As I sat in the stands watching an 11yr old girl's softball game, I thought back to the winter of 1993, march 6th to be exact, in Anchorage, Alaska, at 1:34 am. As I was walking down the long hall of the hospital carrying an 8lb 1oz, blue-eyed, blonde-haired miracle of life, I knew that my whole existance - my whole life - had changed in the blink of an eye, and more than I could ever imagine. I was a carefree, roam-the-mountains-at-will gold prospector, who never saw the parental-broadside that would hit me, until it happened.

Fast forward 10yrs, and suddenly I found myself a single parent, watching this miracle playing the catcher's position on the local 5th & 6th grade girls softball team - making sure I was watching her every play - glancing my way and beaming from ear-to-ear when she made a good play.

As a father - as a man - I knew it was going to be a challange raising a daughter alone. Little did I know it would be a humorous and humbling one. My friends wonder how I remember - being a guy - how much my daughter weighed at birth. I tell them she weighed the same as the biggest brown trout I ever caught.

This is the start of our journey, I hope you will enjoy it as much as I have. Happy trails, straightshooter.