Not a good start

Its been a slow start so far this month. The league doesn't start until this Thursday, and I'm not getting a real positive response yet. Only two others have signed in thus far, but I know there'll be others at the last minute. I do hope it happens this week, I'm getting the ITCH again.

Dad went back to the hospital again. He was complaining between Christmas and New Year's that he wasn't feeling very good, and insisted he could wait until he saw the specialist at the end of January. Well, I guess it got too much for him and he went in to get it checked out, and they put into bed right away and had the specialist come to him. Another blockage. However, after he was rushed down to London for tests and hopefully another stint procedure, the bad news was given. This blockage was far above the stints put in last summer, and behind the heart. The location prevented any kind of surgery and there is nothing they can do but try to clear it out with meds and make him as comfortable as possible. He's back home now, has to wear a nitro patch from the moment he wakes up to when he goes to bed, and he's taking meds to try to clear the blockage slowly and for pain too. I've talked to my niece Penny, who's a nurse, and I think she really wanted to reassure me things will be okay, but I can tell in her voice that it isn't the best situation. To me, it seems to be a ticking bomb in his chest, and it could stop ticking any time. Still, although it could be any time, it could also be five years down the road, and knowing my father, he's stubborn enough to fight it forever. I love my father, I don't tell him that near enough, but I do. Its just something I don't say to him. But I want him to live! His granddaughter wants him to live. Please Dad...don't give in.

My father taught me how to fish when I was a kid. I remember one time while camping, my brothers and some friends were playing some kind of hide and seek game, and Dad was getting ready to head out to fish a place he never fished before. I didn't feel like playing hide and seek (just NOT my kind of fun). When they all left to play, Dad threw my fishing rod and tackle box into the van, told me to get in and hide, and he took me with him for the afternoon. I was thrilled! Off we went to a section of river, just me and him. I remember that was the day he caught the biggest brown trout of his life, I was there! It was MASSIVE! A real beaut. I remember he was on the shore, I was standing up to my crotch in the river fishing a different hole, when I saw his rod tip bouncing. 'Dad I think you got something' I said. He looked, gave it a second or two, then jumped up and set the hook. What was on the other end of that line was the most spectacular brown trout I have EVER seen. Dad played it well, then horsed it on shore. Now, at the time, this was how you fished...set the hook, bring it in hard and fast...now I know he's damn lucky he didn't loose that monster. At the time, he was a member of a fishing club, and he submitted it for the annual Fishing Awards at the end of the year. AND HE WON IT THAT YEAR!! FOR THAT FISH!!! I will remember that trophy sitting on our old TV set for an entire year. It was because of that fish, that day my father took me, his fishing buddy, out for an afternoon, and came back with a prize. I don't know who was more proud of that day, me or him, but it was the most memorable moment I have of my father.

There are a lot of stories about my father and fishing. Maybe I'll post more in later entries, who knows, but right now, I just want to be able to return the favour to him and get him out fishing one more time.

Haven't started tying flies for that swap yet, but the date isn't until the end of March, so I have plenty of time still.

I see another Canadian won the PokerStars Caribbean Tour, and he's from Toronto. $3MILLION first place prize, all from a satellite seat too. I REALLY need to play more satellites. Canadians this past year or so have done very well. I could be next!! ;)