Wherin I very nearly sound like a liberal

Gas prices. One word. Ridiculous Now, I'm no economist but I don't think it takes a genius to realize that theres something wrong here. I'm not going to advocate a "gas tax holiday" like Der Rodham and Mc Cain are either. No, I'm going to advocate for something far more drastic.

As much as I hate government meddling in, well, anything, It's time for them to step in and take appropriate action and what they can do requires no tax payer funding either. First, they need to, through use of Anti-Trust laws, put a temporary cap on Oil company profits. Second they need to drop the National speed limit down to 65mph. These two, either by themselves or combined will have a significant impact on fuel costs.

By capping oil company profits that make investment and speculation in oil as a traded commodity less attractive and will slow down trading in oil futures and speculation. Prices should drop. By lowering the national speed limit to 65mph, and it is proven, increases fuel economy of the cars we drive so we use less fuel to get from point A to point B and since we then use less fuel, demand goes down and fuel prices also go down.

These may be considered drastic measures, but these are drastic circumstances especially from an economic standpoint. With more and more of our hard earned cash going into our fuel tanks it leaves less and less to spend on other consumer goods and services. I don't know about you, but I can live with a 65 mph speed limit.

The time to drive 60 miles at 70 mph is about 52-1/2 minutes. The time to drive 60 miles at 65mph is about 55-1/2 minutes. That makes for a total additional drive time of 3 minutes to go 60 miles. Big deal. My fuel economy at 65mph is about 27mpg. My fuel economy at 70mph is about 23mpg. With an 18 gallon tank I can drive 486 miles at 65mph and 414 miles at 70mph. Thats an extra 72 miles, or 2.6 gallons of gas saved driving at 65mph which, at todays fuel price is just over $10.00! My extra 3 minutes of drive time is worth that $10.00 savings!

Good grief, I almost sound like a bleeding liberal saying all this but I am looking at all this from an national economic standpoint and what would be best right now, short term, for our country. The current price of gas is doing no one any economic good and if fuel prices keep climbing, we all stand to lose.

Wherin Holland, Michigan is Mecca

This week starts off a very little known, local, pagan celebration called Tulip Time. Throngs of worshipers estimated at 500,000, of the Tulipa (latin for Tulip) gods have been, and are descending upon our quiet community wreaking havoc on local traffic patterns. They come by carload, nay, busload, wearing their cameras, overly-large sunglasses and sock garters gleefully Oo-ing and Ah-ing, over the hundreds of thousands of Tulips, planted at taxpayers expense, like they are on some flower pheromone-induced high like the Tulip is some type of aphrodisiac. It's absolutely insane! It's a fricken flower!

It begs to question how bored does one have to be, or desperate, to say, "Hey Honey, Lets go to Ho-Dunk (Holland) Michigans Tulip festival and look at all the purdy flowers, see da dutch dancers, da vind-mill and da parades" (3 of them, mind you, in 4 days time that present, on their own, a traffic night mare of epic proportions)

So, they come, and drive like idiots....turning left where they are not supposed to, never using their turn indicators, clogging intersections and jamming streets and hogging up all the local eateries. It's really nothing but a giant sea of blue hairs.

Consider the incident of today where I am following an obviously out of state tourist driving in the right hand lane, riding the brake causing his cars brakes lights to continuously flash on and off and his right turn indicator stuck on as they traveled down the highway for at 40 mph for at least 4 miles in that condition then making an illegal left hand turn without turning on the left hand turn indicator. It's no wonder the locals leave town for the week. They do it to preserve their sanity, safety and well-being

Now I guess I should not complain. I mean these Tulip crazed tourists spend a load of dough whilst here in town and also keep the local collision repair facilities booked solid til mid summer. So I guess one could say that it's a boost to the local economy to some degree. Even if it is highly localized, it's a help....or so they say...but if these were 500,000 jobs coming into the area, heck even if it was 500 jobs, now that would be something to celebrate and would be an even bigger help to the local economy.

I tell you what, I'll trade any community out there our local Tulip Time festival and the 500,000 tourists it draws every year for 500 permanent full time jobs for our local area. Any takers?? Now that would really be something worth crowing about ... but even then Michigan's lame-ass failure of a Governor, Jenny Grahm-cracker would swoop in like the ugly opportunist vulture that she is and claim credit for the deal! How she can even claim credit for any jobs created in our State when Michigan still has, at the very least, a 3 to 1 net job loss (-74,000 jobs since last year) and the highest unemployment rate (7.2%) in the country and the States weakest economic growth in 50 years is beyond me.

What I find mildly entertaining is that Der Rodham, Hillary Clinton, wants Jenny to be a part of her economic cabinet if she is elected President. That's really just laughable and stupid....wait.... H-mmm...maybe I'll have to vote for Hillary if she gets the Democratic nomination and nod just to get Jenny Grahmn-cracker out of our State...a diabolical plan! We'd send Jenny back to Canada, the land from whence she came but just as Michigan is Canadas dumping ground for their trash, they don't want her either. Why can't they just keep their garbage over there?

Wherin I'm back from Fishing

There have been years at Trout Openers where it has snowed so hard you could not see you friends 100 feet downstream. Years where it was so cold that you shivered in the stream and tried to keep your hands warm while you fished and after you got out of the stream you could barely feel your feet. Then theres years like this one.

You would have thought it was early summer.

Wednesday and Thursday were warm with blue skies and sun all day. We were out and about in short sleeves and shorts. We sat by the camp fire at night in short sleeves til after 10:30pm. Friday was cloudy all day and cooler. Saturday was windy. Not breezy, but gusty take down large trees in the forest windy. In all of our years of fishing opening weekend we have about seen it all and sometimes all in one day!

Wednesday I got my brand spanking new 1973 Jayco camper set up on the property. We had brought it up the weekend before and backed it into position. I was not too keen on having the door face the road so I decided to turn it around. This entailed driving it straight into position...which I did driving the 'ol Jeep in between 2 trees with barely 2 inches to spare on either side and then jockeying it around and backing it out of the woods. The end result was very pleasing though with he door to the camper facing the property and the river:

Home-Sweet-Home

Once camp was set up it was time to tend to matters at hand....FISHING! Now trout fishing is not like Bass fishing of any other types of fishing. Observation of the section of stream you are about to fish is key in gaining intimate knowledge of where the fish are hiding. Besides, fishing on opening weekend is not really about catching fish. It's about relaxing and enjoying the peace and quiet:

 
Relaxing by the Stream having a Cigar

Sometimes, while walking through the forest on the way to secluded sections of stream, you see some great wild life which is jst another part of the overall experience. Occasionally you see something wandering through the woods with a really nice rack:

 
Nice rack!

Then there are the fish...The Trout...some of the greatest trout fishing to be had in the world is right here in Michigan.

Unlike the rivers of the West, these are technical streams whose banks are closely guarded by low hanging cedar branches and other scrub brush and grasses. Folks that have only fished large river basins and who are used to wide open waters would do best to steer clear of these waters. They do not possess the necessary casting skill for the close quarters these Michigan streams! Did I mention the trout? Remember what I said about watching the stream? If one is patient and watchful you'll see where the trout hide and even be treated to a show of their prowess as hunters of insects:

 
Brown trout finning in the current

Once you see 'em, as in the photo above, and once you know what type of bug is on the stream that the trout are eating, you can try and catch 'em or, as in my case, catch what ends up being a beautiful, huggable trophy 20 inch brown trout:

 
Yours truly with a caught & released Trophy 20 inch Brown Trout

This opening season, for me, was on of the best on record...all things being relative any-way...after all, I think I said the same thing last year.

Wherin it's T minus 1 and counting

It's hard to believe that a few short weeks ago we were all bemoaning the cold and snowy weather we were experiencing. Most, if not all of us, were suffering from cabin fever. Lack of exposure to sunlight and outdoor fresh aire sure made everyone edgy. You could see it on a daily basis in how people were driving like raving lunatics. It made the daily commute quite the adventure.

I commenced upon my spring/summertime chores last night. I think I was the first in the neighborhood to fire up the 'ol lawn mower and actually have to mow the grass. I had just changed out the oil on Sunday and sharpened the blades in preparation of the aforementioned. I edged the drive and walkways, I reset/repaired the landscape edging. Whilst mowing and driving the tractor past the hot tub deck I caught a whiff of something that was not quite natural or alive anymore. Something, apparently, decided to make it's final resting place a barely accessible portion of the hot tub deck. To say it smelled bad is an understatement.

I shoulda taken a picture of it to post here but in the interest of keeping everyones food down, I did not. It took a bit of digging and maneuvering with a long pole but the offending odor was found and removed. It was a dead possum. Now, my neighbor had told me about a Possum he had found in the alcove by his front door this winter. An attempt I reckon, by the doomed creature to find shelter from the bitter cold we were experiencing that day. Said neighbor had whacked the trespassing Possum with a shovel and tossed it into the field behind our houses. It was stunned but, apparently, not quite dead. I was gonna cap it with my .22 pistol but a half hour or so later the Possum had staggered off and was gone. We tried to track it in the snow to no avail. Now, in hindsight, we figure it crawled under my hot tub deck to die. Now possums are rather ugly creatures. Dead, bloated and rotting, infected and full of maggots, their even uglier....and did I mention the smell?? Thank goodness for bleach!

I enjoyed the winter, I really did. I can only attribute that to a defective gene. That being said it sure is nice to see all the activity in the neighborhood. Kids running around, riding bikes, roller blading falling down, skinning their knees. People are out and about in force doing yard work, prepping thier campers, jogging in their skimpy jogging outfits...not that I would notice....the world has come alive once again.

Tomorrow I leave for "Gods Country" to pursue trout. It's an annual rite of spring for my brothers and I. We gather together at our northern lower Michigan property to camp, eat good food, drink good drinks, smoke fine cigars and celebrate Michigan's Traditional Trout Openers. It's kinda like Deer Camp for Trout lovers. Oh, and no girls are allowed. It's not that we're sexist...far from it. It's just that Openers at camp, with a bunch of unruly guys, is no place for a woman or girl. Trust me on this one.

Trout openers, or Trout Camp, is not so much about the fishing as it is the camaraderie Sure, we fish allot when were there. However springtime conditions are sporadic at best. Sometime you hit it and catch fish up the ying-yang. Other times the weather interferes. This is Michigan after all. We've had snow, rain, freezing rain, fog and sunshine all in one day. It's crazy.

The cool thing is that we, and our experiences, are the memories and fish stories of tomorrow and it don't really get any better than that.

Wherin I see dumb people

HEADLINE: Calvin College students march to protest gun plan

My daughter is considering attending Calvin College. I'd rather have her attend a college where the security personell carry weapons for the protection of the students. This is precisely what this "use of force" initiative is all about. (Another sound reason may be one of liability?)

I hate to say it, but these protesting college students are idiots...abosolute friggen idiots. Protesting campus security carrying weapons...security personell that are retired law enforcement officers to boot.

One of the signs in opposition to the new campus "use of force" carry policy said "No violence! No Guns!" The idiot that created that sign has to be one of those feel-gooder, do-gooder, Utopian hippie types full of piercings who clearly does not have a complete grasp on reality. Campus security does not initiate violence...they are there to prevent violence and, if needed, stop it. Now, if faced with a crazed individual with a weapon, like what happened at Virginia Tech, the security personell will have the tools needed to effectively eliminate the threat instead of helplessly cowering and sitting idly by while students are eliminated. That's why it's called SECURITY people!

The very fact that these college dolts believe they are more secure without campus security carrying weapons overwhelmingly shows how naive and completely ignorant they are of the world today.

In a post Virginia Tech and post Columbine world, and the very fact that most campus' and schools are known "soft targets" and so-called "gun free zones" with no armed security personell for protection...that should scare the bejeezus out of them. But, No, they are scared, no terrified, of the campus security personell carrying weapons for their protection.

These protesters are the so called future leaders of the world....now that scares the bejeezus outta me!

Additional Story: Calvin students protest new "Force of Arms" policy

Wherin all is Pink

Being the Dad of three daughters is rife with challenges the main one being that none of them are boys. There was a time...well, 3 times, once for each birth, that I wanted to have a son. I guess my Mom and Dad used up most of the boy genes allotted to our family line as they used up 6 of those boy genes on their 8 kids.

If my 3 daughters had been born in the late 50's to Early 60's they would most likely be much more girly than they are. Think along the lines of June Cleaver...But I guess one of the good things about being born a girl these days is not being lumped in or stereotyped that way. One of the bad things, for me, is being immersed in a world of pink...granted, I do look real good in a pink dress shirt, but pink is a prevelant theme in my house. It's everywhere...not that I'm saying it's so bad but, c'mon, there are other colors in the spectrum.

As much a I would try it looks as though there is really no escape from it now and manufacturers of all types of products have latched on to all things pink and have, through this slick marketing, made all things which were manly, girly cool. Check these out:

Taurus 9mm semiautomatic pistol

Hell-Kitten Womens AR-15 Semiautomatic Rifle

Elkhorn Ladies Pink Fly Rod

Islander Pink Fly Reel

It's a great day and age for women. These are just a few of the hot, pink, girly products that are out there. It's nice to see other things pink besides womens lingerie....not that I would complain about that.

Nuff Said

Wherin I'm a cleaning fool

In my continuing saga of counting down to Trout season, part of my getting ready countdown entails spring cleaning of which I tackled in earnest this weekend. I took half the day off on Friday to get a jump start on things and was home by 11:00 in the morning...just in time to let the carpet cleaners in the door.

Prior to their arrival I dusted and removed all the furniture from the rooms to be steam cleaned. I took down all the draperies, cleaned those, ironed the ones needing ironing, and put them all back up. I vacuumed all the carpets, used the crevass-tool thingy to get deep into the corners, removed any and all cobwebs from the corners and commenced doing laundry.

Doing the wash is a pretty mindless chore. Really, it just plain sucks. I should have waited til Saturday when we had our new washer and drier delivered and installed. Our trusty 'ol Maytag lasted 21 years. It was truly on it's las legs. The spin cycle on the washer..well, it didn't spin so much anymore....but I'm not gonna complain...21 years out of the old set? Dang...you won't get that nowdays.

Now this new washer and drier we got by Fisher & Paykal...holy smokes...quiet! Super quiet. The washer spin cycle spins so fast that when it's done, and the clothes are put into the drier...it only takes about 10-15 minutes for them to be dry! SWEET! The self cleaning lint filter on the top load, yes, TOP LOAD drier...too cool! I still hate doing the wash though.

Nothing better than a clean house lemme tell you...clean carpet especially! I have decided I need to get me one of those steam cleaner mops for the kitchen floor though. When the capert cleaner was doing his job he happened to drag that steam extractor thingy across the kitchen floor in a couple of spots and, damn, well, lets just say the kitchen floor needs a good steam cleaning too! I've seen these things advertised on Tee-Vee but I wanna know if anybody out there has ever used one before and if you like it?

Now that the house is ship-shape for the most part inside, it'll be time soon enough to start on the outside....I got a list a mile long of things I/We want to accomplish...I got windows to wash, the never ending chore called yard work and landscaping projects that need to get accomplished. While I am kinda a do-it-yourself kinda guy I ain't gonna kill myself trying to do it all...the landscaping I'll hire out...Why do it yourself if you can pay someone to do it for you right? I don't need any lectures about the satisfaction one gets from doing it themselves cause, well I do plenty of things myself and a few indulgences here and there are necessary...besides, a guys gotta have time to go fishing right?

Wherin I want to inspire

I know we have all heard that life is short and hence we must all live every second that we have to the fullest. But, think again. Are we all really truly living our every second on earth to the fullest? Are we following our dreams or are we just merely existing as faceless human beings going about the mundane routines of our lives?

Speaking or rather writing about that inspires me to share with all of you my favorite quote:

I first chanced upon this quote whilst randomly surfing the Internet and it got me thinking that I could do so much more for myself and the people around me instead of being a pessimist when negativity strikes.

One must always follow their dreams positively because wouldn't you rather have failed than not have tried at all? A person who has truly failed would be someone who has, in actuality, never tried achieving his dreams at all. This quotation illustrates that a life with any form of regrets would be a life not worth living at all.

Imagine living a life full of regrets. Imagine waking up everyday and thinking I should have done this yesterday. I should have told her that I love her. I should have studied harder. I should have acted on stage when I was presented with the opportunity instead of shunning it away just because I have stage fright. I should have submitted my painting for the competition even though my heart tells me I would never win. Life might be a matter of "should haves" and "would haves" but it is totally up to us to make a difference to our own lives because we would never know of the true outcome until we try.

I want to live my life to the fullest.

I want to be able to say to all the people I meet, I have done all this and I want to do more.

I want to look back and smile while being able to say I managed to do it despite the obstacles I faced.

All because, in times of adversity, true strength and character is born. Any goals that I may have failed to achieve, I'm still happy because at least I know I tried. In life, its always the smallest of things that matter. And the fact that I have tried will make a difference to how I live my life. So live every second of your lives to the fullest and go all out in achieving your dreams because a life full of regrets is simply not life.

Wherin It Must Be Spring

It's official. It must be Spring.

I've got Fly-fishing on the brain and I added my countdown timer to the top of my web page to count down to the traditional opening of Michigan's trout season which falls on the last Saturday in April each year. Some of you have Spring Fever...Yup, I got the Trout Fever!

I've got alot to do. I need to clean out my fly boxes. I need to check the flyline on my reels. I need to clean and inspect my fly-rods, I need to make leaders, tie flies...and I purchased these today:

Wading boots. Very fashionable eh? Money well spent if you ask me!

I'm looking forward to a extended weekend with all the misfits I have for brothers and friends at Trout Camp...Eating good food, smoking cigars, drinking beer and bourbon and fishing of course...all the while enjoying the great outdoors free from the confines of work, home and family.

We ain't got now power, we ain't got no running water, we ain't even got a cabin...just an old 1962 camper that provide us with shelter and a place to lay our heads at night. It may not sound like much, but to us, it is living like kings!