Author: Steve

Included in last week’s report from Madison River Outfitters in West Yellowstone, Montana.

A nice brown trout netted for a photo op before being released back into the Madison.

Wow.  That was something.

I am blown away by my brothers.  We talked for three days straight.  We have all gone such different ways and places.  There was so much catching up to do.  We shared stories, accomplishments, hopes and dreams, and occasionally helped remember a word the other couldn’t quite bring up, until late every evening.  The unplanned rhythm of each day flowed easily.

I can best sum up the visit with this photo at the conclusion, before we all headed our separate ways:

It brought us together in a new way, with us all being fully present at the same time.  That was amazing!

From the left:  Me, Tom, Bill, David.  Bill is the oldest, then Tom, David, and me, the baby.  (Have I mentioned that I’m my mother’s final failed attempt at having a daughter?)  Bill and Tom dropped down from the Pacific Northwest, David from Half Moon Bay an hour north, and me from Texas by way of Colorado.

If I fudge my age up to the end of the year, we’re all in our eighties now.  We chat online about what we’re each doing and thinking, but we’re spread out across the western states and in-person visits aren’t all that common, and never just the four of at once like this.

Bill putting the kitchen to the test.

Our dining area.

We’re eating very well.  Chicken, veggies, and potatoes tonight.

A walk in the woods with an ocean view.

From our trip.

I flew from Denver to San Jose, California, rented a car and drove to Santa Cruz, and met up with all three brothers.  A Brothers’ Reunion!  Haven’t had the four of us together at the same time in ten years.

A lot of catching up to do.

To get to here in Colorado.