[Gunsmoke]

I had a great day at work today and have celebrated with a few cocktails. I normally try not to tell stories on myself but I have a nice buzz and "testing the drag" on a reel brings back a memory.

I was about 10 or 11 years old. It was Christmas Day. I got a Penn senator for Christmas and went in the back yard to try it out. I tied the line to a tree and ran all around the yard till I was worn out. My black lab dog was sitting there watching me and I got a great idea.

I put the senator in my mouth so I could tie a knot around the lab's collar. The plan was to throw a Frisbee and hold on to the reel. Just as I was completing the knot on the collar, my grandparents pulled up and the lab took off like a bat out of hell to greet them. The reel was still in my mouth at the time. I lost my four front teeth and ruined the family Christmas.

So, jojo, don't test the saltist 50 with your jaws. It doesn't work.

 

[Gunsmoke]

I'm thinking of becoming a tree hugger. My new years resolution is to get rid of all fuel burning cars, boats, and trucks. I'm gonna buy a kayak and become water friendly. I can launch it anywhere I please and just paddle my way around the kayak trails near the lighthouse in the Lydia Ann channel. That's where I'll meet my new fly fisherman environmentalist friends. We can sip on herbal tea and talk about green peace and the sierra club.

I guess I'll have to buy a bicycle and make a trailer to tow the kayak behind me on my way to the coast. So, Mcgolfer if you see a guy in the future at the floaters in a kayak, it's me and I've gotten in great shape to make it that distance.

 

[Gunsmoke]

Well, I've got two months to debate the tree hugging issue. I don't sit in trees to hunt. I'm a driver. I like trolling for deer. It's nice to have the cooler next to you while your covering ground. I also don't sit in blinds. One time when I was a kid, my father dropped me off way before sunrise at a blind. As I climbed in I woke up an illegal immigrant who had crashed in the blind for the night. He scared the crap out of me and I fell 18' and broke my left arm.

Another time, I was greeted by a monkey. The ranch was next to an animal loving do-gooder who took all the old monkeys from southwest research. Evidently his mesh trap had a hole in it. That ape gave me a trip to the emergency room during the prime rut. I did waste him in the process. My father always had a rule. If you kill it, you eat it. Don't ever try to cook a monkey. Their tough on the teeth. Hard to gut as they really stink.