Jack O'Malley Interview w/ Dave Richey
I did. I looked hard, studied the orange flames lancing into the air at odd angles just before the sun bulged the horizon. There are things in nature that are a happening, and this was one of extraordinary beauty.
Dark purple-colored clouds crowded the horizon, forcing the sun to move through, bringing light to the darkness of the land. The purple shades, growing darker closer to Earth was what made this display so wonderful. Shaded levels of dark red lay above, and then came the orange and yellow to make the day crash into our sensory perception of visual beauty.
A fly fisherman at dawn works the shallows for trout. 
The sun seemed to punch ragged holes through the clouds, splashing various shades of color across the sky, and the land was bathed in the sun's glory.
Up it came, like an orange periscope out of the depths of the horizon, and within seconds was a golden ball of fire hanging in the southeast sky, pushing away the darkness. The clouds held the color against their bottom, and the sun rose completely above the horizon, and another day was born.
There are major spectacles in nature that we may not fully understand, but anything as beautiful as a glorious sunrise or sunset doesn't need much explanation. It is what it is, and that is several minutes of beauty in a world troubled by too many problems caused by too many uncaring people.
I stood there that morning, watching the sun rise to spread its lemony glow across the landscape. By doing so it makes everyone feel better, and I drank in the wonder of this daily ritual. It’s little wonder that ancient people worshiped the sun.
Sunrises and sunsets are of major importance to me. I've seen both washing over free-drifting blue- and green-colored ice bergs while hunting caribou on Canada's Baffin Island. The ice possessed a peculiar shade of blue or green coloration, and when a golden sunrise or sunset lit them up, it was a breathtaking event that made me very happy to be alive.
Breath-taking beauty.
I've taken the track of a fox just as the morning grays up before the sun rises, and the tracks travel one foot in front of the other up and over a ridge ahead of me. As the sun begins to rise, it bathes the tracks in a special brand of side-lit beauty. The tracks appear as dark holes punched deep into the snow by an orange and yellow brilliance that is stark and beautiful. One must be there to see and believe it but such spectacles are only seen outdoors.
There have been days at Ludington, Manistee, Frankfort and Leland when a charterboat loaded with anglers and a heavy fish box head in to the sight of the setting sun behind them as it appears to fall into Lake Michigan without causing a ripple. Of course, if it was sinking into the water we'd all be in deep trouble, but that is what a sunset over water appears to do.
Sunsets are equally spectacular.
Down it goes, slowly at first, and then seemingly gaining speed. The last sliver of sunlight glows like a distant beacon before it disappears. The after-glow seems to hang on long enough to bathe the sky in brilliant colors shooting into the sky before gradually winking out while darkness settles in.
The reverse is obviously true on Lake Huron. One heads out onto the lake when dawn is nothing but a vague promise, and as the sun begins its ascent, the water turns gold in the distance. Slowly, and then gaining speed, the sun begins its daily birth as the water seems to ease the sun out and up into the air.
I've seen sun and I've seen rain, and also have seen both at the same time as the rising sun is mottled by a rainstorm between us. One wonders how this happens, but I really don't care; for me, seeing it continues to be a wondrous event that I can bear daily witness to.
Each morning is like being born again. A look out the window, or off the bridge of a fishing boat or from a morning tree stand, answers the daily unasked question. Am I still alive to see this beauty of nature?
The question is answered in one's heart. For me, my waking thoughts are to see just one more sunrise or sunset … today and tomorrow … and as long as God grants me life. Each day I can grasp this wonder of nature is a moment that I wish everyone could share with others.
That would make it a wondrous gift for all mankind.
