shannen oyster bamboo fly rods

American Dreams and Oyster Bamboo Fly Rods

Tick, tick, tick…time.
Circa 1993...vintage Bill
Circa 1993...Vintage Shannen


Time is a gift and a bully…a constant “in your face” reminder of your
inner most weaknesses but when confronted head on, the time bully
can also be a reminder of your greatest strengths.
Oyster headquarters from our basement to our
cottage to Main Street to our new digs COMING SOON!
Basement sweet Basement
Our true cottage industry years
Main street USA
.
Tick, tick, tick…
my proverbial biological clock is loud and I am not talking about
the one that hit me like a 6- ton Mack Truck
in my 30s that resulted in 2 amazing children. 
.
I am talking about my “dream clock”.
Oh, and I have a chorus of dreams…big and small alike.
Oyster Bamboo Fly Rod’s future interior wall
.
With all of our country’s current turmoil, “dreams” seem even too trite to mention, huh? 
Well, I happen to think it’s the
perfect time to drag our dreams out front and center for everyone to see! 
.
For example, the seemingly illusive “American Dream”. 
.
Until recently, I have not even given that expression too much thought 
(see my disdain for cliches)
.
Not much thought at all until a few weeks ago when
we closed on the land and construction loan for our
new Oyster Bamboo Fly Rod’s building
in the heart of downtown Blue Ridge on Main Street
.
I would love to say that we never imagined that such a
thing could ever happen and the “universe spoke for us” 
but the fact is we worked so hard for this opportunity 
dreamed of this for over 13 years and now it is happening. 
.
Taj Mahal it is not…our dream it is.
Here’s the break down of our American Dream. 
A husband and wife (ma and pa makes me feel old) start a
company in their basement 13 years ago.  We make things. 
We make nice things.  We have a quality product and try to get
as close to the “beyond reproach”  ideal as possible. 
.
We use Bill’s undeniable talent and my knack for arduous paperwork 
(not as romantic as Bill’s talent but necessary)  
and combine the two with a ridiculous work ethic,
loads of grit and a remarkable love of
what we do and one another (sorry…had to throw that in) 
that inevitably collide with opportunities 
(opportunities that we took regardless of how tired/sick/busy/pregnant/broken/happy/sad/cold/hot/far/small/big
good or bad they were).

The American Dream...it's a good one.  It's real and it's still out there.  So, while time and dreams can sometimes get in the way of one another, they can also create a "deadline" with following through, confronting the bully and unearthing your greatest strengths. 

Cheers,

Look Mom…finally an occasion to use your good crystal!

 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Oyster's original blog was on the oldie but goodie platform, Blogger, in 2009, before moving to WordPress. You may find a copy of this post on “The Bamboo Fly Rod Maker’s Widow” blog HERE. I have tried to preserve the integrity—or lack thereof—of each “Widow” post, especially to reflect the resources—or lack thereof—available at the time, as time and technology continue to freak me out evolve.

-slo
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