Big_Spinner
Trout Hunter
Dear Editor,
Yet another religious war.
Some fly fishing fanatics, like fundamentalist Muslims, now find themselves lumped with the Taliban because of their religion (trout).
Steven Painter, the new Bin Laden, is hiding high in the hills in some deserted blue stone quarry among the rattlesnakes, no doubt. This, the second highjacked plan of his group, hit The Hancock Herald on appropriately 9/11 and has torn a hole in the fabric of our community and left many smoldering.
Like most religious fanatics, Painter has deviated from the essence of the religion. The true religion (Trout) has its roots in peace, solitude, thought, reflection, passivity, sharing, generosity, education, freedom, discovery, gratitude, poetry, prose and above all, understanding humanity’s interdependencies.
Trout - the religion - is not about arrogance, money, size or numbers, nor anger and destruction, yet increasingly I am encountering these and some even more stressful qualities.
This fly fisherman would like to thank the many people residing along the banks and in the surrounding hills for almost fifty years of countless kindnesses you have shown me.
Thanks for remembering my name, and for serving me breakfast, lunch and dinner. Thanks for letting me park my car on the edge of your field to fish. You have fixed my cars and helped me repair three homes, providing materials and expertise. I spent nights warm in your homes when no motel was available. You people have been the finest hosts possible and our relationship has grown deeper and more and more special over the many years.
Please, this fall while hunting deer, turkey or Taliban near overgrown quarries, take careful aim NOT to shoot - he is the one with the Kevlar waders and vest. I will buy you the drink of your choice at Lydia’s, before or after the Yankee game.
Your friend,
Bill Herrick
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heroes of Mine
by Bill Herrick
Forty years I came here to fish.
Now I’m ashamed of how much I missed.
Just reading trout, water and flies,
I remained here thus preoccupied.
However this year, when I came,
A personal loss preceded your rain.
In anguish, I came anyway,
To fish all my pain away.
On the way here it started to rain.
And from the “Willow” I drove to the Main.
Self pity would not set me free,
And nature was mimicking me.
Clear and meandering, now raced to the sea,
All black and full of debris.
Bits of lives where mayflies should be dancing,
Mothers clutching children and old men glancing.
At churches built on higher ground
Some citizens now gather around.
The cop that guards the bridge below
Just lost his home to the angry flow.
Mud dries and as the waters recede,
FEMA red tapes you, your food pantry feeds.
Oh, they talk of heroes of nine eleven,
Of building monuments that stretch to heaven.
But the heroes I witnessed with pride,
Here’s a list of the towns where they all reside:
Hancock and Cadosia, you both went through Hell.
From Lordville to Deposit, it rang everyone’s bell.
Working men and women all,
You heard no funeral pall.
Doing what you do best,
A summer spent without rest.
Rebuilding your neighbor’s lives,
Children at work with husbands and wives.
Dust, rubble, concrete and steel,
You slowly start to heal.
More hammers, nails and paint.
You cover scars without complaint
I waited and watched and did not fish.
I got to know you and it’s my fondest wish:
That you know what your friendships have meant to me.
You saved my life - it’s a certainty.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Editor,
It is with great interest and an occasional bout of nausea that I have been reading the Hancock Herald over the past summer, especially the letters to the editor complete with the rants and raves of our area's illustrious visitors who feel that by threatening us local "morons" with legal action and name-calling, we will cower and run in fear of their superiority. PLEASE! We have weathered much worse and survived very nicely.
Contrary to the misinformation that has been fed to these visitors, we are not a community of ill-educated, dirt-poor, and misguided people looking for salvation from our mundane existence by way of me financial windfall they seem to think they pump into our local economy. This area has more than its fair share of educated and, yes, believe it or not, wealthy citizens. Many of us have retired from successful careers elsewhere to live here full-time. This is an area rich with open-minded, open-hearted people who welcome newcomers with open arms.
Pardon us for feeling that since we pay taxes and vote here, what we envision for our community should take precedent over what you seem to feel your few months and few dollars spent here should be able to secure.
Our neighbors have been hounded and sworn at as they stood on their own properties which border the river. We have been harassed when we try to take a leisurely summer float down our beloved Delaware. Sometimes it seems like our fishing visitors would prefer us to quietly disappear, just like the lovely swans that no longer grace our area. Mr. Findlay, we would never dream of going to Syracuse and attempting to force on your residents our vision for your community and its environs.
My husband and I owned a very lucrative business here for three years. It was lucrative thanks to the locals (both full and part-time) who came back again and again. It was their continued support that accounted for our success. We appreciated the fishermen who dropped in during the short fly fishing season, especially Lee Hartman and Al Caucci. But a few months a year does not keep any of us afloat (pardon the pun).
I have heard all of the numbers that have been brandished as to how much the fly fishermen pump into our local economy. Where exactly is that money being spent? I challenge you to find any local business that agrees with the amount you claim to spend here. Maybe it is spent at fishing clubs and fly shops, but I am sure that the restaurants in Hancock would not be able to close for the harsh winter months on the windfall you have left in their tills!
Please take note that I have not felt compelled to call anyone any demeaning names. I would like to think we are all above that. There is no reason that we the voters of this beautiful corner of our world and the fly fishermen with whom we share it cannot rise above the sophomoric nonsense and support each other. But you have sorely underestimated us. We have banded together before and prevailed in the face of pressure exerted by the Park Service and its supporters. We will do it again. Nobody likes a bully!
Susan Hughes Peterson
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Editor,
To Steven Painter - it must stink to be you!
Joe Zazeckie
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Elected official,
This is from your constituent - David Sauro. Why should the taxpayers of New York State pay for lawyers to fight the NYRI? There are not enough lawyers making a living already?Just pass legislation and enforce the existing laws against this poor idea.NYRI is bad for the region. Period. We all agree...yes?
Place the lines along the interstate to be- now Rt. 17, have the company pay for all improvements to make it an interstate, along with a light rail system to the city. That would kill several birds with one stone - improved regional transportation, supplying the metro area with alternative energy from upstate wind and hydro areas, and a light rail system for the regional area also to get commuters to reduce the wear and tear on the highway.
This would include the metro area garbage haulers who have caused many accidents along Route 17 in recent years.
I do not wish to have my funds go to one of the richest groups in the state - lawyers! It deserves to be put into needed repairs to infrastructure and personal losses from the devastating floods in June!
David Sauro
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yet another religious war.
Some fly fishing fanatics, like fundamentalist Muslims, now find themselves lumped with the Taliban because of their religion (trout).
Steven Painter, the new Bin Laden, is hiding high in the hills in some deserted blue stone quarry among the rattlesnakes, no doubt. This, the second highjacked plan of his group, hit The Hancock Herald on appropriately 9/11 and has torn a hole in the fabric of our community and left many smoldering.
Like most religious fanatics, Painter has deviated from the essence of the religion. The true religion (Trout) has its roots in peace, solitude, thought, reflection, passivity, sharing, generosity, education, freedom, discovery, gratitude, poetry, prose and above all, understanding humanity’s interdependencies.
Trout - the religion - is not about arrogance, money, size or numbers, nor anger and destruction, yet increasingly I am encountering these and some even more stressful qualities.
This fly fisherman would like to thank the many people residing along the banks and in the surrounding hills for almost fifty years of countless kindnesses you have shown me.
Thanks for remembering my name, and for serving me breakfast, lunch and dinner. Thanks for letting me park my car on the edge of your field to fish. You have fixed my cars and helped me repair three homes, providing materials and expertise. I spent nights warm in your homes when no motel was available. You people have been the finest hosts possible and our relationship has grown deeper and more and more special over the many years.
Please, this fall while hunting deer, turkey or Taliban near overgrown quarries, take careful aim NOT to shoot - he is the one with the Kevlar waders and vest. I will buy you the drink of your choice at Lydia’s, before or after the Yankee game.
Your friend,
Bill Herrick
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heroes of Mine
by Bill Herrick
Forty years I came here to fish.
Now I’m ashamed of how much I missed.
Just reading trout, water and flies,
I remained here thus preoccupied.
However this year, when I came,
A personal loss preceded your rain.
In anguish, I came anyway,
To fish all my pain away.
On the way here it started to rain.
And from the “Willow” I drove to the Main.
Self pity would not set me free,
And nature was mimicking me.
Clear and meandering, now raced to the sea,
All black and full of debris.
Bits of lives where mayflies should be dancing,
Mothers clutching children and old men glancing.
At churches built on higher ground
Some citizens now gather around.
The cop that guards the bridge below
Just lost his home to the angry flow.
Mud dries and as the waters recede,
FEMA red tapes you, your food pantry feeds.
Oh, they talk of heroes of nine eleven,
Of building monuments that stretch to heaven.
But the heroes I witnessed with pride,
Here’s a list of the towns where they all reside:
Hancock and Cadosia, you both went through Hell.
From Lordville to Deposit, it rang everyone’s bell.
Working men and women all,
You heard no funeral pall.
Doing what you do best,
A summer spent without rest.
Rebuilding your neighbor’s lives,
Children at work with husbands and wives.
Dust, rubble, concrete and steel,
You slowly start to heal.
More hammers, nails and paint.
You cover scars without complaint
I waited and watched and did not fish.
I got to know you and it’s my fondest wish:
That you know what your friendships have meant to me.
You saved my life - it’s a certainty.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Editor,
It is with great interest and an occasional bout of nausea that I have been reading the Hancock Herald over the past summer, especially the letters to the editor complete with the rants and raves of our area's illustrious visitors who feel that by threatening us local "morons" with legal action and name-calling, we will cower and run in fear of their superiority. PLEASE! We have weathered much worse and survived very nicely.
Contrary to the misinformation that has been fed to these visitors, we are not a community of ill-educated, dirt-poor, and misguided people looking for salvation from our mundane existence by way of me financial windfall they seem to think they pump into our local economy. This area has more than its fair share of educated and, yes, believe it or not, wealthy citizens. Many of us have retired from successful careers elsewhere to live here full-time. This is an area rich with open-minded, open-hearted people who welcome newcomers with open arms.
Pardon us for feeling that since we pay taxes and vote here, what we envision for our community should take precedent over what you seem to feel your few months and few dollars spent here should be able to secure.
Our neighbors have been hounded and sworn at as they stood on their own properties which border the river. We have been harassed when we try to take a leisurely summer float down our beloved Delaware. Sometimes it seems like our fishing visitors would prefer us to quietly disappear, just like the lovely swans that no longer grace our area. Mr. Findlay, we would never dream of going to Syracuse and attempting to force on your residents our vision for your community and its environs.
My husband and I owned a very lucrative business here for three years. It was lucrative thanks to the locals (both full and part-time) who came back again and again. It was their continued support that accounted for our success. We appreciated the fishermen who dropped in during the short fly fishing season, especially Lee Hartman and Al Caucci. But a few months a year does not keep any of us afloat (pardon the pun).
I have heard all of the numbers that have been brandished as to how much the fly fishermen pump into our local economy. Where exactly is that money being spent? I challenge you to find any local business that agrees with the amount you claim to spend here. Maybe it is spent at fishing clubs and fly shops, but I am sure that the restaurants in Hancock would not be able to close for the harsh winter months on the windfall you have left in their tills!
Please take note that I have not felt compelled to call anyone any demeaning names. I would like to think we are all above that. There is no reason that we the voters of this beautiful corner of our world and the fly fishermen with whom we share it cannot rise above the sophomoric nonsense and support each other. But you have sorely underestimated us. We have banded together before and prevailed in the face of pressure exerted by the Park Service and its supporters. We will do it again. Nobody likes a bully!
Susan Hughes Peterson
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Editor,
To Steven Painter - it must stink to be you!
Joe Zazeckie
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Elected official,
This is from your constituent - David Sauro. Why should the taxpayers of New York State pay for lawyers to fight the NYRI? There are not enough lawyers making a living already?Just pass legislation and enforce the existing laws against this poor idea.NYRI is bad for the region. Period. We all agree...yes?
Place the lines along the interstate to be- now Rt. 17, have the company pay for all improvements to make it an interstate, along with a light rail system to the city. That would kill several birds with one stone - improved regional transportation, supplying the metro area with alternative energy from upstate wind and hydro areas, and a light rail system for the regional area also to get commuters to reduce the wear and tear on the highway.
This would include the metro area garbage haulers who have caused many accidents along Route 17 in recent years.
I do not wish to have my funds go to one of the richest groups in the state - lawyers! It deserves to be put into needed repairs to infrastructure and personal losses from the devastating floods in June!
David Sauro
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
