The Golden Missile
----The Golden Missile---- I had been looking forward to the summer of 2016 for quite some time. For the same reason, the women in my life were both anxious and nauseous as they dreadfully imagined what was to come. I had been excitedly, if not impatiently, awaiting their arrival, tracking their progress and scouring the internet for sightings as they started to emerge from their double lives underground. The shell casings of their former selves abandoned on every tree big enough to have seen a couple decades. Their awkward, uncoordinated flight like a tiny drone flown by a drunken pilot. The deafening chorus of chirps. It was music to my ears. From the time the first spring peeper sang its tune, all I could think about was their arrival. It had been 17 years since the last time they made an appearance. I was 9 years old and had not yet found the love for fly fishing that was making this a totally different experience. The last time they had e