Dear Editor,

Second time in 40 years of guiding on Olympic Peninsula Rivers:

As I was launching my Old EASTSIDE Drift Boat this morning,

the rope got away and ……. SO DID the BOAT!

Tom the fish checker called MIKE Z, Mike Z called Bob Ball, Bob Ball called Dan Tricky. ALL OP Guides.

Bob showed up at the boat launch, where I was standing by my truck AND empty trailer.

He put his boat in quickly, with the experience of many years, SECURED IT as I gratefully boarded.

We were off in minutes.

A couple of bends in the river, he saw my boat eased up on a shallows with a few weeds (rather than slid up on a log jam filling with water OR …under one).

He eased up beside and I at 78 years old sprang (or kind of sprang) to have hands on my boat again. I boarded, grabbed the oars, and spun it around and we headed downriver. Bob saying, ‘if I see something difficult, I’ll hang out til you get through.’

It was 95% of the float ahead of us and hurrying to beat dark.

When we arrived at the pullout, Dan Tricky showed up to shuttle Bob back to his truck. Bob returned to recover his boat and shuttle me to my truck. I was loaded and heading home before dark. I parked my boat in the yard as usual and was home for a nice dinner my wife had prepared.

THIS STORY TURNED OUT SO WELL AS A RESULT OF KINDNESS AND EFFORTS OF FELLOW GUIDES and Tom the fish checker (Tom had previously pulled my truck up the ramp as it had also been stuck in the mud on the ramp…. and other details of a long day).

I AM GRATEFUL TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH SUCH FINE FOLKS AS THOSE WHO GUIDE AND WORK ON OUR RIVERS.

ROY E MORRIS JR

ABLE GUIDE SERVICE ….RETIRED

PS THE OTHER TIME THE BOAT GOT AWAY LAUNCHING, I JUMPED IN, GRABBED ROPE, SWAM ASHORE, CHANGED CLOTHES AND FISHED THE DAY. THIS TIME I THOUGHT I MIGHT GRAB THE ROPE, BUT WAS NOT CERTAIN I WOULD BE ABLE TO SWIM ASHORE. AGING HAS SOME BENEFIT: SENSE ENOUGH TO NOT JUMP IN.

THANKS AGAIN TO ALL FOR THE RESCUE