by WanderingBlues » December 18th, 2020, 9:02 am
Before my fly fishing days, I was heavy into mountain biking. One of my dearest friends and MTB buddies is from Lone Pine. Gary’s family owns the Best Western up there and his mom founded the Lone Pine Film Festival and museum.
One time Gary, his wife, Tami, and I were heading up to Mammoth for a bike weekend. We swung by his folks house to say hey. His dad was going through chemo at the time and one of his fly fishing buddies was there keeping him company. Before Gary could make introductions, I blurted out “Holy $h1t, Chuck Yeager!!!”
Gary’s dad was a pilot with General Yeager, and longtime fishing pal. Gary grew up fishing and exploring the Eastside with him and Gary became a Marine Corp pilot and UPS captain.
In his presence, all I saw was a normal guy cutting up and busting chops of a dear friend, while both of them swapped lies. He would have been an FFA member for sure...
"We're a cross between our parents and hippies in a tent...."
180 Degrees South