At my sobering age of nearly 70 and having been introduced to rod building by my son in law some 30 years ago and building more than my share of rods since that time began, I have to say that I never thought rod building would have the kind of show that it's getting ready to have in North Carolina this weekend. The bass fishermen and fly fishermen and boaters all have these type shows but rod builders have never had anything like this. I had almost given up on anything like this for rod building in my lifetime.

A recent bout of fly and an ailing wife will keep me away this year. But I want to thank Tom Kirkman for his hard work in setting this up for the rod building world and the people at the show promoter for taking a chance on rod building. I also want to thank all the fine rod builders who are giving demonstrations and seminars there this weekend. You know who you are. I want to thank those in charge for keeping the admission price low so anyone can afford it. I want to thank all the dealers and manufacturers who are traveling in to display and make Christmas come early for so many rod builders.

I won't be there but I know the planning and work have been going on for almost a year now. Even if it's not perfect and even if there are some snags I have to say that seeing what is being done for rod builders at this show makes an old rod builder teary eyed. You young builders try not to take for granted what you're going to experience this weekend. Go back just a couple years and there was nothing like this for us. Build on this and keep it going and maybe I'll join you all next year. But thanks to all who made this great show a reality. We've needed something like this for a long time. Thanks to those who finally made it possible.

That should read a recent bout of "flu" not "fly" But I guess that would be pretty bad too.

Henry,
I will sure second that. I think that you are absolutely right that we owe a debt to those that have worked on the show especially Tom. And all of us, even those that do not attend, will in the long run benefit from it.

Another thank you for those who kept the admission price low. I'm only an occasional rod builder and probably wouldn't have considered driving up 3 hours if the cost to get in had been much more than the advertised $12. Not that it wouldn't be worth much more, but many of us are only hobbyist builders and only have an afternoon to browse or see certain things. At $12 it's a no brainer but if it was $25 or $30 or something, I'd probably skip it. I no that doesn't sound like a lot but for many of us it probably means the difference between going or not going.