Almost every morning on my way to my “other life” as a struggling house painter, I stop by the local Huddle House for breakfast. Noting the fact that I am not a morning person, it gives me time to gather my thoughts and plan my day amid all the noise of clanging dishes and local chit-chat. I always try to sit where I can look out the window and observe the cows in the pasture across the highway. No reason for that really other than I usually eat alone and they unknowingly amuse me while I eat. I have read somewhere that whether they are sitting or standing can predict weather conditions which in turn can give you a good idea if the fish are going to be biting. Wish they could give me a clue as to how my work day will go! I have also read that when they are standing or lying down, they usually face north. However, I don’t think these particular cows read the same information as me. I quickly lose interest in the cows, so I end up focusing on the new billboard in the field beside the parking lot.

The picture on the sign is of a beautiful lake with a small dock. I pretend it is my own private lake, next to my “imaginary” lake house as I “stand” on the end of the dock fishing and watching the sunrise hoping to see a “ship” come sailing in over the horizon. My morning fantasy is usually interrupted by the waitress or someone I know who stops by my table to say hello. As much as I enjoy losing myself in the scenery on the sign, it is really the message that captivates me the most. “A million miles away is just down the road.”

Over 18 years ago I was introduced to tournament bass fishing. It seems like only yesterday.  I learned to bass fish “just down the road” at a near-by power plant lake – Belews Lake. I have driven many miles back and forth on the highway that passes this restaurant going “just down the road” to a small city lake where I learned to launch and load my very first bass boat all by myself. I have lived, worked and fished “just down the road” for many years, but my fishing dreams have also taken me miles away to many lakes and rivers in other cities and states. There were times when my dreams seemed unreachable. A life-threatening illness once tried to end my “million mile” journey, but instead of giving up, I fought back.