Lasting Loss

My dad wasn’t a fisherman but a photographer (“Cast Adrift,” June 18). He bought me a camera at an early age (12) and it charted the course of my life. William Kole’s piece takes me back 57 years. I’ve mourned the loss of my father for so many years. The author provided me with a wonderful connection to what was lost. I can’t thank him enough. Jim Staples

Wenham

On Father’s Day, I was thinking about my father, who had passed almost 20 years ago. How I wished I had spent more time talking to him when his time left was short. I read Mr. Kole’s article about remembering his dad and I thought, This is what many sons do on this day — they remember their fathers. It is more special for the many who now have had a lot of time to think about their dads. For me, the article wasn’t about fly-fishing, but about being a son, being a father.

Dan Gallanar Ipswich

Grief never leaves and always finds you when least expected. There are books and studies on stages of it but loss is personal, and not textbook. Wishing William and all families who are experiencing grief to take it one day at a time and accept it isn’t something we work through — it is something we learn to live. That is the highest respect we can show our loved ones, both still here and gone.

Bob Mierzwinski

Norton

Believe it or not, some day, sooner or later, that grief will let go of you. And you will let go of it. I spent many years grappling with grief. One day, it simply stopped. And my life was returned to me. Go easy on yourself. tincan25 posted on bostonglobe.com

“Come fish with me tomorrow.” If my dad had been the kind of dad who could have said that to me, would I have been the kind of son who could have said “yes”? I think about that surprisingly often when I’m out on the water, fly rod in hand, wishing for another chance at so many things. I don’t know who was luckier, the author or his dad. It’s an unfathomable loss. Still, in some ways, I envy him that grief. spiers posted on bostonglobe.com