Every life has a story. Most of the time those stories are predictable, unsurprising and often ordinary. This is not one of those stories, or one of those lives for that matter. Roland shares his heart-felt enthusiasm for fly fishing. He takes us along on his humorous and continual quest for the ideal equipment and speaks candidly about the snares and snags of learning this new skill. It’s also the story of a boy who found solace from a troubled childhood in the forest, and a transformed man who would find solace again in the outdoors. The outdoors symbolizes the bookends of this life, and in between we learn how he maneuvered around the pits, pit stops, and pitfalls of a complicated and self-inflicted life. After moving near a small mountain river, he found what he was looking for. The solace from childhood, the peace from a life of addiction, and the serenity found after the loss of a loved one were brought to his doorstep in the form of a fish named Roy G. Biv. He had found what he was seeking; God was with him after all he had been through. The ever-changing river demonstrated to him that life is about change, and he too could and would change. The river became his sanctuary where he could fly fish for Roy with God all around him. Each of us has a purpose in life, and Roland’s inspirational story reminds us we can start over regardless of who we are or what we have done.
