A Love Story

I'm getting softer, as I grow older. 

Something happened today that needs to be told.  I'll do my best to give this story substance, not sure I can.

I was in a new store this afternoon near Waco, Tx, one that isn't even open yet, finishing up our product set.  As sometimes occurs, a customer walked in the front door.  This person happened to be an elderly gentleman.  One of the gals explained to him that the store wasn't open yet.  I heard him say that he understood, but that he wondered if maybe someone could give him some directions, as he was lost.  I turned around to look, and at the same time, three associates all pointed at me and said, "he can help you!" 

I walked over, so that he didn't have to cross the store to me.  I asked where he was going, and he said Dallas.  Dallas is a BIG place, so I prodded him for a more exact location so that I could get him to where he wanted to go.  He told me that he was actually headed to Rowlett.  I told him not to worry, I knew where that was and could get him directions.  I asked if instead of telling him, if he would like me to write it down.  He said, "Young man, that would be wonderful!  I don't remember as well as I used to".  I smiled, mostly because of his gentle nature and genuine honesty.  I know we'll all get to where he thinks he is someday. 

As I was giving him the directions, and carefully writing them down so he could follow them, he was telling me that he was from Corpus Christi, Texas.  I figured he was doing some Holiday traveling, but just for small talk, I asked him why he was headed to Rowlett.

What happened next was truly amazing!

He said, "Well, that's kind of a long story".  He then reached into his pocket, took out his wallet and opened it up to a picture.  It was a couple, obviously taken many years ago, but very well cared for considering its age.  "You see this picture", he asked.  I nodded.  "This was taken in 1947, in Hot Springs, Arkansas.  I had just finished basic training from the Navy, and was there visiting a friend". 

"That's you?", I asked.

"Yes, that's me, and a young lady that I was introduced to.  We spent a couple days together, and then I went back to the Navy and spent 20 years there and retired. We went our separate ways, she married another guy, I married another woman, we raised families and never saw each other again."

I knew there was more.

He went on to explain that a couple weeks ago, he found her on Facebook through a mutual friend.  Once they connected, she came down to Corpus Christi to see him.  Now, he was taking her to Rowlett so she could spend Christmas with her daughter and her family. 

I was speechless.  What a wonderful story.  For two people, to find each other, after all that time, and reconnect, was, well...............pretty special.

I went over the directions with him one final time, just to make sure this elderly prince would be able to deliver his princess to the designated place.  We gently shook hands, and as I watched him walk away, I couldn't help but have a tear in my eye. My gaze followed him to his car, I guess just to make sure he got there.  One of the gals in the store came up to me and asked if I was okay?  I looked her, and really couldn't talk.  The other two joined us and wanted to know what happened, so, I very quickly told them the story.  And then I realized, I wanted to meet her too!

I headed for the door, just as he was backing out.  I waved him down, and realized, all three girls had followed me out of the store as well!  I apologized for stopping him, but said, "I just want to meet the young lady that you told me about".  I went around to the other side of the car, the girls all talked to him, while I introduced myself to her.  I asked if she was going to be able to read my writing and be his navigator, she said she was.  I took her by the hand and told her that he had told me the story of how they met and then reconnected, and I told her that it wouldn't have been complete to have not met her as well.  She thanked me, for being so kind, writing down the directions and then said, "we got together after 67 years and it was like we had never left each other". 

I said, "If you don't mind me asking, how old are you"? 

She said, "I'm 84.  He's 86".  I could see the care in her face, and hear it in her voice.  They were both giddy.  I smiled again and wished them both a Merry Christmas.

As I watched them drive away.  I realized they probably had exactly what they wanted for this Holiday Season.  My only regret was not getting their names, otherwise, it was a very cute and heartfelt love story.

As I drove the two hours home, I had two thoughts:  The first was that I hoped my directions got them to where they needed to go.  The second was that, I too, have exactly what I want this Holiday Season, and I didn't have to wait 67 years to find it.




 

Sometimes, one bite matters!

Haven't blogged in a while, since just before our move from Iowa to Texas.  Been busy with a lot of things.  Initially, it was looking for work and hanging with the grand kids.  Then it was putting a lot of effort in the new job (still am and love it) and hanging with the grandkids.  Now I'm adding an old, yet new, twist to my spare time; I've joined the Denton County Bass Club and it's tournament season in Texas.

Reality is, it never ends.  There are tournaments 12 months of the year!  If I wanted to, I'm sure I could find one. Unlike in Iowa, where the ice is still 14-24" thick and ice fishing is in full swing, the weather here is like early spring.  Windy, still cold at night, warmer during the day, but, can change at a moments notice.  Still no spring storms, matter of fact, we need some rain so those would be welcome.  The lakes are low and the boat ramps lower in many places.  With water down in all but a few locations, it creates conditions that many Texas boys haven't even seen and puts this Northern boy of a bit more level ground!

Denton County Bass had their first tournament last weekend.  It was on a warm water lake called Brandy Branch, which is near Longview and Marshall, TX, about three hours from home. Got over there on Saturday for a few hours, long enough to determine that the water temps ranged from 52-69 degrees. Fish were in all three stages: Pre-spawn, spawn and Post-spawn.  There were quite a few beds, but no sun.  Shallow beds were empty....so I thought.  Deep beds, those in 10-15 foot of water, could be seen, but couldn't see anything on them without any sun. There was a lot of grass in the lake.  Explored both sides of the lake in the little time I had to poke around.  Decided that the warm water side was where I was going to spend the majority of my time.  Went right to the egg beater and started throwing Hot Rod Baits senkos looking for fish on those beds I could see, but still wasn't seeing any fish. They were there though and the first two keepers came early!  By 8am, had the third, the fourth came about 10 minutes later.  In the next hour and a half, I had four more bites, but didn't get that fifth keeper until 10:30am.  Five in the box, 5x3, we all want it, we all look for it, and there is a sense of relief when the fifth one hits the deck.  Now it was time to go after upgrades.  Fished hard for the next four and a half hours, but could only bring in short fish.  Just couldn't get that one bite that mattered.

Time for the weigh in:  I was a little nervous.  Had five, but there were small, and I knew it.  There are some pretty good sticks in this club, one of them is a past state champion! My co-angler had one super nice 5lb fish, I let him go take the bag and go first.  When he came back, I loaded my fish and took them to the scale.  They were all Kentucky Spots, and I knew 10lbs was a stretch, but was happy to have the five I had.  Tale of the tape:  8.88 lbs.  Now just had to wait.  There were some pretty nice bags weighed and the winner had nearly 17lbs.  weights dropped to 14, 13, 11 and 10 and then me.  Sixth.  Not bad, not good, I'll definitely take it.  This year will be a big learning experience for me back on lakes, and in territory I've never seen.  It will take all my knowledge of early tournament days in order to put five in the boat every tournament, but, we are gonna give it a shot.  Good start, just have to keep it going.

A co-worker of mine, Ray Sims, is a seasoned tournament angler, having fished tournaments in Texas and Tennessee and other parts of the country for over 40 years.  He needed a partner for this weekend and I wasn't going to tell him no.  This was an extra opportunity for me to learn something about another lake that I wasn't going to have on my Denton County schedule this year.  Saturday came quickly.  The weather had improved temp wise from the previous weekend, but we were only a couple days in to an upper 50's weather cycle, meaning, the water we were fishing was still super cold.  Matter of fact, Ray went out Friday afternoon for a while and called to tell me he had never seen water this cold in Texas.  He was dumbfounded after not having one bite in four hours. He told me it was going to be tough and I knew he was right.

We showed up Saturday morning, launched and took a 10 minute drive down the lake.  Man, it was damn cold.  38 degrees, on plane on a bass boat, the fingers and face were feeling it.  We hit the first spot and started pitching rocks, nothing.  Started cranking...nothing.  Started throwing a slow rolled spinner bait a little deeper...nothing.  Threw the jerk bait, then a beaver, then a senko.....nothing.  Moved to the second spot.  Rinsed and repeated.  Nothing.  Moved on to a third and fourth spot.  Nothing.  Neither of us had gotten a bite.  Got to the fifth location further up the lake, water was a bit shallower and was warming in the sun, all the way up to 45 degrees.  Grabbed a chatterbait and started tossing to another bunch of rocks.  Three casts in, fish on!  Finally!  Was a short battle and Ray expertly worked the net.  Looked to be about 2.2-2.3 lbs.  One in the live well.  It was almost 11am. 

Ray was pretty happy, I wanted four more.  He kept telling me that if it was this hard for us, everyone was having trouble.  While I agreed, I still didn't think one fish was going to get us a check.  Ray thought differently.  I was certain that someone was on fish and we would see some nice bags at the weigh in. We fished hard till 2:30, and headed for the marina.  We got the boat out, and all I heard was fisherman complaining.  Ray took a walk while I was getting stuff put away and came back telling me he thought our one fish was going to cash.  I shook my head, asked him for a weigh bag and got our fish ready for the scale.  When I walked up, there were maybe 20 guys standing around and only two of us had bags in our hands.  I knew that there were still teams trying to get out of the water as there were 32 boats/64 fishermen in the Forney Bass Club Tournament this day. 

I looked at the guy standing there with his bag and he looked at me and said, you first.  I didn't waste any time and put that one fish on the scale.  I guessed 2.26.  Total weight was actually 2.32.  I took my fish and went to release him.  When I got back, I learned that the guy that weighed in second had two small fish for something like 3.78 and neither fish went 2 lbs.  Another guy came up, weighed one fish in at 2.21 lbs.  There was some conversation about one more bag, so we waited and that guy came up with his bag and I still expected a five fish limit.  It wasn't to be today.....he pulled one fish out that weighed 1.84 lbs.  That was it.  My one bite mattered a ton today.  Was good for second place and we won big fish.  Just a head shaker.  Oh well.  Reminded me a lot of a couple early season Hot Rod Baits tournaments last season with Brent Roloff.   Those were brutal, from both a fishing and weather standpoint.

To all my Northern Fishing friends, live vicariously through me for a couple more months.  Your day will be here soon enough boys, soon enough.....and just remember;  Sometimes, one bite matters!

Small town "Thank You"!

     My days in Iowa are growing short.  A week from today, I will pack up the remaining items I have, hook up my boat and head to Texas.  If all things go right, I will be sitting in our home in Lewisville next Sunday evening, enjoying some down time with Kim, and maybe the grandkids will be around too!  But before I go, there are some things that need to be said!

     A few years back, Kim and I moved from Waterloo to Cedar Falls.  We had a nice home, but never really liked having our neighbors so close, and as close as they were, never really got to know anyone that lived next door or across the street.  After five years there, we started looking for something more........we wanted to build and we wanted some room.  I spent a lot of time driving around the Iowa countryside, looking for just the right spot.  After a year of looking, still nothing.  It seemed the search was a bit futile.  I then put a "wanted" ad in the swap sheet.  We were really looking for something that was primarily south of Waterloo.  We got lots of calls, but most of them were about properties that were in northern Butler and Northern Bremer counties.  One of them, however, was just north of Janesville, Iowa, which was close, so, I went and took a look at it.

     It wasn't perfect, but it was the right size, had easy access to Waterloo/Cedar Falls and Waverly.  It was six acres, meaning, no neighbors, that was nice. The School size was a little bit of a concern, as our youngest son Blake was still in High School and I wasn't sure he would be that thrilled about attending a school with a graduating class size of 16.  The property was also right on the highway, which was a little concerning to me from a noise standpoint, but it wasn't terrible. After some negotiations with the property owner, which were very slanted towards him, I decided it was going to become our property and bought it.  Shortly after, I was speaking with Kevin and Connie Hansen and they told me their builder lived next door and introduced me to Rick Garcia who owns Garcia Properties in Cedar Falls.  Rick began construction immediately.  I spent a lot of lunch hours driving up to Janesville to look at the progress of our new home in late summer/early fall of 2006, asking questions and offering suggestions and ideas.

     Blake decided it was Janesville H.S. that he wanted to attend and we began the transformation from "big city" to small town life.  It had its trials and tribulations early on.  First, there was the "transfer rule" involving high school athletes.  Blake fell into this rule and was ineligible for varsity sports the first 90 days.  He was upset, which was upsetting to Kim and I.  The other thing, as we quickly learned from some of the other parents in the community.....they knew more about us than we knew about ourselves.  We found that comical.  No one knew us, they only knew what the tin can and string game had told them.  It reminded me of telling a secret and passing it around the room.  Have to love small town gossip. For what it's worth, none of it was damaging, most of it was just very inaccurate and kind of made us chuckle.

     The one thing that really came from all that was some very strong friendships and very special relationships.  To leave, and not acknowledge these would not be very small town friendly of me.  I tried to stop and see some folks, and say my good-byes, but there wasn't any way I could get around to everyone;  this is for those I saw and those I didn't. 

     Doug and Corrine Bettis:  We've known each other for a very long time.  Doug and I worked together at Warren Transport for almost 24 years.  Being able to pop in and see them, talk about Janesville, work and fishing, was always very nice.  Rex and Carole Tompkins were also Janesville residents that were part of the Warren family.  Loved seeing Carole and was fortunate enough to buy Rex a beer last night during Janesville Days.

     Mike and Serena Zwanzinger, Christine Billingsley, Tova Mather, April Mueller, Chris Coffman, Josh Hansen, Al and Robin Johnson and myself, all members of the Janesville Days Committee at one time or another (and all others past and present).  No matter who or when, the committee puts in a huge effort each year to raise money, hold planning meetings and put on the event the last weekend of July known as Janesville Days. The best part of Janesville Days was the Friday fireworks show put on by Jeff Mather and J&M Displays. While you are never going to get a group of people to agree on everything, this one did a pretty darn good job of getting along and getting it done.  Good job folks. I somehow got put on the Prom committee for a couple years as well.  Probably would have run for some council position if I hadn't lived outside the city limits.  I like this community that well.

     Maurie and Cheryl Bolt, love you two and your kids.  Maurie, you're lucky to be alive, you dork.  Put on a safety harness next time you go on the roof and don't do it in the winter!  Thanks for all your help when I needed it and thank you both for being great friends.  Cheryl,  I'm sure we'll see you sooner than I will Maurie cause I hear you have already been planning a trip.

     Dan and Wendy Brace, love you both too. Wendy, tell the sissy he should have manned up and came with us last night. Wish I could have seen him Friday night, first time I haven't seen the fireworks with Dan in four or five years I think.  He loves them as much as I do.  Danny, you were always there when I called.  I appreciate that.  Thanks for letting me use tools, the trailer and for everything else you did.  Wendy, I don't know if we ever played together at Eick's, but we played a lot as adults.  Pool parties, Tap (Janesville Trap) parties, bus trips, there was always a reason to get together with a group, wasn't there?  If there wasn't, we made one up.

     Scott and Brenda Immerzel and Mark and Collette Hagadorn:  Brenda and Collette are sisters.  Brenda has a twin named Glenda.  The Schares girls are from....anyone?  Yep, you guessed it....Jesup!  Okay, most of you said Gilbertville cause that's where all the Schares, Beckers and Weber's are from, right?   Scott, thanks for all your help too.  As most of you have probably surmised from this blog, I'm not that mechanically inclined and every male in Janesville is.  Thank god!  Scott (Squeak) and Brenda have a cabin in Lansing that they were gracious enough to allow me to use on more than one occasion for my Bass Fishing adventures.  Mark and Collette, always loved seeing you up in Harpers.  I know most of the time I was a party pooper cause I had to get up early to fish, but not always.  Thank you for your hospitality as well.  Scott and Mark, bring the girls to Lewisville and Texas Motor Speedway.  Always welcome.

     Tammy Bender:  I will never, ever, ever look at a picture of some drummer, guitarist or lead singer on a rock and roll poster and not think of you.  You groupie you. I speak for both Kim and I, you have been a wonderful friend.  You have great kids.  Love giving Casey a little of his own medicine.  (yes, Casey, I could have out run you, no problem). 

     Tracy Bright:  Not sure what Kim and I would have done without you.  You were always there when we needed you.  You and I were each others "dates" for everything from weddings to funerals and everything in between.  Can't believe that little town never talked.....if they did, it never got back to me.

     Each of you hold a special place in our hearts.  But, you aren't alone.  There are a ton of other folks in that town that are very special too.  It is one of the best kept secrets of the Black Hawk/Bremer county areas.  I know there are a ton of other people that live in Janesville that I have forgotten, like all the Wrage's, Monaghan's, Fishers, Kressin's, Thode's, Woodyards, Despards and Aunt Sue Stapleton who is probably wondering how she got into this blog.  It takes all kinds Sue, and in the words of Larry....."my wife has seen you in your skivvies", so you deserve a spot, and recognition, I'm sure. Merle Sorenson, Shane, Leanne, Vicki......you are all wonderful people  Salt of the earth.  None better.  You made small town life easy. You all have, and are, friends for life.  Kim and I will miss all of you and we hope that you will plan to visit us in Texas.

     For any of you that haven't experience small town living in this great state, and have considered it, I highly suggest it. You will find some fantastic people make up the backbone of these small communities. It will be an experience you will not soon forget!  I know we won't. 

    
    
    

Tournament Weekend

It wasn't that long ago, five years, that Brent Roloff and I decided to change directions in regard to our tournament livelihood and take a shot at the Mississippi River.  After all, how hard or different could it possibly be to catch fish on the river versus catching them on lakes?  The answer, as we soon found out, is actually quite complicated. 

We were fooled the first tournament we fished out of Harpers Ferry, Iowa.   We went out, had no idea where we were or where we were going and managed to catch five fish pretty easily.  It put us in the middle of the pack as far as results, but we felt pretty good about what we had done and how we had accomplished it.  It wasn't long before we realized we were taking on water quick and we would soon be over our heads.

The difference between fishing a river and a lake are actually quite vast.  The concept is the same, it is all about HOW different baits are fished and WHEN different baits are fished.  The factor that plays the largest roll in whether or not you are successful or a complete failure is understanding the weather, flow/current and changing water levels.  All three of these things will cause variables that will change the HOW and WHEN.  Those three things are also going to play a key role each and every single time out.  When the flow is high, the current is stronger and the river is dropping quick.  When the flow is low, the river is lower and the current will still be a big a factor, but for different reasons.  While this affects your fishing differently, its what it does to the fish that causes that affect.  They can, and will, survive and they determine their actions by what the water is doing or not doing.  Temp, level, flow, sun, wind, rain, clouds, it all affects how those fish respond. 

We aren't going to get into the details, but lets just say this:  Every river tournament angler should keep a diary or log.  Really, every angler, tournament or not, should keep a log.  Track what the day was like, the air temp, the water temp, what your lake or river was doing (high vs. low, etc.), the atmosphere conditions (sunny/cloudy), whether or not a cold front had just come or gone.....it will all help you and will give you something to look back at and compare notes.

This past weekend, we had two tournaments on the river.  We thought we had it licked on Saturday, till we got to "our spot" and discovered the river was really down 3 feet and not the 18 inches NOAA was telling us it was.  That makes a huge difference.  When the water is dropping that fast, the fish pull out.  They find water that is more suitable, deeper, which will keep them from being trapped in an area they don't want to be in.  If all of us knew where they went to, our weekends would become much easier, but we don't.   So, we look, and try and keep track of what happened when and surmise why it happened. I can tell you this, the tournament on Saturday was different from Sunday and it all came back to conditions:  Weather, flow and level!

Saturday morning, we had a Bass World Sports Tournament that launched from Harpers Ferry, Iowa.  We were sitting in 4th place overall after three events, which really wasn't too bad....if we were only concerned about points.   I was ready for a win.  We locked through to pool 9 and went up to the first spot we had designated as our starting spot.  Vastly different from the Weekend before, as previouisly mentioned.  We gave it a shot, struggled through  the shallow water, and came up with a couple keepers.  Nothing to write home about.  The weekend before, that same spot had been producing some high quality 3+ pound fish.  We got out of there quickly and headed to spot numbers 2, 3, 4 and finally 5.  We had a limit, but it was definitely a job on Saturday.  We headed south, locked back down to pool 10 and went to spot #6.  We quickly culled two of our keeper fish and upgraded a little.  Thank goodness for cull beams...cause every ounce counts!  We ended up in 5th on Saturday with 11.07.  Pretty disappointing, considering the expectations we had going in.  After the tournament, we talked to some of the other anglers and everyone agreed, almost unanimously, that the drop in water affected their fishing as well.  Still caught fish, but those bigger fish had left the area in search of deeper waters.

Buzzy and I had a short discussion about the next days fishing tournament and we quickly decided that Spot#6 was going to be spot #1 on Sunday. 

Sunday arrived and we showed up for the Hot Rod Baits series final.  Todd Reed is the tournament director and he did a nice job with the three events he put on this year, even with the seriously inclement weather in April and May.  Lets just say, I'm very glad it wasn't April and we were fishing on the river this time.  We definitely couldn't "win" team of the year after our dismal lake performances, but we were looking for a little redemption.  

We launched out of the very same setting we had launched from on Saturday.  Being boat #2, we were pretty confident we would have our spot to ourselves.  It wasn't going to happen!  Boat #1 had the very same idea and beat us to our location.  We decided to fish a secondary spot just south of where we had hoped to fish.  I quickly put a fish in the live well, than nothing.  After an hour and another very short discussion, we headed north and locked through to pool 9 again and systematically started going through the five locations we had up there.  Slowly but surely, we were putting fish in the boat.  The bite wasn't anywhere near as good as it had been the previous day, which had been overcast with a bit of a breeze.  Sunday was just the opposite, with Bluebird skies, plenty of sun and not a ripple on the water.  Big difference in how those fish see baits.  I'd prefer the overcast day to a sunny day any time!  Ultimately, we scratched out a tie for 4th place.....not bad, not good, wanted better.  I will say this though, couple years ago, we were getting humbled every single event.  Now we are disappointed with a 5th and a 4th on any weekend because we feel like it should be a 1st every time.  We're close, and getting closer.  Too bad my days on the river are number.

I would like to thank my sponsors, BW Contractors from Cedar Falls, Iowa and Roling Ford from Shell Rock, Iowa.  They make more things possible. I really appreciate the opportunities you both have given me and thanks for sticking with me after a very disappointing 2012!

Moving and other Life Changing Events

After three years and multiple attempts, we have finally sold our dream house.  I say it like that only because it was a labor of love getting it built.  I had decided early on in the process that I would just kind of go "along for the ride" during the process and not let anything bother me when it came to upgrades, timing, decoration or anything else. I was there at least three times a week, providing input and asking if the builder could do this or do that to make it turn out exactly the way we wanted.  Did it?  Not completely.  Hindsight being what it is, and if I had to do it over, there are a couple things I would probably change.  It was, however, pretty special.  The new owners should know that they got a very nice home.  So, after signing the closing papers (life changing event #1) on June 28th, the movers showed up and said the same thing Maurie Bolt and my step dad said.........You don't have enough truck!  Boy, oh boy, has that been mentioned a time or two since!! 

I don't plan.  Hmmmm, I'll be darned. Really?   I got us the biggest truck I was allowed by law to drive without a commercial CDL. Thought it was enough, it wasn't.  You roll with it.  What else you gonna do?  So, after a few calls, I was able to secure a second truck, Kim talked the movers into staying (Thanks Wray Brothers crew), and we got everything loaded into the two vehicles.  We then loaded Kim's little SUV on the automobile carrier and, much to her dismay, she climbed behind the wheel of the 17' Budget and I got in the 26' UHaul and we started our little journey to our new home in Lewisville, TX I wondered more than once if I was supposed to be stopping in those weigh stations I saw from Iowa to Texas, but never bothered.  After all, I wasn't "for hire", I was just moving.  Besides, I didn't want to know how overloaded my truck(s) might have been on that little drive.

Kim was terrified, I don't blame her.  I certainly empathize with how she felt.  Dan Brace, thank you, for helping out and offering to make that drive with us.  Kim and I both really appreciate that.  She did great though.  Earned her big girl pants driving through KC, Oklahoma City, Des Moines and even into Northern Dallas Metro.  It wasn't easy. (Life changing event #2)  Certainly had our moments along the way, but by the next morning, when we left Emporia, KS, she was doing fantastic and we were working in tandem making those lane changes and she was keeping right up with me.   We arrived in Lewisville about an hour and a half quicker than I had originally thought we might.  Nice job punky, nice job!

We got to our new house, unloading movers arrived and we got both trucks unloaded, made multiple trips to the storage facility and ended up getting both trucks turned in that same day. Quite impressive, really, considering. David Fontana and Michael Jenkins (son-in-laws) were both very helpful and instrumental in getting us that far the first afternoon.  Thank you both.

The rest of the week, Kim and I spent the majority of the time we had being pissy with each other.  I can tell you this, moving, to another state and environment altogether, particularly to a place where the population of the metroplex is twice that of the entire state you just left.........is stressful.  For all parties.  We both know why we are there and why we are doing it.  We have a couple really special grandchildren that we wanted to be close to. (Life changing events #3)

Maybe the biggest life change for me will be two fold:  First, I'm basically jobless.  I'm currently back in Iowa finishing out my commitment to my current employer, but that is short term.  While I have been diligently applying on positions in the Dallas metro area, I'm getting very little response from prospective employers.  It's a little frustrating, but here's something I've come to realize......CPM has given me the opportunity to not only bolster my resume', but, grow as an employee.  They have been gracious enough to not show me the door when I told them I was preparing to move.  They asked if I could stay a while longer to cover some absences and I agreed.  Ultimately, it will work out best for all of us.  Gives me a couple weeks with a paycheck coming in.  Gets us closer to the time Kim and I head to Cancun for 10 days of nothing but sand, sun and Amanda's official wedding and might even tell me whether I need to try and venture back in September or October to capture the Co-Angler of the year title for the Cedar Valley Bass Masters and qualify for a National event with Bass World Sports.  We sit #1 and #4 respectively, so, well on our way.  Wish I could say that accomplishing either of these would be (life changing event #4), but it won't be.  It will just prove to me that I can, and will continue, to fish with some of the best bass fisherman I've ever met.   It's been fun. 

As I close this chapter of my life, and begin the next, I'm looking at it as just another adventure.  One that will, like so many others, turn out just fine.  And who knows, maybe my quest for a double digit Largemouth will actually come to fruition in the great bass fishing state of Texas.  Cause, like they say, everything is bigger.........in Texas.  And its true.......the interstates, the cities, the trucks and the bass. Can't wait to take those two little ones fishing with me. (Maybe just one at a time!).

Just a little "Catch-Up"

It’s a new year, and it’s been quite awhile since my last blog.  We are in the middle of a good old fashion Iowa Winter, and I have the fishing blues.  So much so that I have even considered a trek out on the ice with a seasoned and very experienced ice fishermen, @Todd Reed!   If only he’d invite me…..:).

                Couple things new……..one, we have a new Grandson.  Mason Dale Jenkins was born on 12-26-12, weighed in at 7lbs, 10ozs and was 19” long.  He lost about 10 ounces right after coming out, but he is already putting that back on with a vengeance.   He’ll be a big boy, two weeks in and he’s already getting longer too!  I told Amanda that they just didn’t get a good measurement on him when he was born, but Michael says they did.  Must be like measuring a bass……they relax a little after being in the live well and always measure a bit longer.  Maybe babies relax a little too!  He’s doing well.  Grandpa (me) and Grandma (Kim) were both under the weather the week we stayed with Amanda, unfortunately, so while we still held him, we were pretty cautious.  Me more than Kim, but it appears everything is A-OK.

Second, we got to spend plenty of time with Olivia.  She was the one that started the whole sickness thing to begin with!  We had a nice Christmas with the kids down there and one afternoon, Kim and I were playing with Olivia and we got her to take a few steps.  Every day since then, she has gotten better and better, taking more and more steps.  She will have it mastered in no time.  The look on our faces when she took off walking…..well, I’m sure I’d like to see that on camera! 

Big Bass Club Meeting tonight, Cedar Valley Bass Masters  Not sure what I’m going to do in that regard. Was thinking that maybe I would just take a back seat position this year and be a non-boater for my remaining time in Iowa, but not sure I really want to do that.  Would like to find a partner that pays half of the expenses for my weekend trips to the river, but that has proven difficult.  Turns out, either they are broke, or, their work schedules haven’t sync’d up with the tournament schedules.  Either way, it means I have taken on the majority of the expenses and I’m not sure I’m willing to do that again this year.   Even with a couple of paying sponsors last year, (Thank you BW Contractors and Roling Ford), it was tough to stretch the dollars to last an entire season.  Matter of fact, it was impossible to stretch it for an entire season.  We’ll see what happens, not sure what I’m going to do at this point.  Either find a partner and run my boat, find a new partner that needs a non-boater and go that route, or, just fish to fish.   Either way, I’ll be on the water come March, guarantee that!

It’s going to be an interesting year for Kim and I.  Many unknowns coming our way.  I think we are prepared for them and I feel we are in position to tackle each as they come along.   More later.

Terrorist Invasion

DISCLAIMER:  This content should be viewed as humorous and not taken any other way (for all you politically correct, all the time, people out there)!

Al-Qaida, Arabic for "the Base," is an international terrorist network founded by Osama bin Laden in the late 1980s. It seeks to rid Muslim countries of what it sees as the profane influence of the West and replace their governments with fundamentalist Islamic regimes (Bajoria & Bruno, 2012).

Many of Americans first introductions to Al-Qaida happened on September 11, 2001 when the World Trade Center’s twin towers were brought down in what is the biggest and most brazen attack by terrorists on U.S. soil ever.  I knew of them well before that, but only because of my participation in our very own U.S. Army.  I got out after the first Gulf War, but the conversation was already out there about militant terrorists groups like Al-Qaida.  So, thanks to all of you who have served, suffered and died doing your best to protect what we know as the greatest country on the face of the earth………….but all of that really has nothing to do with where this blog is going.  Not really anyway.

For the last six years, Kim and I have lived in our dream home on six acres south of Waverly, Iowa and North of Janesville, Iowa.  The Cedar River is across the highway, we are close to anything we want to do (sorta) and our nearest neighbor is 500 yards away.  Love it.  There is one little problem though……I’ve been fighting a war of my own. That’s right, I have my own group of terrorists!  They aren’t Muslim, although they are hairy.  They don’t carry the Quran, although it appears as if they could be with those big paddle feet of theirs!  They ruin grass, make it impossible to level a yard, basically, they cause “gardener stress related syndrome”.  And they cause me to pull my hair out…which is another problem all together, cause I really don’t have as much as I used too!

They are the Al-Qaida Moles!

I have tried everything. Water, gas, traps and even standing and waiting patiently with a shovel in my hand for them to make their move so I could end their pathetic, frustrating existence!  It has truly tried every thread of patience I have in my body.  Good thing I have a lot of it!

I decided, much like our own government, that I needed to identify the Al-Qaida Moles that were causing me the most trouble, then, systematically eliminate them from the face of the earth.  To effectively know whether or not I was successful, I developed a “Ten Most Wanted” list.  As an Al-Qaida Mole was eliminated from the list, another would take its place, kind of like the real terrorists group.  There was a whole line of “terrorists” just waiting to be the next Mole Bin Laden.

I recently, much like our own Armed Forces, feel that I have started to gain the upper hand.  This past week alone, I was able to eliminate Al-Qaida 1A and 1B.  I also got #’s 2 & 5.  Mole #3 and 4 may have expired from residual activities related to eliminating this particular terror group that I just wasn’t aware of at the time.  There hasn’t been any activity in their areas of operation, so I’m hopeful.  If that is truly the case, I really only have 6-10 left on the original list.  Of course, as I said, there is always another just waiting to add his picture to the top 10 and I’m always watching for them to try and keep them from getting to number one.  Since I was so successful this week, I’m going to need to juggle my list a bit, moving the current #3 to the #1 position and #4 to #2 until I can verify their demise. I would post photos as evidence but these would be far too traumatic for those with weak stomachs.  I’d also post those surveillance videos of night time activities, but the .270 with night vision is probably overkill and I wouldn’t want anyone to think that I had totally lost my mind with this endeavor.

So, while I continue my quest to secure the borders of my little piece of heaven, and protect those that I love, I’m sure there will be setbacks. However, I will strive to rid the world of Al-Qaida Moles and their off spring, in an effort to not only protect my interests, but the interests of my friends and neighbors, not matter how far away they happen to be.

Bajoria, Jayshree & Bruno, Greg (2012). Backgrounder, Al-Qaeda, retrieved from website: Council on Foreign Relations, www.cfr.org/terrorist-organizations/al-qaeda-k-al-qaida-al-qaida/p9126