Tim Nicholas, Bob Farley, and Gary Jenkins grew up together in a small neighborhood in Pendleton, Oregon. Tim and Bob were eight years old when they met, and Gary came later, an annoying pest who was four years younger and wouldn't leave Tim and Bob alone. They finally grew tired of shooing him away.

They enrolled in college, got an education, and returned to their hometown because that's where they wanted to live. In Pendleton, they were adults and soon were adults with jobs, wives, and children. Each man worked hard and was respected by their community. They weren't famous or flashy, just honest and friendly.

Instead of being connected by sports as they were when they were kids, they were connected by steelhead fishing, the big brawling fish that swim from the Pacific Ocean into the Umatilla River to spawn.

Tim had four children; the youngest, Sarah, was his only daughter and was referred by her older brothers as the golden child. She outgrew her junior high snot-rag stage and was an energetic and intelligent high school student. Her personality could be summed up in one nineteenth-century term: sassy. She would become a US Forest Service smokejumper squad leader with important responsibilities that she handled very well.

When the three men reached retirement age, they still fished and camped. Life was good, until it wasn't. One of them had to be the first to die. Bob's story is sad, but he was surrounded by good friends and a compassionate wife. They made sure Bob wouldn't be alone in his final ordeal. Bob's story was not a test of friendship. Instead, it was an affirmation.