Rick LaClaire
Article Category: Rick LaClaire
Sam • Rick LaClaire • “Death steals everything except our stories” — Jim Harrison I belong to a unique club. We don’t skydive nude, catch fish with our bare hands or invest large sums in Internet startups. We don’t go en masse to early bird specials wearing funny hats or recite 13th century Italian poetry. This club is very exclusive. First, you had to attend a certain slightly-less-than-prestigious institute of slightly-less-than-higher learning between 1972 and... [Read more...]
Rick LaClaire
Article Category: Rick LaClaire
Big Sis • Rick La Claire • It may interest my readership (Hi, Mom!) to know that I have an older sister. She is six years older, to be precise, and that had a lot of advantages when I was young. As a matter of fact, it still does. When I was young, we had a built-in babysitter. She being related, we got away with murder. Especially since about age eight, when I was already as tall as she was. We’d tease her and disobey her — nothing serious really (after all, she was my sister)... [Read more...]
Rick LaClaire
Article Category: Rick LaClaire
First Fish • Rick LaClaire • My father was not a fisherman. He wasn’t much for the outdoors, period. To him, being outside meant work, or chores, more exactly. He never shirked mowing, shoveling snow or patching the roof, but Dad preferred indoor pastimes like watching TV. He and my brothers were TV sports fans. Be it football, baseball, basketball or hockey, they had the yen. I never caught the habit for some reason. My wife thanks me. That does not mean my father and I never fished together. As... [Read more...]
Rick LaClaire
Article Category: Rick LaClaire
Spanner in the Works • Rick LaClaire • I like to do things, especially when those things involve the outdoors. Fishing, hunting, hiking, canoeing — anything that brings me in contact Florida wildlife has always held an attraction for me. But wildlife is not my only attraction, I like “wild life” also. Dining, drinking, dancing… A good pub crawl has always been high on my list, and my wife and I still enjoy each other’s company on a night out, and have made it a... [Read more...]
Rick LaClaire
Article Category: Rick LaClaire
Is It Just Me? By Rick LaClaire “Some folks never smile Some folks do, some folks do Others laugh through guile That’s what some folks do” – “Some Folks” by Stephen Foster (1826-1864) It’s been said that I am opinionated. In my opinion, I am not. But if I am, what’s wrong with that? I just like a good argument. There’s nothing as heady as a constant counterpoint embellished with a few unsubstantiated statistics. It sure keeps the conversation... [Read more...]
Rick LaClaire
Article Category: Rick LaClaire
This Happened To Us! Part II It is January as I write this. Presently, Florida is suffering the longest cold snap ever. Usually, a cold snap is just that: a quick chill. Not so, this winter of 2010. I have counted six mornings now with readings in the 20s and 30s, with more on the way. We’re actually having a winter in central Florida, something most of us came here to escape. I’m not equipped for this. My old mackinaw has long ago been given to the moths. I used my winter gloves to hold... [Read more...]
By: Rick LaClaire
Article Category: Rick LaClaire
This Happened To Us! Part I By Rick LaClaire At age eleven I was given a gift which lasted ten years, a subscription to Outdoor Life magazine. Within were a wealth of stellar outdoor writers: Ray Bergman, Byron Dalrymple, Joe Brooks, Jack O’Conner, Stu Apte… I only wish I could be among their number. Their stories were more than entertainment, they were inspiration. Wintertime was a house-bound time in Northern New York, but that monthly arrival of global bloodsport transported me to lands... [Read more...]
By: Rick LaClaire
Article Category: Rick LaClaire
It’s an ugly tree. The leaves are gnawed and shriveled. The branches are bare above the roofline; casualties of Frances and Jeanne. The trunk is twisted and thorny, but sound, and we keep this plant alive anyway. It shades our back porch. I was told you can’t grow them from seed. Oh, sure, they’ll sprout, but they won’t make it. And forget about fruit. These plants are inbred, crossbred and grafted; the trees are sterile if grown from their own seed. No sex organs… No breath of life…... [Read more...]
By: Rick LaClaire
Article Category: Rick LaClaire
I’m sure very few of us are sad to see the end of 2009. The bad certainly outweighed the good this year. I usually rate my annual experience with two indicators: weddings and funerals. 2008 was a busy year, with two funerals and three weddings. 2007 was an even count: one wedding and one funeral. 2009? No weddings and no funerals — a blasé year if ever there was one. I can’t say I enjoy funerals, but I certainly love weddings. I love everything about them. Getting dressed up,... [Read more...]
By: Rick LaClaire
Article Category: Rick LaClaire
I love olives. I picked up this addiction when we lived in Buffalo, New York. There was a fine Italian market on Hertel Avenue called Passanisi’s. Man, did they have olives. I started out “chipping” with the milder ones but soon went mainline. Salty, oil-cured Italians, kalamatas both green and red, those little Lebanese ones… I even eat them for breakfast. And I have a connection right here in Melbourne Beach. I probably walk into the Melbourne Beach Supermarket once a day.... [Read more...]
