The Balfour boys ( left to right ) Charles , David , R . C . Balfour , III and Bob
and other anecdotes of his fishing experiences inshore and offshore .
“ It ’ s about all of my life to begin with ,” he said . “ I talk about some of the trips that we made with our children out west , the Grand Canyon . The main part is when I take up saltwater fishing , I talk about the offshore fishing I did 30 to 40 miles offshore in a fairly large boat .”
Writing , Balfour said , and knowing someone out there was interested in what you wrote , was a wonderful feeling , but added that now that he ’ s done , he has a difficult vacuum in his life to fill .
“ It feels wonderful , I mean , the feeling that you could write something that anyone would be interested in reading is a wonderful feeling ,” he said . “ I ’ ll tell you the downside of it , when you stop , it ’ s all gone . Your business career is long since over , your writing career is over , what can you do ? I have a hard time with it , right now . I can ’ t just sit at home and do nothing . I can ’ t even go to the office and maybe write a few letters , I ’ ve got to find something else to do and I don ’ t know what in the world it ’ s going to be .”
Quitting writing , he said , was due to his growing difficulty seeing , being 85 % blind . A growing difficulty in seeing even the largest print on his computer was a major factor in ending his writing career , but he also felt like he ’ d written everything he had to write .
“ I think I did fairly well with the books , but after that one , my eyes were so bad it was hard for me to see the computer , even the largest print they have on the computer , it was hard for me to read it . That makes it hard to type , if you can ’ t read what you write ,” Balfour said . “ So , I knew it was time for me to probably give it up . Anyway , I ’ ll tell you the truth , I think I ’ ve written everything I ’ ve ever known .”
With a loving wife after 70 years of marriage and a family full of children and grandchildren , Balfour said that he wasn ’ t against inspiration striking him again for another book , and thanked his readers in the epilogue of his latest book , making it clear that he felt blessed to have gotten to enjoy life and keep busy a little longer .
“ I want to take this opportunity to thank my readers . My twenty years of writing have been a wonderful time of my life and have kept an old man busy and interested in life ,” Balfour wrote . “ It ’ s funny how time sneaks up on us and the days get short and you wonder where the time went . Even though I am 80 % blind , deaf and have cancer , I still enjoy life and thank the Lord for keeping me here a while longer .”
Thomasville Scene | Spring 2023 91