Thursday, February 23, 2017

SO long to Mr. Moses and Good Luck...Brah!

The Tattoo Parlor, next door to our fly shop, had just closed which allowed us to expand our retail space. It happened late enough in the year, though, that we were only able to use the extra space for storage and office-space that first year. I remember having my desk (a Rubbermaid table) setup in the middle of an otherwise empty, dusty room. I was interviewing candidates for summer help and really not feeling great about the pool, overall.

Nick had made the “short list” and we were scheduled for an afternoon session. I remember him coming to the interview wearing skate shoes with no laces, baggy jeans, and his trademark greasy longhair. John walked by in the background and gave him “two-thumbs up” behind his back. I listened to John and I heard Nick talk about his love of fishing. No big deal I thought, we just need another Googan to help us get through the summer and this guy seems like he will be “good enough.”

Nick ended up being much more than “good enough.” The young Mr. Moses -aka the Dirty Hippy – turned out to be an integral piece of the Fins & Feathers Pie over the last 5 years. Although you could almost always count on him to be slightly late, I could always count on him to show up with a smile and willingness to take on whatever the day threw at him. Nick has been much more than employee, fishing buddy, and a friend since I met him. He has been a constant reminder to me of why I love to fish, why I love my job, and why I just can’t take myself too seriously all the time.

No - Nick is not dead – but he has moved on to the next riffle and we are sad to see him go. He is going back to the west Coast to help build some of the finest two-handed fly rods on the planet. He has a great opportunity with R.B Meiser Fly Rods where he plans to learn the art of rod building from one of the best in the game. No doubt, Nick will give it his all and end up building some amazing rods himself.

Employees tend to stick around here at Fins & Feathers for quite a while. We have some seasonal folks that are only short-term employees, but typically try to keep everyone around as long as they want to be around. It’s usually great to see these folks move on after a few years as they start down the path of “growing up.” I don’t know that I’ve ever begrudged anyone for leaving. However, Nick is one that I will truly miss, as will all of his co-workers and many of our customers.

So, thank you Nick for being such a positive influence in my life and in our business since joining the team. Thank you for always saying yes! I sincerely hope that your next adventure is grander than any of us could hope. Every fly shop needs a hard-working, dirty hippy at some point! We are grateful to Nick for being our dirty-hippy and part of our lives.


Thank you, Nick, and I hope it goes great

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