A Tribute to My Friend Jay

My longtime friend, Dr. Jay Goldsmith, passed away this month after a long history of illnesses, many of them perhaps the result of the physical demands of a lifetime spent practicing oral surgery.

Before his health issues made long-distance travel impossible, Jay and I spent many August days fishing together in Iceland. In his final months, we reminisced often about those trips—the flights to Reykjavík, the drives across the countryside in search of salmon, and the rivers that had become so familiar to us. Jay not only enjoyed escaping the demands of his practice, but he also loved Icelandic food, especially breakfasts, which included thick yoghurt and hafragrautur—hot oat porridge—and the dense and flavorful, slightly sweet, rye bread.

His fishing equipment, stored at home, remained at the ready, quietly packed for another adventure. But it would never make it again to the departure gate at JFK in Jay’s hands.

As a tribute to Jay and as a final farewell on his behalf to his guide friends in Iceland, I have decided to travel there alone this year.

The last time I fished Iceland without Jay was in 2017, shortly before my wife, Judie, unexpectedly passed away. Jay had planned to join me, but his health and stamina would not allow it, so I made the journey alone.

This year, I will tell his closest friend and guide in Iceland that Jay is gone. We will exchange stories over meals, and I will fish the beats that Jay loved most and where he landed so many salmon. Like Jay, I will bring home a few stones from the riverbank, a tradition he faithfully observed after every trip. This trip to Iceland will be memorable as well as spiritual. I will carry Jay’s special fishing rod and cast away for him.