Jakob

     Some say he looks like me.  Probably in Jake's mind I look like a wrinkled old man and people who think we look alike must be out of their minds.  Way out.  Probably outside the galaxy.
     Jakob's my oldest grandchild and the first one I've gone fishing with.  The truth be known, we do look something alike.  If you see us together, he's the short one.
     Every year my daughter Annie and son-in-law Ryan, with the help of my son Allan and daughter-in-law Maria, make up a calendar for Lois and I (Damn that's a lot of names.  Makes me feel pretty good I can remember them all).  The cover photos for March, my birthday month, are of my three grandsons and me.  For these thirty-one days I wander by it now and then to scope out the pictures.  Matt and Luke are a thrill to see but they're still too young for boy versions of man-stuff.  Not so Jake.
     The shot with the two of us is a front step scene at the cabin.  Dark red cedar, aluminum screening and silvered steps with rustic railing frame us.  That railing's my pride and joy.  Free-form, jack pine log and branch construction, peeled and sturdy.  She's a thing of beauty that makes little sense.  It's the 'little sense' part that I like the best.  At the moment there's an agate sitting atop the base post where I sometimes lay found treasure but you can't see it in the photo.
     Jake stands on the landing to my right, clad in red, left hand on hip, right hand holding a walking staff.  Me, in white and tan, left hand on hip, right hand on Jakob's left shoulder.  We even pose the same, not intentionally but blood runs deep.  Jake gathered the staff to accompany him on his woods wanderings.  You yearn for those poles when you're young 'cause they speak of adventure. With a little luck, a man lives long enough to need one for other reasons.  At both ages it's all about getting from here to there.  You never outgrow the need for that.
     Looking at that photo tells me there is a tomorrow, maybe a whole lot of them, up the road.  And three grandsons to share some of those tomorrows with.  For now it's just Jakob (and maybe his dad) and to tell you the truth, I'm thrilled.