Just got home not to long ago from an overnight catfish trip. Gee that was fun...ARE YOU KIDDING ME?...Sitting on the bank of the river wearing what amounts to the entire wool content of Ireland and Scotland trying not to shiver my teeth out of my head.
The trip started well enough. My buddy Chris and I on the spur of the moment decided " Hey lets do an overnight catfishing trip " The look in our wives' faces should have warned us. But being what we are, we were clueless. Anyway we packed up the parkas, poles, takle boxes, bait, and what amounted to about 2 gallons of coffee. We loaded Chris' truck and headed out.
When we arrived at the location, we were excited no other people around. As soon as we exited the nice warm truck we knew why the area was deserted. Temp was a balmy 22 degrees ( two hours later it was 18 ). So we set up anyway the chairs were laid out, poles baited and cast ( worms freeze fast ) coffee warming our numb fingers, as we started the vigile.
After about an hour we were chatting ( out teeth were anyway ) " Ssoo wwhhaatt ddoo yyoouu tthhiinnkk,, sshhoouulldd wwee ppaacckk iitt uupp aanndd ggoo hhoommee??. " We decided to what another hour, we should have gone home as soon as we got there. When we finially got it through our frostbitten brains this was a bad idea, we went to pack it up. My reel was frozen, so I was not able to bring in the line, at least the heat from a mag light thawed it enough to bring it in. Chris was having no better luck, his reel didn't freeze but the line did to a very thin sheet of ice that formed on the water. I'm not gonna repeat the colorful expletitives we were using. Anyway, we did manage to catch one fish. It was a monster of a cat, it measured out to a little over four inches, even though Chris snagged it through the tail does this count as a catch?
When we finally got home ( we were gone three hours ) my wife was at the door with that smug look wives get with a smirk that would have thawed our reels in a second ( note to self take wife fishing on cold nites ), but she was kind enough to have blankets and more coffee ready for us. We decided to just have Chris crash and thaw out here. I'm afraid i'll have to look at the couch when he gets up to check for structural damage as he is shivering so bad. I am headed off to bed here very shortly, I can feel my toes again.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Vetrerans Day
What is Veterans Day. Veterans days means many things to many people. For some it is a day in which we pay homage to our military heros, to others it is a day to take off of work and party, for others still, they really are not sure why we must pay homage to veterans at all.
Websters dictionary defines Veterans Day as follows"
---November 11, a legal holiday in the U.S. in commemoration of the end of World Wars I and II and in honor of veterans of the armed services.
This is correct BUT it means so much more and many levels. First let us examine exactly what is a veteran.
n, ve-truhn] 
Show IPA
—Related forms
Websters dictionary defines Veterans Day as follows"
---November 11, a legal holiday in the U.S. in commemoration of the end of World Wars I and II and in honor of veterans of the armed services.
This is correct BUT it means so much more and many levels. First let us examine exactly what is a veteran.
vet·er·an
[vet-er-uhn, ve-truhn] Show IPA –noun
1.
a person who has had long service or experience in an occupation, office, or the like: a veteran of the police force; a veteran of many sports competitions.
2.
a person who has served in a military force, esp. one who has fought in a war: a Vietnam veteran.
–adjective
3.
(of soldiers) having had service or experience in warfare: veteran troops.
4.
experienced through long service or practice; having served for a long period: a veteran member of Congress.
5.
of, pertaining to, or characteristic of veterans.
Origin:
1495–1505; < L veterānus mature, experienced, equiv. to veter- (s. of vetus) old + -ānus -an
1495–1505; < L veterānus mature, experienced, equiv. to veter- (s. of vetus) old + -ānus -an
—Related forms
non·vet·er·an, noun
Source websters dictionary...
Again, this is a correct definition but lets examine this more closely. A veteran is a man or woman who makes the conscious and deliberate decision to serve in the military services. So what causes a person to make this serious and life altering decision?. This is a question that only each respective veteran can answer. The reasons are many and varied. But first and foremost it is a personal decision and one which I personally will not violate. People all across the world have celebrations for their respective veterans. Ideologies set aside the one thing that binds ALL past, present, and future service men and women is very simply that they chose to serve their respective nations.
These brave men and women do not seek accolades or parades, they do not seek fame for their duty, rather they serve their countries for the love of their countries, nothing more, nothing less. Every single serviceman ( and women ) I have spoken too see their fellow commrades as heros, but they do not see themselves as heros, with deep humility they see all service men as men and women as defenders of the faith. Defending the faith means that they fight to preserve their respective countries ideology, religion, government, and most importantly the citizens of their country.
The bravery in is inherant in all service persons in humbling. Every single service persons biggest hope is that they will never have to fight, and biggest fear is that they will. It is not the fear for themselves, but rather the fear and horror of taking another human life, yet understanding that in order to preserve their way of life it is unfortunately necessary. These brave souls willfully and knowingly enlist with these thoughts in mind. Keep in mind where we as a world would be without our veterans. I will not discuss this here, but rather it is a homework assignment for you to ponder.
Have you ever alked through the mall and overheard people criticizing service persons?, saying things like" All soldiers are war lovers, baby killers, rapists, " and so forth, dont deny it you have or you yourself has at some point. consider why you have that right to criticize the soldiers. It is directly because of our soldiers that you have that right. Our first president George Washington stated " Freedom is not free, blood must be spilt in order to gain it, and must be spilt in order to keep it " This is the horror of all military personel, the understanding that we as a free nation had to spill blood to gain our freedom, and must constasntly be ready to spill blood to keep it, for there are many nations of the world and religions that abhore the doctrine of our country.
One retired Colonel I spoke with describes with a tear in his eye the love and respect he has for all persons in the armed servies. " It is the cook, without whom we could not be nourished, it is the mechanic, without whom we could not move, it is the armorer, without whom we could not fight, it is the officers, without whom we could not have leadership, but it all boils down to this. It is Americans first and foremost who are the cooks, the mechanics, the armorers, and the officers. Every job in the armed servies is critical to every other job in the armed services. We all have or have had duties assigned we do not like or wish, but in the greater need of America we do what we must. ".
Our service men and women are the pinicle of self sacrifice. Lets honor those that serve rather than honor ourselves.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
RV camping
RV's- It hard to imagine that some people actually think of RV's as roughing it. Some of these things are bigger and nicer than my house. They have a couch, TV, microwave, refrigerator, showers, beds. I have even seen some with a jaquzzi and sauna. If these things are roughing it, I cant even or want to consider what there house must be like. Are we talking about the Taj Majal?
Anyway, Rv's are seriously a great way to travel and explore nature. They offer fantasic views of the countryside and or camping area. They have heaters and a/c, so for those cold or hot days, why not camp in style and comfort. These are also great if you have young children, with a microwave you have a fast popcorn snack when they are tugging at your aprons or trousers " i'm hungry. "
The one downside is that they are very $$$$$$$...I dont know about you but I actually have to work for a living. I have seen models ranging from around $ 50,000 to over $ 500,000. On my salary, I may get that paid off in or around the year 9999999999999999999. This is not to say that you can not find one more affordable, you'll just have to look around. Often look in your local classifieds and there are some good deals in there. BUT, also keep inmind some additional expenses such as fuel, propane, insurance, generator fuel, waste removal and cleaning, RV site costs, hook up costs ( although hook up costs are very affordable typically about $11.00 to $20.00 a night ).
OK, thats about it for now.
Toodles
Anyway, Rv's are seriously a great way to travel and explore nature. They offer fantasic views of the countryside and or camping area. They have heaters and a/c, so for those cold or hot days, why not camp in style and comfort. These are also great if you have young children, with a microwave you have a fast popcorn snack when they are tugging at your aprons or trousers " i'm hungry. "
The one downside is that they are very $$$$$$$...I dont know about you but I actually have to work for a living. I have seen models ranging from around $ 50,000 to over $ 500,000. On my salary, I may get that paid off in or around the year 9999999999999999999. This is not to say that you can not find one more affordable, you'll just have to look around. Often look in your local classifieds and there are some good deals in there. BUT, also keep inmind some additional expenses such as fuel, propane, insurance, generator fuel, waste removal and cleaning, RV site costs, hook up costs ( although hook up costs are very affordable typically about $11.00 to $20.00 a night ).
OK, thats about it for now.
Toodles
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Well, after a fast outhouse run I am back. Last time i was here we were looking at camping styles, specifically tents. Tents come in every size and color imaginable, I have seen itty bitty 1 person tents in which the main part of the body in covered, but either the head or the toes stickout at either end. This is not ideal for the average sized human. If you want your head and/or toes open for the mosquitoe air force to practice their dive bomb runs, thats your buisness, personally, I would rather have to sit and listen to liberace or something rather that have my face and toes look like a sudden outbreak of rocky mountain spotted hickies or something.
Back to tents, besides the before mention tent, they can also range up to size tht would literally house a couple of platoons, but for most people this is a tad impractical. If your car is like mine, there is barely enough room for the driver. Most tents though tend to be in the 3-10 person range. Some are a single wide room while others are multiroomed. These multi room tents are great for families, boys on one side, girls on the other, and all your other stuff in the middle. Just do not forget to leave a clear path through you stuff otherwise a trip to the emergency room at 3 am is in order. Not to mention the long liteny of four letter colorful expletitives will be heard through out the campground.
I had better leave it at this for awhile as i lost my train of thought.
Toodles
Back to tents, besides the before mention tent, they can also range up to size tht would literally house a couple of platoons, but for most people this is a tad impractical. If your car is like mine, there is barely enough room for the driver. Most tents though tend to be in the 3-10 person range. Some are a single wide room while others are multiroomed. These multi room tents are great for families, boys on one side, girls on the other, and all your other stuff in the middle. Just do not forget to leave a clear path through you stuff otherwise a trip to the emergency room at 3 am is in order. Not to mention the long liteny of four letter colorful expletitives will be heard through out the campground.
I had better leave it at this for awhile as i lost my train of thought.
Toodles
My first entry
Well this is my first venture into the world of blogging. I am hoping it will be educational as well as entertaining. On this blog I will examine various camping and fishing styles and techniques ( my own warped opinions of course ). It is not nor is it intended to be an expert anything, just my own ramblings. I will start with camping if for no other reason than its alphabetical.
Camping in a form of entertainment and recreation that conjures many views and ideas. Some being that some campers are the rugged outdoors type, while others see campers and nut jobs, others still see it as a relaxing way to enjoy ones family and nature. As for myself? There are times i've gone camping and thought to myself " I must be nuts " and other times I was so relaxed I snoozed the entire time gaining a profound appreciation for sunburn prevention advice. Anyway, you must first ask yourself what style of camping do you see yourself doing. lets break it down a tad shall we?
1. TENT-Do you salivate at the thought of sleeping on rock and sticks?, Does the idea of playing dart dodge with mosquitoes give you goose bumps? Do you sign in ecstasy ( ya I know I cant spell ) of sitting in front of a campfire in 120 degree weather during the day and sleeping under a blanket in 20 degrees below zeroat night?, all in the same day...Then tent camping is right up your alley
We will end here for now as I drank way too much coffee today and need to run (with crossed legs), to the nearest outhouse, fortuneately its only about 10 feet from here, so I shall return to my tirade soon
Toodles
Camping in a form of entertainment and recreation that conjures many views and ideas. Some being that some campers are the rugged outdoors type, while others see campers and nut jobs, others still see it as a relaxing way to enjoy ones family and nature. As for myself? There are times i've gone camping and thought to myself " I must be nuts " and other times I was so relaxed I snoozed the entire time gaining a profound appreciation for sunburn prevention advice. Anyway, you must first ask yourself what style of camping do you see yourself doing. lets break it down a tad shall we?
1. TENT-Do you salivate at the thought of sleeping on rock and sticks?, Does the idea of playing dart dodge with mosquitoes give you goose bumps? Do you sign in ecstasy ( ya I know I cant spell ) of sitting in front of a campfire in 120 degree weather during the day and sleeping under a blanket in 20 degrees below zeroat night?, all in the same day...Then tent camping is right up your alley
We will end here for now as I drank way too much coffee today and need to run (with crossed legs), to the nearest outhouse, fortuneately its only about 10 feet from here, so I shall return to my tirade soon
Toodles
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