion.. after making a move looking for "something better" .. he coaxed a 20+ lb fish to strike and put it in the boat.. not a monster or even large by our standards.. but it brought smiles and laughing.. Mike shook my hand and said "it's a great day to be alive".. I relied it's a great ****** day!... having him healthy and smiling did me good.. i think he profited as well... this winter has been especialy hard, him with lymphoma and another dear friend, known to some here, batteling lyme disease... his battel is not over yet.. aggressive treatments have left him worn and ragged.... I write this to let every one know that we ALL need to count our blessing ... EVERY DAY... you never know what fate may be waiting.. make the best of your friendships and be kind to one another... and lastly.. fishing aint always about catching fish..

tight lines all
Roc

That is an awesome story!

:musc::kewl:

:claps:

NICE

I try to live every day just like that Joe! Great story and very happy to hear good news about your good friend....may he have many healthy years ahead of him!:uhuh:

"Enjoy every sandwich" - Warren Zevon

thanks for sharing Joe. Great stuff...

Good read, great to be on the right side of the lawn for sure, enjoying good times with good friends.

Nice!

As a 6 year cancer survivor (in remission) I know all too well from where you speak. I live everyday like it's my last

Roc, great thread !! I don't know how old you are but I'm just about 60 here. In my younger years it was about catching lotsa' fish or big ones. I find that now the best about the sport is fishing with friends, rehasing past memories, remembering those who can no longer fish with us, holding onto and making new memories. I am thankful for all those I've met through fishing and all those I will meet. Wishing good health to your friend and to all fishermen that we fish with. Tight Lines !

Roc, great thread !! I don't know how old you are but I'm just about 60 here. In my younger years it was about catching lotsa' fish or big ones. I find that now the best about the sport is fishing with friends, rehasing past memories, remembering those who can no longer fish with us, holding onto and making new memories. I am thankful for all those I've met through fishing and all those I will meet. Wishing good health to your friend and to all fishermen that we fish with. Tight Lines !

I'm 58.... I've lost fishing friends my age or slightly older some to heart atacks.. others to cancer.. it took my Father @ 63... my mother died from a series of heart attacks @ 57.. I'm no starnger to it...... but when I see young guy's in thier 30's getting sick.. it refocuses your thoughts on life... Pieema... glad to hear good news... as you said.. you know where my heart is...

excellent story

Thanks Joe. When my friend Lanny Grazini died of cancer I was devastated. It's tough loosing good friends but especially those who you have that special fishing bond with.

Thank God your friend is doing well.

I recently had my father beat prostrate cancer. And a good friend of ours is lowing on a bed with "treatable" pancreatic cancer it is stories like Mikes that give me hope for many. Congrats to him! Last night is just one moment in a long lifetime of great things to come
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Good for your friend and thank you for sharing :love:

sounds like you guys had a great time roc! best wishes for your buddy mike.

nice read ...Joe ...he's lucky to have a good friend like you
as you give him power.

Great story Joe. I am sure you made his day, along with yours. Well wishes to your friend and his battle.
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That is a great story, Joe! Congrats to Mike and to you both on a great day. Enjoy your time together as we never know when our last trip might be.
One of my close friends, lost their 14 year old son to brain cancer a year ago. This kid was full of life and always smiling, even during his sickness. He loved fishing and would always ask me how I did when I saw him, and want to how I caught 'em and any pic's? About a month before he got too sick to go, we went to a local lake and caught some fish together, and just talked. As he sat there with his hairless head covered with his baseball hat staring out at the lake, he told me,"This is what I'm going to miss the most." I took a picture of him with a bass he caught and gave it to him. He died about a month and a half later, with that picture beside his bed. Sometimes when I'm having a crappy day, I think about him, and that day, and it makes me smile. Enjoy your time out, and dont always make it just about fishing. I miss ya Mike!

nice story Joe, I'm glad to hear your friend is a fighter and he knows how to enjoy what he has. I wish him well, and good for you sharing some fishing time with him.

Thanks for the story ... inspiring ... and certainly do agree that we should not take any day for granted and to live it with gratitude and to live it to its fullest ... a credo we should all follow ... thanks again.

Thanks for sharing that story Roc -

We need stories or rather reminders like these, about how precious and limited our time is hear on earth. I often take it for granted and am always humbled by stuff like this. Takes me back a few steps. We get stressed out about the stupidest things sometimes.

Great read, good for the both of you...when it's all said and done, make sure you're on the right team. God Bless us all.

" There are only two ways to live your life, one as if nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is a miracle.".
Albert Einstein.
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Excellent read..., what a tribute!

Thank you for sharing Joe.

Great stuff!

great story Joe, thanks for sharing.

well said

It all has to do with your perspective and all that entails. All its vagaries and nuances within the definition of perspective and how you let that word guide you.
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Nice Joe, really nice.
Clammer says it best, "Enjoy what you have."

That is a heart warming story I can really relate to. I did battle with colon cancer for over two years. Two major surgeries, twice a month chemo treatments (two bags at the treatment center plus that gross looking bag of iron, then have a pump attached to my chest for the third dose for two additional days) for 9 months. Knocked the living $h!# out of me, but I'm still here and about 5 months shy of the critical two year C-free mark. If my wife and girls had not been 110% committed to going through it with me, I'm really not sure I would have made it. They certainly weren't the only ones, but it means so much to have that support especially when you're down and depressed and at times almost completely helpless and I would urge everyone to not shy away from an acquaintance dealing with cancer just because you're not sure how how to deal with it. Find a way! You can do so much to boost their spirits just by being there. Because of that, I believe I've become a better person, because this experience will change you. Physically, I'll never be the person I was before, I accept that because as one of my doctors once said, "It is what it is, Jim, think of what the alternative could have been". I've had this post open so long I can't remember who even started the thread, but I wanted to say great job on your part supporting your friend and heartfelt wishes for continued remission for your friend.