Jerry Hamza

We all develop filters through which we view the world. As we grow our filters are made and placed into our psyche. One of my earliest filters was formed in kindergarten and the years following. I was sent to a military Catholic school where God and guns being indoctrinated at the height of the Vietnam war left an interesting first filter. Then there was the mantra of the counterculture people and catchy rock 'n roll lyrics. Finally the work ethic arose, stemming from a family memory formed around the scarcity of the Great Depression. These and other influences would form the way I look at the world. It is of course , the view from which I tell my stories.

The next decades had me getting myself into positions to live an outdoor life. The first big decision was choosing Hartwick College in Oneonta , New York , located a short drive from all the finest fishing in the Catskills. It even gave me the great opportunity to occasionally hunt down and bother Lee Wulff. Shortly after college, I spent three decades working in the management of legendary stand-up comedian George Carlin. Over the course of that time, I was to travel everywhere he went. George , aside from being funny, worked very hard. Many of the years saw us working in excess of 200 days a year. This translated into covering every inch of North America. I can honestly say I either fished or hunted much of the continent.

After George's passing I decide to run for and was elected president of the Cat Fanciers Association. It is the cat equivalent to the American Kennel Club. During my presidency at CFA, I travel the whole world. This gave me the opportunity to fly fish and hunt every continent except Antarctica. Working along all these years gave me wonderful opportunities. Experiences in the jobs and enjoying the outdoors induced me to become a storyteller to share the more fun bits of life. I have always liked being a storyteller. It seems to be a form of entertainment that has waned in recent years. After a hard struggle with cancer, I decided to start another career. I combined the two things I love. The experiences of life that happen in the pursuit of time afield and storytelling.

I hope that my stories touch on the human condition that we have in common. That the sports and non-sports alike find entertainment in stories of life set in a sporting background. I would like my stories to remind people that we live in a vast and beautiful real world. That a virtual life steeped in an electronic universe is void of meaning and value. The traditions of the storyteller go hand in hand with the culture of mankind. From the bedtime tale to the fireside myth to the very American short story, storytellers help us think and rediscover ourselves over and over again. It is in that rich tradition that at the tender age of 50 , I have embarked upon a career as a storyteller.