The Longbow Papers

David Sheffield is so much more than a friend. He is that to be sure; even though in the 40 years we've been friends we've spent barely more than a decade-and-a-half of them in the same city at the same time. But they were great years. There were the years we were theatre majors together at the University of Southern Mississippi in the late 60's and early 70's; and the last decade of the 20th Century when we were together in Los Angeles before I came to China in 2002, with other times in between. In truth, and in short, I cherish David not only as a very special friend; I cherish David as the best story-teller going. Simply put, David Sheffield is the most original wordsmith I know. But enough shop-talk that will only embarrass him and perhaps lose you for not recognizing one of the Billion-Dollar White Boys Behind Eddie Murphy!

David and my fellow life-time Biloxian, Reed Guice--he and his family are Gulf Coast royalty--had a 'Lord of the Rings' New Zealand moment (inside Hollywood allusion) with a pretty awesome pair of indigenous monsters. You see, David loves to fish. I mean, he really loves to fish--anytime and pretty much anywhere, most particularly fly fishing--about as much as he enjoys making folks laugh or think.

The only things I miss about the States besides baseball and real cable TV are family and friends; David is both. (Along with his twin brother Buddy Sheffield, with whom we can almost swap first names and this post would read much the same; mostly only the titles and types of works written & produced by would change. Of course, Buddy is also a world-class builder and carpenter; he designed and built much of the later interior renovations of Bosco's Italian Restaurant in Biloxi--now gone with Katrina. And that reminds me to note that both are passionate and uniquely inspired chefs.)

Below are a few words from David that came with the photograph above--which I assume was taken by Reed, but I can't prove it.

Hello, everyone

Having a fine time fly fishing on the South Island of New Zealand where
I caught a wild brown trout weighing 11 1/4 pounds, a new record on the
Grey River. Two hours later my fishing buddy Reed Guice caught a brown
that weighed 12 3/4 pounds. Both fish released unharmed. Anglers
celebrated with a pint of Monteiths.

Love to all,

David Sheffield

 

3:04 PM / Editor / permalink    3 comments

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3 Comments:

Joseph! You're torturing me with this post! The Grey River, on the West Coast of the South Island, damn, that area is supposed to be a magical, almost mythic place. And it's one of the few areas of New Zealand I have yet to see. And then Monteiths! Well, I hope you get to New Zealand yourself one day and get the chance to sample some good Kiwi beer. I assure you, Monteiths is one of the finest breweries south of the equator. I would so love to have a bottle next to me now instead of this ????. Snow is a fine beer, but Monteiths!

By  bezdomny, at 7:16 PM  

Bezdommy,

I love your enthusiasm. Of the many places I still must visit in my life, New Zealand is in the top tier. I recently had occasion to spend a lot of time conversing with a New Zealander over a period of weeks, a truly splendid fellow; I almost drove him batty with a million questions about New Zealand.

I have never known anyone to speak badly of New Zealand, which says a lot about it and every place else, I venture. Of the few facts I know about New Zealand, it having produced a number of really fine cinematic talents is amazing when one considers the population and that its film industry is only about 50-years-old.

I would have greatly enjoyed being with David and Reed, and would be pea-green with envy except that special smile on David's face is so joyous and him I can only be happy for them both--plus, fly fishing is an art I can only admire, not do. I will see him and the gang in Los Angeles--or the Gulf Coast--this summer.

Thanks for dropping by and taking time to leave a comment.

All the best,

Joseph

By  Joseph, at 7:20 PM  

Dang, David...I've got smaller refrigerators than that. Tell Frodo "Hi" from me.

Your pal,

Joe Gautier

By  Joe, at 8:37 AM  

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