I was Asked to Participate a Fly Tying Competition at The Iron Fly. Here's my Story- Part 1

I went to the Iron Fly to support a good cause and hang out with some outstanding folks.  While I was aware of a few fly tying competitions, it was not my intent to participate in them.  I just wanted to hang out and enjoy the social component of the event.  Eric, the coordinator of the event, had an alternative agenda as I would find out.

My youngest son Cody and I arrived shortly after the "Beginner Fly Tying Competition" and I was disappointed that I missed seeing what the participants had created.  Eric informed me that the "Advanced Fly Tying Competition" would be starting shortly.  I informed him that I wasn't planning on participating and certainly didn't want to take the place of someone that wanted to participate.  As Eric was working his way around the table and setting up for the challenge, he pulled out a chair in front of me and said, "Here you go.  This spot is for you."  While I was hesitant to join the competition, I certainly didn't want to be rude to the host of the event either.  Reluctantly, I had a seat.

It is important to note that I am an incredibly competitive person.  I was taught at a young age to take competition seriously and to always give my best effort.  The minute I sat in the chair, I started to try to figure out what the details of the competition were going to be so I could start mentally preparing a strategy to do well.  When Eric handed me a piece of fabric and told me that this was the first part of the competition, I was confused.  My heads up came when I heard someone down the table say, "Oh, it's a blindfold."

"Oh good gracious.  Are you kidding me?"  Those were the first thoughts that ran through my head.  I have never tied a fly while blindfolded and the idea was intimidating.  A small amount of relief came when I found out the type of fly that we were tying.  Eric handed me the materials that I needed and I tried to organize them in a sequential way in front of me.  I also arranged my tools in a way that made sense to me as well.  I tried to take the best mental picture that I could right before putting on the blindfold.  When we were given the signal to start by Eric, I put on my blindfold with a little hesitation and entered a world of darkness.