"In our family, there was no clear line between religion and flyfishing. We lived at the junction of great trout rivers in western Montana, and our father was a Presbyterian minister and a fly fisherman who tied his own flies and taught others. He told us about Christ’s disciples being fishermen, and we were left to assume, as my brother and I did, that all first-class fishermen on the Sea of Galilee were fly fishermen and that John, the favorite, was a dry-fly fisherman."

There are many ways that this quote can be explained and there is no right answer. The line "there was no clear line between religion and flyfishing" well, is basically saying in that family they thought of fishing as a religious thing. This family tied a lot of things to fishing; fishing is an art and they believe that if you can master an art then you earn salvation. It all ties in with the part that says Christ's desciples were fishermen. Not just any kind of fishermen but they were flyfishermen.

 "My father was very sure about certain matters pertaining to the universe. To him, all good things--trout as well as eternal salvation--come by grace and grace comes by art and art does not come easy."

Maclean's father was a very wise man which probably explains why he was a minister. His theory on eternal salvation, grace and art may be right but at the same time it may be wrong. Maclean's father says that art comes by grace and art doesn't come easy. Well, if grace comes by art then what would you consider an art? Today art can be so many different things. The book says that the purpose of life is to glorify God and to glorify God is to master an art. What if the art someone masters is stealing or cheating? I would consider those an art. After Maclean's father read this would he be so certain then?

 

 

 

 

"Fishing is a world apart from all others, and inside it are special worlds of their own--one is fishing for big fish in small water where there is not enough world and water to accommodate a fish and a fisherman, and the willows on the side of the creek are all against the fisherman."

This quote is a tricky one and the only thing I can think of doesn't sound right. To me it sounds like the only thing Maclean is talking about is there isn't enough room in small rivers for big fish, fishermen, and willows. I guess the willow, small river, and fish could be used as metaphors. The willows may represent the many people in the world and in this seperate world of fishing there isn't enough room for them. Small waters or whatever are the small places that can't physically be found because they aren't really there. They're make believe places that people have formed in their heads. It's the fish that don't make much sense, the only thing I can see them being is the goal the fishermen is aiming for.

 

 

 

 

"Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters."

So what I'm hearing from this quote is that things do come together no matter how long it takes. You do have to be prepared for the time when the river runs through it. The things that come together will have timeless raindrops in other words they will have their stories to tell. These stories are not always of ones self but can be stories of others from their life.