Holding on Tightly, with Winter Closing In
By Jim Sollecito
It seems the longer I am on this planet, the tighter I try to hold on to the end of each and every season.
Savoring the sights, smells and sounds along a riverbank before they drift away, only to exist in my memory bank —where they may live forever or at least until next week.
One of my very favorite places to spend time every autumn is by a sparkling river, observing things that glide by, never to return again. Just because that object no longer exists for me does not mean it has lost value downstream.
I have long felt that next to prayer, fishing is the most personal relationship of man. It is also the eternal fountain of youth, as it always makes me anticipate when I’ll go again and the proper preparation required to make the next time even better.
After every outing I take notes of what I need to do to improve the next venture. I never record what I caught. I just log what I need to do differently.
Notable achievements are often contingent on subtle tweaks. Setting the hook across the flow or upriver at this time of year all influence a bend in your rod, or swings and misses. When you are done learning, you are probably done, and I am not that guy. We review, we make plans, we try to do better. Constant improvement beats delayed perfection every time.
Even knowing the next time may be a full 10 months away. And as the weather hardens, this water will become hard itself. Which softens us, ironically. We see things with a different perspective in winter as time passes slower and leaves its mark on us as well. I want to be successful at growing old; enthusiasm for all four seasons is part of that process. I really didn’t want to be 60, now I aspire to be 70, and time spent fly fishing is my reward for working hard. I’m at my best when I have a job to do, I’m healthier. I’m a better man when I am active.
Something more significant was taken from the river this day. My goal had been to feel something tightening at the end of my line. But I also touched the wind, tasted the rain, watched the sun rise, listened to the water and smelled the earth that surrounded it. All with baited breath.
And even though every salmon was released, they now have trust issues. Don’t we all?
Winter is not everyone’s favorite time of year; some just try to endure getting through it. But there are good parts to every season if we remember to look for them. When things were running dry, I recall somebody once turned water into wine.
A lot of folks use the colder months to read more. If you learn to read books, you can be smart. If you learn to read yourself, you can be anything.
This year, remember to live while you’re busy surviving.
Jim Sollecito is the first lifetime senior certified landscape professional in New York State. He operates Sollecito Landscaping Nursery in Syracuse. Contact him at
315-468-1142 or jim@sollecito.com.