[CentOS] ssh-agent fails to hold values

Hello list

I am attempting to manage my key logins with ssh-agent. However EVERY
time I try to ssh I have to go through the same exact routing and it's
getting a little old...

[bluethundr at LCENT01:~]#ssh sum3
Enter passphrase for key '/home/bluethundr/.ssh/id_rsa':

[bluethundr at LCENT01:~]#exec ssh-agent bash
[bluethundr at LCENT01:~]#ssh-add
Enter passphrase for /home/bluethundr/.ssh/id_rsa:
Identity added: /home/bluethundr/.ssh/id_rsa (/home/bluethundr/.ssh/id_rsa)
[bluethundr at LCENT01:~]#ssh sum3
Last login: Sun Nov 28 14:32:34 2010 from localhost.localdomain
#########################################################
#               SUMMITNJHOME.COM                        #
#               TITLE:       LCENT03 BOX                #
#               LOCATION:    SUMMIT BASEMENT            #
#                                                       #
#########################################################
[bluethundr at LCENT03:~]#


Does anyone have any suggestions to make ssh-agent hold these values a
bit more persistently?

thanks!!



-- 
Here's my RSA Public key:
gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys B6D6EAC3