Things I hate do

My list of things I do NOT like doing:

10. Going to the dentist
9. Paying taxes
8. Going back to work after having a few days off
7. Mowing the lawn
6. Picking up sticks and crap before mowing the lawn
5. Cleaning gutters
4. Bagging spring lawn crud
3. Raking the crud off the lawn in the spring
2. Hauling leaves to the curb
1. Raking leaves in the fall

As you may have guessed, I'm not a fan of any kind of lawn work. Some guys love it, gardening and stuff. Me, I'd rather watch paint dry than to fart around with that sort of stuff. I don't know what color thumb that means I have, but I know for sure it's not green. I hope this doesn't make me a bad guy.

Is it just me?

Is it just me, or do the rest of you find yourself yelling at your TV when you watch the news. I'm not talking about anything political mind you, but consider this morning's report on Fox 11.

The first report was on the sentencing, or lack there of, of a 20 something woman who was convicted of having sex with a 13 year old boy. Based on the fact that they were in a "relationship", which has now resulted in TWO kids, the judge gave her probation. He called their relationship "unique". Now I don't know about you, but if my seventh grade son came home and announced "hey, I'm gonna be a Dad", I sure as hell wouldn't react by saying "Wow Son, that's unique"! You can bet your sweet a** that had this been a 22 year old guy that got a 13 year old girl pregnant, he'd be looking at a lot more serious consequences than this woman received. Talk about a double standard!

The second story covered the case of the guy getting his penis glued to himself by his wife and three other women he was "messing around" with. The charges against his wife were dismissed. Hmm, lack of evidence or what the reasoning was I'm not sure but certainly this story is worth at least a grin every time it reappears. I think this guy should get a free pass from ever having to go to work again for the rest of his life. At the very least they should put him in some sort of witness protection program and give him a new identity. Can you imagine showing up for work after something like THIS has happened to you? I'm sure there has to be some stimulus $$ for this poor guy!

The third story was about the "balloon boy" case in Colorado. This freak show of a family is right up the main stream media's alley I guess. Who the hell names their kid Falcon for crying out loud, some "bird brain" parents I'd guess.

As I mentioned earlier, these were the top 3 stories on the news today. I'm not sure what that says about us the viewers or society in general but it sure reminds of something a friend of ours always says, "God must sure love goofy people because he made an awful lot of them". AMEN

One of the saddest days of the year...

At least that's how I feel about the day every fall when I take my boat to the place where I store it for the winter. Boy, I sure miss being out on a lake even when the fish don't cooperate. I got to thinking the other day of all the different people that have gone fishing with me in that old tub. Quite a few for sure and with every different person that I remembered, I recalled a story or two of being on a particular lake with that fellow fisherman. How come I can remember stuff like shearing a pin on the motor on Pelican Lake with Dave Kohls and John Fandrey some 20 years ago but I can't remember to get spaghetti sauce mix when I go to the store?

My wife thinks I'm nuts (I think)

Hmmm? After sharing my last post of about a minute ago with my better half, she kind of half nodded, said "oooo kaaaay", gave a small roll of the eyes that was barely perceptible and then returned to reading some of her mail. I suspect she thinks there's something wrong with me, but I could be mistaken. Just wondering where I can go for a second opinion.

What was supposed to happen in Rhinelander...

This photo from my personal "archives" documents what was supposed to have happened earlier this week on Lake George. In any event, I thought I'd share this photo with you in case I don't have my camera along the next time I go out in pursuit of our state fish.

Return from Rhinelander

Well we made it home safe and sound from our 4 day jaunt to Rhinelander. Please don't ask me about the fishing. Oh the process called fishing was great, a bit cool at times, but great none the less. The results of said fishing are another matter. In approximately 13 hours on the water over 3 days(Tuesday was rained out) I caught the grand total of 1 fish. One crummy, stinking 4 inch bluegill for all that time and effort. Only my Lord and Savior could have made a meal out of that. It was not all for naught as on late Monday afternoon after a brief phone conversation with my nephew and sometime fishing partner Jason, I had a musky follow up the large white spinner bait I was casting at the time. It was the fishing highlight of the week. Now I know many of you are scratching your head at this statement, but if you are at all familiar with musky fishing, you know that some times seeing a fish is all that happens. Sad to say for this trip, that was all that happened. The other highlight came while waiting for my wife to arrive with the truck and boat trailer at the boat landing across the lake at the resort we stayed at. I talked briefly with a fellow from Appleton who was also out in search of the elusive musky. After our brief conversation, he left only to return a few minutes later to pick up his rods and reels, which he had absentmindedly left in the boat. Having been the victim myself of such silly self inflicted behavior, I joked with him and wished him well a second time.

Coffee

Is there anything better in the morning than a good, strong cup of coffee? I love to drink coffee in the morning, especially that first cup right from the coffee maker. There are days when I don't have to work when I literally drink a whole pot by myself. But there are certain aspects of coffee drinking that continue to puzzle me. WHY does anyone drink de-caf in the AM? How can people scarfing down a fast food hamburger wash it down with java? Don't get me wrong, I love Mickey D's coffee. It's a far better value than Starbucks and a heck of a lot easier to order. At McDonald's you say "give me a large", at Starbucks you pull out your French/American travel dictionary and try not to look like a first time visitor when ordering a grande or vinte or whatever. I remember my first trip to a Starbucks. It was in Seattle and I went with my then 11 year old daughter. She being an SB veteran, led me by the hand and promptly ordered some 5 word concoction that I had know idea what it was. They made no attempt to card her so I assumed that the transaction that had just taken place was completely legal. I on the otter hand, stood stupefied by the menu of available beverages, finally looking the young pup barista in the eye and proclaiming, "I just want a regular cup of coffee". I KNOW that the little twerp behind the counter was chuckling to his core, but he successfully concealed such mirth, at least to the point of not embarrassing me to death. Oh well, we can all learn from our kids, can't we.

Ready for Rhinelander

Heading up north for a 4 days of R & R with Lake George in Rhinelander, WI being our destination. I Have enough clothes packed for about 2 weeks but I always like to allow for the unexpected such as falling in the lake, spilling on myself while eating something I shouldn't, and other such clothing catastrophes. I also have enough fishing gear packed to outfit about 5 people but that doesn't mean we won't stop at Fleet Farm in Antigo on the way up to check for any last minute lures that I can't live without. I'm approximately 3 lures away from maxing out available space in my tackle box so any future purchases may result in having to start all over with a new larger tackle box. Sounds like a nice wintertime project to me. Time to hit the sack. The muskies of northern Wisconsin are officially on notice! I am on my way!

Welcome to my Blog

As someone who as always enjoyed putting words on paper, I thought I'd try my hand at the blogging thing. We'll see how it goes. Not sure what I'll be chiming in on, but at the very least I should be able to improve my keyboard skills. Stay tuned!