Today is Wade’s birthday; the boys and I celebrated by going out for dinner. Without him. Nothing odd about that, is there?

Anchorage, Alaska, July 2009

Wade isn’t here; he’s in the middle of nowhere in Alaska, fly fishing with his dad and some other guys. It is truly the trip of a lifetime — for at least the past decade, Wade and Bob have been talking about doing this, but always in a wouldn’t-it-be-great kind of way. On a fluke, this spring, a chance to actually go fell into their laps, and so they packed their gear and headed west. (more…)