Smokers Space

Never having smoked cigerettes before. I've always wondered about it's addiction.

Initially I can understand the "cool factor" of a kid wanting to act grown up. Doing the same thing adults are doing.....SMOKING. Beyond that why would ANYONE start or decide to continue the habit?

How about sitting on the edge of the bed in the mornings coughing up flem before starting your day? Is the mental picture of a ex-smoking elderly person living their last days here on earth pulling around a oxygen bottle just so they can breath.... appealing?
Does a x-ray of a pair of nicotene laden black lungs not enough of a deterrent. Does throat and mouth cancer look like fun?

Do smokers NOT care about their own health nor the health of the loved ones inhaling the second hand smoke?

I have heard the argument of "the smokers space" dealing with hectic phone calls, deadlines to meet, important meetings and numerous other fast paced distractions from which one escapes for a quiet break of smoking.

Ok go ahead.......you can have your lovely, quiet "smokers space"

I'll buy some beautiful flowers and a card that says how truly sorry I am.
How I'll miss your smiling face and hearty laughter.

So go right ahead and fire up another one or two.
No need to worry....I'll cover you up with the last shovel of dirt

Are you already there?

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village.

An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it Took him to catch them.

"Not very long," answered the Mexican."

But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked theAmerican.

The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.

The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, play the guitar, and sing a few songs... I have a full life."

The American interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard, and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat."

"And after that?" asked the Mexican.

"With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise."

"How long would that take?" asked the Mexican.

"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American.

"And after that?"asked the Mexican

"Afterwards? Well my Friend, That's when it gets really interesting,"answered the American, laughing. "When your business gets really big,you can start selling stocks and make millions!"

"Millions? R e a l l y???? And after that?" said the Mexican.

"After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings doing what you like and enjoying your friends."

And the moral is: Know where you're going in life...you may already be there.
Author Unknown~

Poppie' takes son fishing

Well I carried my baby boy fishing.
He had tried every excuse in his book of tricks to avoid having to go on a outing with his dad. To no avail....I insisted!

You can teach a man to fish......, but this was different.....Jerry was but a mere child. I caught him twice at the boat ramp....standing in a ant bed...said he was stepping on and killing all of these biting critters....go figure!

Just kidding! I want to set the record straight! Jerry Caves is in NO WAY kin to me!

Our fishing trip started a little after nine. Jerry showed up in his blue mustang. Unloaded his gear into the Yota and off we went. Headed to one of the only ramps still open on the Pines. Water level is several feet lower than normal due to the extended drought of 2005. We stop in at the convience store to get our 1/4 lb of minnows. I get a sprite, Jerry gets a energy drink. Guess he figures he will need it to keep up with poppie....grins he should have got more than one!

We are off...heading across the dam. Jerry's jaw hits the floorboard when he sees the low water level. Yeps bro it is way down huh? The lowest it has been since 1958 the oldtimers say. We get to the ramp and hurriedly load fishing poles, tackle box, minnows, and ice chest into the boat. Unstrap the tie downs, double check the boat plug and we are ready to launch. After quizzing JC on his backing up of the truck abilities...he says no problem! We back down the ramp and launch without incident. The old tohatsu fires off on the second try. I leave her idling while I add water to the ice chest for future fish and change out water in minnow bucket from a previous trip. NASTY!!

Jerry manages to park the truck and find his way to the boat. We idle out past the no wake zone then let her rip....to the secret fishing spot (amongst the other 100+ boats.) Yea its really no secret. The crappie stack up in the deepest water during the winter months. Gorging themselves on minnows, getting fat for the upcoming spawning season.

We hook the minnows through their eyes( to keep them alive longer) and drop the lines to the bottom of the lake. The wait on the fish to bite isn't usually long if your in the right spot. The fish are always hungry. You just have to find them. Drifting usually allows one to cover more water and catch a limit quicker. Unless the wind is blowing too hard, then you will be drifting too fast and will not stay on the bottom long enough to catch many fish.

Today was near perfect weather conditions with a 5-7mph s breeze. The sun was shining and fish were still on their bite. I ended up with 24(one short of the limit) while my pard caught 12.
Lets not forget he isn't a professional like me. He has a real job working Oil Field for the last 10 days. He has learned several new choice words, but isn't impressed with the crews work styles or habits. Says he is the smartest of the lot. That doesn't surprise his poppie much, as I've heard most of his bs before.

We had to cut our trip short of my limit so that JC could race across town to pick up his son Hunter.Then JC came back out to help clean the fish. Hunter and Smokey had quite the time keeping each other occupied. KIDS!! We ended up with 7lbs of fillets for our working business day. Not a bad job at that!!

All bs aside....I think we had a memorable trip. Thanks JC!! next time lets bring the "real fisherman" in the family.....HUNTER!

My Buddy Bwana's Pig Hunt

Not my story, but I thought it so entertaining that I'd share with ya! enjoy!!

Wild night wif da "PIGGIES",,,,,,,,
Had several "PIGGIE" hunters out Fri evening. One guy was a "ROOKIE" and this was his 1st ever hunt, especially a night hunt!!!!Went over the "SAFETY DETAILS" and drove each to a Stand/feeder and let 'em hunt!!!!!!! All was well, until 10;30 when I heard a rifle go off and a very decernable "THUMP", indicatin' a good "HIT"!!!!!!! I picked up the radio and asked who had shot and if a "PIG" was indeed down!!!!!h Mr "ROOKIE" told me he had indeed shot a "PIGGIE" and that it was down and dead!!!!!! I drove to the area, where I figured the "PIGGIE" was,,,, got outa my suburban,,,,,,,,grabbed "ol TORCH" the 6.5 Mil candle powered hand held light and headed the 30 yards to the creek right in front of the "ROOKIE'S" stand/feeder. He was already waitin for me across the creek,,,,sooo I asked him the location of the "PIGGIE" that was supposedly down,,,,,,,when 10 feet in front of me and standing directly on the trail leading to the Stand/feeder was a "PIZZED OFF" 200# plus thigh high sow,,,,,, bleedin' from a hit in the neck area somewhere and facin' directly towards me!!!!!! I didn't have my pistola!!!!!!!! It was still in the truck ,,,,as I thought this "PIGGIE" was supposedly dead!!!!!!!!! Holy CRAP!!!!!!!!! I backed up slowly and headed for the truck,,,,,ALL the while hopin "MISS PIGGIE" wasn't followin!!!!!!!!Well, she WAS,,,,,, so when I got to the Suburban,,,,,,,I jumped in and grabbed the Pistola and SHUT THE DAMNED DOOR!!!!! The pistola is a 22/45 Ruger Heavy barrelled 22 Auto!!!!!!!!! I opened the door,,,,looked around and saw NO "MISS PIGGIE"!!!She had evidently returned to the area where she was originally shot and was layin down again!!!!! I turned on "ol TORCH" and lit up the entire area and saw "Miss Piggie" again layin on that trail, but this time she was more nearer the driveway goin in and definitely further up the creekbank!!!!!!!!!I raised the 22 and proceeded to shoot at her head, when she moved and got up and charged me!!!!!!! I hit her in the ear and this really "PIZZED" her off!!!!!! She kept comin, makin all kinds of "HELLISH" sounds of "GRUNTIN and SQUEALIN"!!!!!!! I knew I MUST stand my ground and shoot her directly in the head or I was gonna possibly "TOAST"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She was 5 feet away and comin when I squeezed the trigger again and "NOTHIN"!!!!!1 The gun was jammed and "MISS PIGGIE" was incomin!!!!!!!From past experiences I knew she couldn't see me with "ol TORCH" blindin her so I held the light away from my side and as "MISS PIGGEE" hit the light I KICKED her in the shoulder and rolled her which gave me a few seconds more to try and unjam the 22!!!!!!"MISS PIGGIE" got up and come at me again, so I had to hit her over the head with the pistol!!!!!!!!! It's a heavy barrelled gun and I put quite a thumpin on her head and again knocked her backwards,,,,but this time she kept her feet under her and charged again towards the light and me,,,,,,,,,, I whacked her again with the 22 and the darned thing unjammed itself and the 2nd shell went into the chamber, ,,,,, I fired "POINT BLANK" and she turned away and went 20 yards and fell,,,,,,,,,,,I UNLOADED immediately as she was goin away anyways!!!!!!!! Mostly out of being "PIZZED" at myself for bein so STUPID and allowin me to get myself into such a predickament!!!!!!My heart was pumpin about as fast as it ever has ,,,,,,,, so I gathered myself up and called to the "ROOKIE",,,,,, who by this time was back up the ladder /stand,,,, to bring me his rifle .243!!!!!!! He finally did, but after askin me where the "RINO" was and if it was safe for him to come down!!!!!! He had climed the ladder and left his rifle on the ground at the initial spot he began witnesing the "CHARGE"!!!!!!!The only thing he could say was "DAMN,,,,,,THAT WAS COOL"!!!!!!!! Anyways I got his .243 and shot "MISS PIGGIE" again and just for good measure a 2nd time ,,,,,makin sure she was dead!!!!!!!!I then went back to the Surburban and sat down for a few minutes and got myself composed!!!! I asked "ROOKIE" what he thought and ALL he could say was that he was scared "SH_ _ LESS" and thought I was gonna get KILLED!!!!!!! But that it was the "COOLEST" thing he had ever witnessed!!!!!!!I wasn't amused!!!!!!Anyways,,,,,,evidently "MISS PIGGIE" was within a couple of dayze of delivering and had become very protective even thought no babies were on the ground yet!!!!!! After being gutted and skinned she weighed 160#!!!!!1That 22 is now ONLY gonna be used for "PLINKIN" and the ".45 GC" is goin back on my hip!!!!!!!! I'm NEVER gonna go to a "GUNFIGHT' wifout bein the "BIGGEST GUN" there!!!!!!!!Dan
__________________

one of Dan's other buddies made him the tombstone.