 
Tponetom
Member
Username: Tponetom
Post Number: 266
Registered: 06-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 9:11 pm: |    |
Paging Eriedearie:
“A flower to you, even if you happen to be an old man.” Peggy got me addicted to flowers, so that statement is not made frivolously.
Re: Your posts, # 886 and # 894, replying to my post, “One Word From Tponetom.”
This will not be a long post. If the ‘nay sayers’ comment, let them. Don’t erase them. Let’s help them understand that there are many simple attitudes that many of us subscribe to. We get enough of the stark realities of life on TV, the radio, the newspapers, magazines and many different local sources.
The hardest chore for me is writing a coherent theme that flows from a trickle of thought and then builds into a torrential waterfall of wonder!
My problem here might be, how do I make a story out of your strawberry picking and my Peggy’s picking wild, buckshot blue berries, hour after hour?
Well, that is not what this post is about. (Thank goodness!)
It is about reaching out and touching at least one person, and hopefully, more than one.
What I really enjoy is when I read a post and I sense an exposure of that persons deeper feeling. Perhaps they are edging around a subject of extreme privacy. A subject they believe is unique and pertinent only to themselves.
Then all of a sudden, the manifestation of understanding that they were not the only one’s who had a dog they loved, a friend they lost, a grand parent who adored them and a thousand other idiosyncracies, some perceived, but most of them real, they are reluctant to admit to such imagined frailties, which they are not. (Or, like picking strawberries.)
By the way, when Peggy was out in the forest picking blueberries, our Rottweiler, Tora, was always at her side. I never worried for a moment. |
Eriedearie
Member
Username: Eriedearie
Post Number: 1061
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Friday, March 14, 2008 - 7:20 am: | |
You are right about hearing so much news from all the different types of media coverages. Sometimes I get so tired of all the negative news that I don't want to hear any of it!
But reading about the real everyday experiences of people just going about their lives has always intrigued me.
You and Ray helped bring those few snippets out of me that I didn't know were there. Like I say, some were things I had not thought about in years; at least not that deeply. I knew what I thought of when I heard or saw those particular words or items - but I didn't know a little story came tagging along with them.
So you just keep on composing your rememories into stories and posting them here for all to enjoy. I believe you have more fans of your stories than there are people that respond to them. After all, you never know what sort of story you may trigger in someone else. |
Jams
Member
Username: Jams
Post Number: 7883
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Friday, March 14, 2008 - 11:09 am: | |
i'll second that, if you don't mind me butting in. |
Ragtoplover59
Member
Username: Ragtoplover59
Post Number: 215
Registered: 09-2006
| | Posted on Friday, March 14, 2008 - 7:52 pm: | |
"I believe you have more fans of your stories than there are people that respond to them"
I like to keep up with the Nostalgic side of DetYes, But only post occasionally unless I feel I really have something to add. I fit the type Eriedearie spoke of above to a tee.
Tponetom, keep up the good work.
on a side note
Hope you're doing better Jams. I made one stop by your Gun thread, didn't seem to have the same opinion as most of the others, but I still would have enjoyed what I said! |
Eriedearie
Member
Username: Eriedearie
Post Number: 1062
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Friday, March 14, 2008 - 9:47 pm: | |
Jams & Ragtop - I'm glad to see there are other fans of the gems from Tponetom. I just knew it!  |
Tponetom
Member
Username: Tponetom
Post Number: 273
Registered: 06-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, March 16, 2008 - 12:35 pm: | |
Eriedearie"
This is Part One of the Fish story. I will post Part 2 when I know that you have read this one.
Part 1: Tponetom: Fishing can be a hazard to your health!
It was early Spring. I always called it the “Epiphany of a Thousand Greens.” All the trees and bushes and weeds were awakening from their winter dormancy. Each one struggling to announce their individual presence in their own distinctive shade of green.
There is an eight acre, bell shaped lake in the center of our property. Our home was on the hillside overlooking the lake, about thirty feet above “sea” level. The lake is spring fed and about 12 feet deep in the center.
When my father bought the property in 1943, the lake was teeming with perch. If you don’t know what perch are, then this story would not be your bucket of fish.
To the people of the Upper Peninsula, perch are sacrosanct. They are the only pan fish to be eaten and gorged on. Lobster, Shrimp, Crab, Trout and other fish are delightful but none of them are a close second to perch. Friday night Fish Fries are more devout than Sunday morning Mass.
Mrs. Greene was the wife of the previous owner of our property. She loved the beauty of Lily Pads in the water. The local folklore was that she had transplanted some of them in the lake. In fact, there was a small bunch of them around the dock. The disaster of this action was not foreseeable.
For the next ten years or so, whenever we went to camp, a perch dinner was always a delicacy to the adults like peanut butter and jelly was to a child. It never took more than twenty minutes to catch a dinner. Fish, ten inches and under, were always returned to the lake.
We noticed an increase in the Lily Pads during those early years. By 1960 the entire shoreline was infested with Lily Pads and the western end of the lake was becoming a swamp. They had spread and multiplied faster than an Irishman’s family.
In the middle sixties, the Perch disappeared . At first the explanation was this: during the winter, a heavy snow build up, on the lake, would shut off the sunlight, necessary to manufacture oxygen in the water. Later, that opinion was qualified. The lack of oxygen was the result of the Lily Pads absorbing the oxygen, perhaps in conjunction with the sunlight. Either way, the perch did not survive. Oddly enough we had a ton of minnows and crawfish that did survive. The explanation was simply the fact that they did not use much oxygen.\
It was a great disappointment, but I had a thousand other things to do in the seventies. Like build a house, a barn, a garage and a maple syrup operation. I also built an 8' X 12' raft using four, 55 gallon steel drums and some rough cut cedar for a deck. I anchored each corner of it with a cement block and located the raft in the center of the lake. (The raft plays a part in this story.)
1981 thru 1983 were not good years for employment. So one fine day in ‘81, early in May, I told Peggy that we should go to Chicago Lake and catch some perch and transplant them in our lake. Just for the ‘hey’ of it.
Chicago Lake is a large inland lake about 15 miles from our home. It is stocked annually by the DNR. For the most part, the perch and bluegill were all fingerlings and that suited me. I had a 12 foot aluminum pram that was easy to transport. Within a couple of hours we had two, five gallon buckets full of mostly perch and a few bluegill . We got them home and I dumped them into the lake.
There was nothing more to do than wait and see. Later in the Fall, I caught 2 perch that seemed to be a little bigger than those we transplanted. We were ecstatic!
The following spring, in ‘82, I could hardly wait for the ice to melt in the lake. When it did, I took a few minnows from my minnow trap and wet my line. I felt what I thought were a couple of nibbles, but maybe not. Then there was a slight tug on the line and I returned a gentle jerk and then reeled in all the treasures of Croesus. It measured eight and a half inches.
I called Peggy to come down to the dock and she did. I showed her my catch and then put it back in the lake. Later that year we fished in late Summer and caught 8 Perch that measured between 9 and 11 inches. I kept the two largest fish and dressed them, being very careful to keep the scales of both of them separate. The fish biologist at the DNR had told me previously to bring, just the scales in for assessment. I put them in two envelopes and delivered them to Jerry, the biologist. He said it might take two or three days to analyze them.
Two days later, he came driving up to our house in an agitated state. He said, “Tom, those scales are incredible. Those fish are only 2 years old. What do you have in that lake of yours?” I told him of the minnows and crawfish and tadpoles and whatever else might be in there.
“He said, well that can explain it. They had all the feed they could handle.”
Later that summer, my sister Kathy, and brother-in-law, Russ, came to visit. Russ and I decided to fish with the understanding that we throw everything we catch back into the lake. Within a half an hour we had caught 12 perch. But in that process I latched on to a monster of sorts. That darn fish did not want to be landed and he fought like the devil. Any fisherman will tell you that catching a bluegill on a fly rod is the most exciting experience you could want. I did bring it in and it was a Bluegill. Spreading my hand and fingers to their limits, the Bluegill completely covered my hand. I told Russ I had to keep this one in order to show it to the biologist, which I did. I got the same diagnosis as the perch. But the disappointment was this. When they stocked Chicago lake, they used ‘hybrid’ bluegills which meant the few that I had would not reproduce. Still, we were happy with what we had done. We had restored the Perch to our lake.
OR HAD WE? PART 2, FOLLOWS. |
Eriedearie
Member
Username: Eriedearie
Post Number: 1072
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, March 16, 2008 - 1:21 pm: | |
We're going to our grandson's birthday party this afternoon and won't be back home for awhile. So you've got some wiggle room with posting the next installment. I've read Part 1 and anticipate Part 2; hopefully it will be here when we get home! Gosh I just love fish stories! |
Tponetom
Member
Username: Tponetom
Post Number: 274
Registered: 06-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, March 16, 2008 - 3:41 pm: | |
Part Two: Tponetom, Fishing can be a hazard to your health.
The Spring of ‘83 was the moment of truth. I was chafing at the bit to get out on the lake and discover the provenance of our efforts to restore the “perch.’ It was not to be. I went out on the lake, twice a day, for five days and there was nary a bite. Not so much as a nudge nor a whisper of a shadow of movement that would suggest a fish sliding by my hook. There were no perch.
I do not believe in spiritualism. Metaphysics? Yes, I do believe in physical extremes that our beyond our present abilities to understand. So my story continues.
My back was suffering from aggravations that accumulated from sitting in my flat bottom pram for too many hours. Those flat aluminum seats do not afford any comfort. I hit upon a simple solution that would provide comfort while fishing from my pram. I took one of our aluminum and red wood, deck chairs, with a back rest, and straddled it over the middle seat in the pram. Oh, my Goodness. I was in heaven. My back felt great. So with this added comfort I decided to go out one more time and try to revive my perch dream.
So the next day I got my minnow bucket and fishing gear and went out to give it the old college try. It was the last day of April. A cloudy sky and an air temperature of 48 degrees promised to keep my one can of beer, cold. I sat in my new found throne, baited the hook on my line and gently launched it over the side of the boat. (The minnow bucket was in the water, tied off to the side of the boat.) I jiggled the line once in a while, and then I waited some more. I was wearing my Carhart bib overalls, a medium weight jacket and my Red Wing work shoes.
The stage was set for lights, camera, ACTION!
I decided to add another minnow to my hook. While seated in my comfy chair, I reached over and DOWN to grab the minnow bucket,,,,and the next thing I knew I was racing, face down, into the lake. Using that dam deck chair, I had raised the center of gravity of my boat to the point where it tipped over and did a 180 degree flip. The reaction was instantaneous. As it was rolling over, the heavy, side rail, of the boat, that was rotating, missed my head by inches.
Digression: I am a very poor swimmer. My only swimming experience had been in the NE YMCA swimming pool and not too often. Fortunately, I do not panic easily. I had a few ‘near death’ experiences in my working career.
So I found myself in the water with about ten or 12 pounds of ballast on my body. I already had one arm on top of the boat which was enough to keep me buoyant. I was no more than 50 feet from shore, but swimming to it was not a good option. I glided along the side of the upside down boat to get to the rear of it. From there I was able to scramble on to the top of it. Now I had some time to think about what to do. The illuminating light in the dark side of my brain told me what to do. “You dummy! Just lay flat, stomach down, near the front of the boat, where the bow narrows a little, and then, using your arms, paddle yourself to shallow water and you are home safe. So I tried that. I paddled and paddled and paddled,,,and that damm boat did not move an inch. Because,,,,,,,,,,I had set two anchors out when I was fishing.
Then I thought about cutting the anchor lines,,,,,but I had left my jackknife on the floor of the boat and it was long gone. I had other options. It was getting near dusk. I decided that two heads were better than one.
At the top of my lungs I yelled, HEY, BAAAAABE, HEY BAAAAABE and after the third HEY, BAAAAABE, Peggy came out on the back porch. She said, “I can’t see you. What do you want.” The trees on the down slope blocked her vision of me.
I said, “Come down to the dock. We have to talk.”
She did that and then she seen me. She said, “What on earth are you doing out there?
I replied, “I am not ‘on earth’ I am on water!
Then I said, “Look, I am all right, I just have to make an adjustment to my situation here. I want you to go over to the “cabin” and get Joyce’s boat from under the deck and row out here and pick me up. I will give you two dollars for the first 1/4 mile.”
She bargained for 3 dollars. I said for 3 dollars we should have some sex. She responded by saying, “O. K., I’ll take the two.
The cabin was about 300 feet from our house. My mother was staying there for the summer as was her usual habit. When Dad died, Ma insisted on spending the whole summer up there by herself. She was determined to live Dad’s dream as long as she could. At age 82 she was failing.
Back to this story. Peggy walked, or ran, over to the cabin, got the boat in the water and then took about ten minutes to find the oars, which she finally did. She pushed off the dock and was on her way to save me,,,,,,,for about 20 feet. She came to a dead stop. I watched her. I said, “What the hell is the problem over there?”
She replied, “I am stuck on the damm weed bed.”
I told her to put both hands on one oar and keep pulling on it and go in a circle if need be in order to spin off of whatever was holding her there. In a few moments or so it worked and she was in open water. She got within ten feet of me and said, “Remember, this is only a two dollar rescue, not a three dollar one.”
By this time, my teeth were chattering a little. She pulled alongside of me and I slid off my island in the water and hung on to the side of her boat. I would not dare to climb aboard her boat for fear of tipping it over as well. I said, “Head for the raft.” She did. She got me to the built in ladder on the raft that allowed me to climb up on to it. Then she backed away to circle the raft to where she could slide the front of her boat under the raft. The raft sets high in the water and sliding the boat under it made it easy to get on or off the raft.
Before parking it under the raft, she reiterated, “Your sure this is a 2 dollar trip.” I reassured her in my most aggravated voice. “Yes, dammit, I’m freezing to death.”
After I got in her boat, I said, “Well, I might need a little bit of warming Up.”
She smiled and said, “Go back to your dreams.”
We rowed over to our dock and I got the wet clothes off and restored my circulation to something near normal. We went over to see my mother to allay her fears as to what she thinks may have happened. When we got to the cabin, we opened the front door and was greeted by a belch of smoke. Ma was siting at the dining room table smoking a cigarette. I immediately checked the wood stove and found the damper was closed. She had started a wood fire to make some tea and forgot to open the damper on the smoke pipe. At her age of 82, I did not have the unkindness to scold her for her forgetfulness.
Presently, I am getting near her age, right this moment.
When my boat tipped over, I lost all of my fishing gear.
I almost forgot!•••• The Metaphysical thing! Here it is.
The following year Russ and I went out on the lake just for the hey of it. A last hurrah, if you will. I had a new rod and reel and he had his and we dropped our lines in the water. We jiggled and jangled a bit but nothing happened. Finally, we gave it up. I reeled in my line. Russ tried to reel in his but he snagged something. He pulled and cussed and backed off and then cussed some more. Finally, something gave. He pulled in a bit. And then a bit more. It did not get easier. A few inches at a time. The weight was constant, not in motion. Dead weight. Finally his hook broke the surface. HIS HOOK HAD HOOKED THE TIP EYELET OF MY FISHING ROD THAT I LOST WHEN I CAPSIZED, A YEAR AGO.
It appeared that my fishing line may have tangled around my tackle box and when he hooked my rod he was trying to pull up my tackle box as well.
Hey, Robert Ripley , where are you when I need you.
Spiritual? No. Metaphysical? The jury is out
Present day reflection on that experience: I often wonder what would have happened if I had stripped down to nothing, in order to swim ashore. I can see me running stark naked to the house yelling for Peggy to let me in. A berserk madman, trying to assault her! Peggy was an excellent shot with rifle or shotgun! |
Eriedearie
Member
Username: Eriedearie
Post Number: 1075
Registered: 08-2007
| | Posted on Sunday, March 16, 2008 - 7:22 pm: | |
Oh that is a funny, funny story. Peggy is a good bargainer! I'm gonna print this out to share with my husband and our three boys. We all love to fish and they'll get a kick out of reading about your experience.
With the way you write I can visualize what all you went through. Thanks for sharing another keeper! |
|