I will be 75 years old in October, and in those years, there have been many chapters, segments, and areas like everyone else’s life. My first twelve years were when my Dad was in the Navy, and they were marked by lots of travel and many moves, including 18 months on Midway Island with the Gooney birds. The following 15 years were farming years on two farms in Oregon and Washington, from 1976 to the present, were my Pastoring at Jefferson Baptist Church years. The most significant chapter has been the 54 years married to Patty and raising a family.

Of those significant chapters in my life, there have been various segments and areas that had a major part in shaping me and determining the course of my life. One of those that doesn’t seem to be that big of a deal, but has been, is fishing in Alaska.

I have been coming up and fishing for salmon for at least a week at a time, in Alaska for 25 years in a row. For a few years, we fished the Situk River in Yakutat, Alaska, but all the rest have been on the Kenai River in Soldotna, Alaska. The time up here is one of my favorite events each year, and my experiences in Alaska fishing have been a significant shaper and maker of who I am in character. It seems funny to say that fishing could be that significant in a person’s life, but it has been in mine, and I think only death will keep it from happening in the years ahead.

It all began when my friend Jay Goold who had lived in Jefferson and attended Jefferson Baptist Church, moved to Anchorage, Alaska, because of a work promotion and invited me to go fishing with him in 1997. I flew up with my friend Stan Hilton who paid for the entire trip, and we fished for two weeks. We fished in many different rivers, including Montana Creek, Sheep Creek, Bird River, the Susitna River, the ocean at Valdez, the sea out of Homer, the Russian River, and the Kenai River at Soldotna and Cooper’s Landing. That was one of those trips of a lifetime.

I continued coming up with Stan and others for several years, renting motorhomes in Anchorage and driving them to Soldotna. Chik Fisher, a friend in Lebanon, Oregon, bought a place in Soldotna and invited friends to stay with him and fish, and I did that for several years with many different people. About 2012, my friend Tim Groome bought a place in Soldotna as well that has evolved into “Funny River Fellowship Lodge,” where “the tug is the drug.” I have been fishing there since then, with some years being a month-long fishing adventure. For most of those years, Tim has paid for all the expenses of coming up.

I have been spending some time in the last couple of years writing about my life history. There is so much that has happened over the years that I have forgotten, but photographs, talking with others, and writing have brought most of it back.

As I write, look at pictures, and visit with people, some key things stand out. One of them is that very little of my life did I plan, it just happened, usually because of another person’s influence. Another is how well it fits together as a wandering stream, as if God were planning, directing, and causing it all to unfold.

I am looking forward to the rest of the story of my life and how it unfolds. I am especially looking forward to my life after this life with Jesus in a completely different setting, but with even more adventures and excitement, and I wouldn’t be surprised if fishing isn’t part of my experiences in the next life.