{"id":83146,"date":"2025-03-05T17:54:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T16:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lemouching.com\/old\/2025\/03\/opening-day-take-the-a-train\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T16:52:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T15:52:17","slug":"opening-day-take-the-a-train","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lemouching.com\/en\/2025\/03\/opening-day-take-the-a-train\/","title":{"rendered":"Opening Day – Take the A Train."},"content":{"rendered":"

Like the mating season, spring is on its way again, and we’re all excited (well, most of us) at the idea of FINALLY going back to the water’s edge to tease the trout! And since we’re all about good memories, here’s a story about the Opening of our beloved Flechemuller! It’ll keep you waiting!<\/h2>\n

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I had carefully scoped out this corner of my river. \u00a0Never a parked car in the vicinity; a very happy sign. Around noon, the supposed hour of the famous hatch called the \u201c12 o\u2019clock hatch\u201d, I descended toward the embankment with my new rod and a fly box with filled survivors from last year. The opening day of fishing was going to be a great success, I had dreamt it and dreams never lie. It had rained a little the preceding days and the water level was perfect. \u00a0A few may flies twittered hardily and I feverishly set up my material when an interloper appeared. He looked pretty laid back, nothing official about him, but pulling out a card from his pocket he said \u201cGood morning, I am the new game warden. May I see your fishing license?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Shit! What dumb luck. I departed from New York City the night before and buying a fishing license was the last thing on my mind. I started lying as well as I could: \u201cOh my God, oh my God (pretending to search all my pockets for the license). I must have forgotten the dumb license at home. You know jet-lag gets tougher and tougher the older you get, blah-blah, blah.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJet-lag?\u201d He asked, \u201cwhere do you come from?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNew York City. That\u2019s where I live.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNew York?\u201d he said with that delicious occitan accent. \u201cDamn, that\u2019s my dream. Ah\u2026 New York\u2026 jazz\u2026 me, my passion is jazz. You should see my collection of 78\u2019s. No one touches them but me. Not even my wife. A Treasure. Boy are you lucky.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Magnificent subject; nothing better than jazz and New York to forget about my fishing license, so I really poured it on.\u00a0\u201cYou should treat yourself to a trip to NY at least once in your life. With the euro exchange today it\u2019s really affordable and jazz is part and parcel of New York City life. For example, an anecdote comes to me; you\u2019ve probably heard of the great artist Piet Mondrian. During WW II \u00a0he sought refuge in New York and painted a sublime abstract painting called \u201cBroadway Boogie Woogie\u201d which was inspired by the uninterrupted movement of the city. <\/span>\"Capture<\/a><\/p>\n

The painting was exposed and as people left the opening a group of black jazz musicians went up to Mondrian to congratulate him and said that: with this painting he really got it, the energy, the rhythm, the \u201cjazz\u201d of New York.<\/span> Isn\u2019t that a great story? Jazz is still everywhere in the Big Apple. \u00a0I\u2019m sure that you know that celebrated work of Duke Ellington, the famous \u201cA Train\u201d.\u201d