Gone Fishin'

I've had a pretty boring week, back again at The Homestead from a MOST EXCELLENT weekend of fishing at Montauk State Park, in MO. Have I mentioned lately that I love fly fishing? I believe I shall mention it again. I love fly fishing. But the more enjoyable your vacations are, seems the more mundane your "regular" life is.

We met my folks for four full days of fishing fun (say that five times fast) and rented a room at the lodge. I do think someone who is included in these trips should invest in a camper. I like having a room, but I don't like having to share walls/floors or ceilings with other people. I learned an excellent lesson while a Park Ranger that frequently shows itself to still be true (and I think it's a quote from some movie, too): "A person is smart; people are dumb."

The people below us, after making an incredibly loud entrance, did finally quiet down and go to bed, after which we were treated to earth-shattering snores resonating up from their room below us. It took the a/c fan constantly running and a Benadryl to help me through that. The next night we were treated to some pure 100% grade-A LOUDMOUTH yankees from northern Illinois, in the next COMPLEX, who we could hear plain as day chattering and honking like a flock of geese in scratchy nasaly voices, and foulmouthed to boot. Marden did some hollering at them in what he called his "yankee accent", but we thought it sounded more like Chinese...didn't phase them, though. They just kept right on hollering between drags on their cigarettes.

What has happened to common courtesy? Decorum? Just plain decency?

Despite the people, our trip was a blast. We caught many a fish, and I have to brag on Mom. She has been fly fishing only a handful of times, and her very first outing at Roaring River she caught a trout. Our last outing to Montauk, she got bites but didn't manage to successfully land a trout. This time, she kicked some trout butt! She's got it figured out, and in a very short amount of time she's not only on top of casting, fly selection, and presentation, but she can fight and net a trout just like a pro.

Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate completely...we spent a few hours a little chilly and damp due to standing out in the river and being caught in numerous short but torrential downpours. If there's one thing I detest, it's being wet and cold. Ironically, my two very favorite sports - fly fishing and snow skiing, often lend themselves to landing me in this condition. Go figure. However, despite a couple of damp days, we had more than enough beautiful weather to make up for it.

The last day always seems to be my best fishing day, and this time was no exception. After the folks pointed their car west, Marden and I got back to fishing a while longer. I started pulling fish out left and right, while poor Marden stood staring at an empty hook. All's fair in love and war, and fishing, as far as I'm concerned. While making our way downriver back toward the car, I stopped at one of our favorite holes - a large boulder bordering a deep turquoise pool chock-full of trout, with rumors of "the big ones" that sit on the bottom out of sight. An old man was fishing the hole, but I noticed his empty stringer. He looked sideways at me as I caught a fish on his right, and again on his left. He finally introduced himself as Bill, 75 years old and just retired, and said he was attempting to catch supper but wasn't having any luck. Just then a fish grabbed his lure, but before the fight even really started his line broke. We visited a few more minutes before I headed for the upstream side of the boulder to let my size #16 beetle fly (tied myself, thank you) float past. On the third cast, the bowels of the pool opened and the largest fish I've had even NEAR my line at Montauk rose from the depths, sucked my fly into it's maw, and the fight was on! At least I had the presence of mind to set the hook nice and good, because this sucker was HARD to get in! Every time I'd get my net close, he'd take a run for deep water and strong current, nearly wearing my arm to a frazzle and bending my fly rod double. When I finally got it netted, much to the relief of both Marden and Bill, I was in a quandary as to what to do with this nice rainbow. Keep it for a mount? Let it go? Usually I would've opted for letting a fish this size go. This time I ended up giving the fish to poor Mr. Bill, standing there in freezing cold water, still with no fish for supper. When I offered him the fish, his eyes got big and he said, "You're SURE you don't want to keep him? He's a beaut..." I said I was sure, and maybe it would make up for that fish that took his lure earlier. Bill said he'd sure appreciate getting a fish like that if I didn't mind giving it up, and we promptly put it on his empty stringer. He sure was proud of that fish, and to me it was worth giving it up just to see the smile on his face as he went back to his fishing.

Here's Dad casting for lunkers...or anything that'll bite...

Me at my favorite hole.

Going Postal

Yes I've been a lazy blogger - guilty as charged. I've been out enjoying the PHENOMENAL weather we've been having for August! I can't believe these comfortable temperatures, but I don't want to talk too much about it for the risk of jinxing the whole deal, and rocketing us back up to more seasonable temps. So I'm zipping it.

Not much has been happening lately in Hooterville. We are continuing to have a snafu with our mailbox. As in, we don't have one, but we want one. Those of you who know our address will know that we currently have a P.O. Box, all due to a measly 1/8th of a mile. It's the ultimate in "retardity." (That's a word I invented while at the Police Academy)

Turns out, in order to get mail delivered to the convenient little box at the end of your driveway, you have to have your box no more than a half mile from the previous box. Our closest neighbor from the road is less than a half mile from us, however, they are both postal employees and do not want a mailbox, since they get their mail where they work in a P.O. box. The next house up the road with a mailbox is just an eighth of a mile too far for us to get mail, therefore, we have to rent a P.O. box, which is NOT FAIR. Why should most people get free mail, and we have to pay? Then I was informed by a good friend and post employee that according to the mail system founder, Ben Franklin, everyone IS entitled to free mail, and if they won't deliver to your house, you get a free P.O. box. But, the PO doesn't want to do this anymore, so they gave us the option to put our mail box at the end of our road. How does that help us? I guess we'd get our mail free, but we'd also have our mailbox out in the middle of nowhere. In this day and age of identity theft? No thanks.

Now I'm not downing our local post office...they're just following regulations, and have been very friendly and helpful. Matter of fact, our postmaster filed a petition for us, but we haven't heard anything. And the rural carrier has been down here a couple times measuring mileage. So if he can come measure mileage, why not just bring our mail???

And people want the government to take over health care?

Well, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that our petition is approved, and I can dig out the mailbox we already have, install it, and get our mail. And our neighbors beyond us will be able to get mail, too. And all of Hooterville will rejoice.

Mama Mia!

So yesterday I was stuck in town all day. My car has been making a really disturbing noise, so I followed Mr. Hooter into town and left my car at the mechanic, and while he was at work I was free to frolic around town. I decided to go see a movie, and since I've seen "Mama Mia" the play twice and LOVED it, I've really been wanting to see the movie.


Overall, it was a pretty good movie, but I'm going to have to just slightly disagree with those who say the movie is better than the play. I REALLY loved the play. I merely just really liked the movie. Of course, I really just enjoy plays in general -the atmosphere, props, and seeing what someone can do with just a stage and singing without a sound studio to clean up the raw singing voice while dancing or moving around - takes incredible athleticism I would think. But, I was happy that the movie stuck to the story, and I enjoyed the music. For the most part. I have to confess, I'm not a huge fan of Pierce Brosnan...and the dude can't sing. To put it nicely, his attempts at ABBA songs sounded to me like a cross between constipated and drunk. And his facial expressions made me think of someone trying to pass a kidney stone. Aside from drunkconstipated Pierce, the other singers were pretty good. I actually think I would've cast Colin Firth in the "Sam" character, however, nobody asked me...but I do like Colin. I was impressed with the rest of the cast, especially Meryl Streep as Donna. She OWNED the screen. And Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) was just phenomenal. All in all, it's worth the ticket price (despite Pierce). Anyway, that's my un-qualified review.


But the movie got me to thinking, wouldn't it be really cool if we could live in a musical? How awesome would it be if we could just break into spontaneous song with the full backup of a band or orchestra? I've thought that would be cool ever since I saw the movie Pete's Dragon - one of My Very Favorite Movies, by the way. I believe if we lived in a Musical World my soundtrack of songs for the today (if I could actually sing, that is) would go something like this:


"Crap it's Hot Out Here"

"Dog poo on my shoe"

"The Litterbox Blues"

"Crap it's Hot Out Here" (Dance Techno Remix)

"Chicken Eggs, Stinky Piggy"

"Hubby Put that Lid Down Please"

"My House is a Pigsty"

"Laundry Boogie"

"Crap it's Hot Out Here" (Instrumental)

Yep...I feel a Grammy...


Another movie I've seen lately is "Lars and the Real Girl", about a socially backward guy with a few mental issues, who lives in a little northern town and is under the impression that his life-size doll ordered off the internet is actually a real person...and the resulting reactions of his family and small town residents. Poor Lars. Mr. Hooter and I really enjoyed it, and I even got teary at the end...and if you see it, you'll know how ridiculous that is. :)