CARMEN LEE--LIFE IS NOT A VACATION, IT IS A JOURNEY

Day 125, "Every picture has a story"

Fishing was a BIG part of my life growing up on the farm.  I kind of was divided into four parts.  Each of them in a different place.  Note the car in the back ground and I am guessing the year was maybe 1959 or so.  That is one small bullhead which we never would keep.  There were bullhead dinners in Geneseo on Fridays but we never did go.  One may notice I have a smile and there, big as can be, is my left front tooth that is TOO small.  That darn thing has me NOT smiling on most pictures.  However there are times I think about it and am thankful that is the only odd thing about me, I think!

• There was the "alone" part of fishing.  That would be me walking up to Lake Tewaukon with my can of worms and pole.  No stringer to bring the fish home as I never did that.  As I have said before I would catch these small perch and then put them in a corral that I made out of rocks.  Before I left for home I would release them into the lake again to catch another day.  When I think about it I may have been the leader in the entire "catch and release' thing that is big today!  I have to add that I would walk through Bert's pasture to get there and then walk through their yard.  IF I were lucky I Eleanor would see me and offer me a cookie!
• Then there were the trips with Dad and Dave to Lake Traverse which was on the South Dakota/Minnesota border east of Sisseton.  Sometimes Dad would borrow Uncle Halvor's boat motor and we would rent a boat.  That was the MOST fun as Dad knew the best places in the lake to catch crappies.  We would usually come home with a LOT of them.  Times when we did not have the motor we would fish from shore and catch just as many but it was not as fun.  Dad would often stop and buy a can of sardines and we would feast on saltines and sardines!  The good old days, right???
• Then there was Silver Lake which was southwest of Rutland North Dakota.  We would never fish in the lake but would fish in the outlet stream on the west side of the lake.  There we would cast for hours for Northern Pike.  Usually we would go home with at least one that weighed +/-5 pounds.  One of my regrets was Dad NEVER learned how to fillet a fish.  HOW can one enjoy eating fish if, before you take a bit, you need to dig with your fork as if you are looking for gold.  Then after putting a bite in your mouth you need to squish it and move it around to make sure there are NO bones.  Oh my that did nothing for my desire to eat fish.  I realize that when you fillet a fish you do throw away some of the meat BUT.
• Lastly there were the times we would fish on the west end of Lake Tewaukon.  Most of the time we did that it was "wake up Carmen it is time to go" and the clock would tell me it was at least an hour before sunrise.  Why was it necessary to try to catch fish before they woke up?  
• There is one more fish story that I will always remember.  Mom and Dad said we were going on a picnic one day and it was to a place I can not remember where but it was a BIG day.  It was by a lake and Dad said I should bring my fishing pole.  I grabbed it out of the shop and put it in the car.  When we arrived Mom and Dad met some friends so I was by myself.  My fishing reel was one of these that the line is around a spool and mine was all tangled up so I spent a lot of time getting the reel to work.  Finally I was set and started to cast and reel, cast and reel.  I heard Mom call to say lunch was ready so I, as I often do, said to myself, "two more times" before I take up my rod and reel and head to lunch.  On the second and last throw I felt a tug on the line and there, right in front of me in shallow water was a Northern Pike on my line.  I reeled it in and proudly marched up the bank to show my prize to Mom and Dad.  A proud day for sure.

Yesterday was a "good" tennis day.  Charlie and I, once again, played court #2 and were the only victors of the day.  We seem to play well together.  On the 70+ team I now have a 3-1 record.  I am trying to figure out if Charlie and I are just so good or if the opponent is not so good!  The one loss was not with Charlie.  Today my 60+ team plays at 11:30.  I have put myself on court #1 but have played on court #3 twice this winter so I think it is fine.  I actually have maybe 5 players who could say they deserve to play on #1.  I asked one of the guys yesterday about putting him on #3 today as he has played on #1 several matches.  He smiled and said that would be fine as it should be easier to win on court #3!  Anyway I am about 4-5 hours away from seeing if I can bag 2 league wins in the same week.  Good luck Carmen.

I enjoyed french toast with a sausage this morning and made my FP with an extra tablespoon of grounds just to give me that added boast on the court at 11:30.  We will see if it helps.