The True Gentleman

The True Gentleman is the man whose conduct proceeds from good will and an acute sense of propriety, and whose self-control is equal to all emergencies; who does not make the poor man conscious of his poverty, the obscure man of his obscurity, or any man of his inferiority or deformity; who is himself humbled if necessity compels him to humble another; who does not flatter wealth, cringe before power, or boast of his own possessions or achievements; who speaks with frankness but always with sincerity and sympathy; whose deed follows his word; who thinks of the rights and feelings of others, rather than his own; and who appears well in any company, a man with whom honor is sacred and virtue safe.

- John Walter Wayland


Phi Alpha

Barnes & Noble

Last night I stopped by Barnes & Noble to pick up a couple of magazines. As is the case most evenings, the threadbare easy chairs and wooden benches were mostly full of slackers and tightwads treating the place like a lending library.

As I walked toward the front of the store with the long rack of magazines to my left and the chairs and benches full of “shoppers” to my right, I felt the building but not overwhelming pressure of what promised to be discrete flatulence. I tested the waters. A slow steady stream was released as I passed the Travel and Hobbies racks and entered Men’s Interest. In a moment of hubris I let my guard down. The result was a very consistent, high pitched sound that at first took me by surprise, as much for it’s quality and clarity as for it’s unexpected appearance.

Quickly gathering my wits about me, I clutched my International Wristwatch and Mercedes Classics and took the next available right hand turn into the sanctuary of Non-Fiction and, with a satisfied grin, proceeded to the front of the store.

Brown Trout

This native brown trout was caught on June 7th using a sulfur emerger. It was caught in the fly-only catch-and-release section of the Gunpowder River in Northern Maryland. He's in the 10-12" range.