Fast Eddie of Bay meets The Minister of Culture

That's why they call it the great outdoors - cleveland.com -- Here's a great reprise of a great guy who's been on our radar for years: Ed. A force of nature.

We got to know him through his charming wife, who was our older girl's running coach back in the '90s. When rollerblades first came out, Ed was on them, as they were nothing more than summer skis. Read the whole thing, but here's an excerpt of some good work by The Minister of Culture:

It was like Outward Bound with whiskey.

I went fishing in northern Ontario with six guys, including our host Tim's 85-year-old-father, Fast Eddie. Eddie is what you call a young 85. He's a ski instructor. Even though one of my favorite movies is "Jeremiah Johnson," I'm as much of an outdoorsman as Woody Allen. So this was four days packed with first-time experiences. . . .

. . .We swam and fished. We boated and fished. Fast Eddie was a demon on the Jet Ski and had great stories. He flew planes in the war. He drank with Hemingway and Errol Flynn in Key West. He made us Manhattans. He invited us to his place in Ellicottville, N.Y., for a ski lesson this winter. We brought in pike, walleye, sunfish and largemouth bass. We ate fish every night. I caught one smallmouth bass . . .

. . . With any luck, we'll live long enough to be like Fast Eddie.