Jeff Hopper Memorial Hike

It’s been a year to the day that one of my best friends on the planet took his first steps into eternity. Does that sound too poetic and flowery for a blog post from Fletch? Typically, I would say yes. In this case, it’s exactly what I mean, because if anything defined my relationship with my friend and brother-in-law, Jeff Hopper, it was the art of walking, so stepping into eternity is exactly what I see him doing.

Not only did Jeff and I walk together on multiple occasions, but we talked about walking, sauntering, hiking and we read about it together as well. When I wanted to do a podcast on walking, I asked Jeff to be a guest. He told me that he’d rather not talk about walking but instead chose to send me the book: God Walk by Mark Buchanan. The trail was a place that Jeff and I talked about life, worked out our theology and connected with God together. We walked in the Sierra together a few times, we walked on the coast together, but more often than not we walked in our neighborhoods. Since Jeff’s death last year, I think of him on every walk, hike, journey, saunter and stroll. Even now, as I picture heaven, I think of Jeff walking “higher up and further in” as he discovers the glory of God more and more.

One of my first plans I made to remember Jeff was to plan an annual hike in his memory. Hiking in the fall in California is wonderful, so I decided that the first weekend in October would be my target. The location would change, but the first year was an easy decision. Several years ago, Jeff and I walked the shore of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite. We had planned a return hike to the Hetch Hetchy valley, but cancer swept in and stole that opportunity. That made this hike an easy pick.

I’d love for you or anyone you know to join me on a quick hike around the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir as we remember one of my best friends. Details below.

JEFF HOPPER MEMORIAL HIKE - 2022

Wapama Falls - Hetch Hetchy Reservoir
Date: Saturday, October 1st, 2022
Time: 9am
Location: Hetch Hetchy Reservoir parking and meet right at the entrance/gate to the Hetch Hetchy Dam (Look for me)
Consider: Comfortable hiking/walking shoes, Water, Snacks, Daypack
Fees: Sorry, there is a Yosemite Entrance Fee
Plan: It’s a comfortable out and back 4.6 mile hike. Fairly challenging, but I’ve seen children on the trail. Bring cameras. We can meet in the parking lot after to share food/stories of Jeff.
For details, check out this link to AllTrails for details.

Quietly making noise,
Fletch

Why do you call it theMangoTimes?

Photo courtesy of BuffettWorld.com

This is an easy one. Back in the 90's, I used to read a newsletter that was published by Jimmy Buffett called "The Coconut Telegraph." The newsletter was a hodgepodge of articles about Buffett’s songs, instructions on how to make the perfect margarita, and assorted other items from my favorite musician.

The name of Buffett's newsletter was based on one of his songs by the same name. In the song, Jimmy sings about a fake gossip column that chronicles all the weekend happenings in a small island community. The gist – you didn’t want to end up with your name mentioned in “The Coconut Telegraph”. You can listen to a clip of the song here!

I always liked the idea of “theCoconutTelegraph” where I could share juicy gossip and funny family adventures that would make my readers laugh, but I didn’t want to just steal the name of an existing newsletter. I decided to keep with the tropical theme and at the same time, pay homage to another Jimmy Buffett song, “The Last Mango In Paris” so I combined both of them and came up with theMangoTimes.

I added my own personal flair by keeping it one-word and only capitalizing the M and the T. That’s how you know it’s original material from theMT and not some cheap knockoff (yeah right, as if anyone would ever take the time out of their life to be a “knock-off” of theMT).

Also, one other funny fact I like to mention when talking about theMangoTimes…I don’t like mangos. I like coconuts, pineapples, papayas, passionfruit, kiwi, and any other tropical fruit that goes into a drink, but I’ve never been fond of the mango. I think they are too bitter or something. They work for my blog, but don’t buy me one thinking I’ll be excited. I won't.

Quietly making noise,
Fletch

Happy 90th Pop!

Joe Fletcher turns 90 today!

I am very blessed to celebrate my Pop’s 90th birthday with him today! More than anyone my dad continues to serve as an example on how to go with the flow.

The more I think about it, he is probably the source and motivation behind most of what I chose to include in The Fletchifesto. Over the years, I’ve learned from him how to love and serve people well, how to look for the adventure in life and to never be afraid of getting involved in a possible shenanigan.

For the rest of you, he’s been a variety of characters. Some of you have just instinctively called him PopPop, while others of you know him only as the Red Hot man. If you go back far enough, you may remember him as the best Scoutmaster from Troop 371.

Regardless, with Joe Fletcher, you will never be alone on a project, you will never have an empty glass of wine, you’ll never go hungry and you will never forget the smell of Old Spice or Polo cologne.

Happy 90th Dad! Can’t wait for 100.

Quietly making noise,
Fletch

Willie Nelson and Family 2019

A local ranch created a brand new amphitheater on the outskirts of town last summer. This year they announced that Willie Nelson and Family would be doing a show, so I grabbed a few of the boys for a show in the first part of May.

Since Willie is still doing tours at 87 years old, I jumped on the chance to see him live. Secretly, I also like that when Christian is older and people ask him about his first concert, he can tell them he saw Willie Nelson when he was 12.

Quietly making noise,
Fletch