A thread of wishes to our friends.

[basswipe]

This last half of August has been rough.Lost my friend Gary to cancer and then soon after my other friend Kevin in a construction accident and now Joe.

I have yet to be able to form the words about how I feel.Don't know if I will ever be able to.

[tattoobob]

Sense January I have lost 11 friends and Family, it's a real tough year for us and most before there time, I guess one will never know when your time is up. Cherish your memories and time you had with them

[DZ]

So to put this latest loss of Joe Martins into a unexplained perspective. Two weeks go the wife of my late best friend Zeke drops his fishing gear off to me so I can sell it for her. In one bag are things Zeke wanted me to have. As I went through the bag I found some old freshwater Pt Jude lures in a plastic baggie that also included a handwritten note written from the late Chuck "Crafty Angler" Vietry to Zeke:

"Zeke - here's some of those Freshwater Point Judes I told you about - Joe Martins gave me a bunch of them - he hasn't put them in production and these are originals. Give them a try, see how they work, figured you could field test them out there(in Wisconsin). Let me know how you do with them... good luck. Chuck"

All three of these friends are now gone....