Thank You to all

[Swimmer]

At the M.S.B.A.'s first plug night thier was a raffle that was part of the festivities. Bassmaster has just finished giving his lecture on how he makes his fine pluggage when the raffle started. The first prize was an enormous assortment of plugs. The second prize was a pencil popper turned by bigfish and painted by fishingfreak in a flag motif. Third was I don't remember. They called third prize first and then second prize. I won second prize the beautifully done flag painted pencil popper, which I hold dear to my heart. When I was walking to the podium area to get the plug Manzi put his arm around me and hit on me. I felt violated. He would have done just about anything to get that plug from me. But I didn't "give it up" to him. I retained my dignity, barely. After all, in front of all those people..........

Really the talk Dave gave and the tremendous amount of info he imparted was great and we were lucky to have him there.

Raven, i may have missed your explanation, but exactly how did you come by your ill health and all the injuries?

[Raven]

yeah well everyone is a little Odd when ya come right down to it...
either that or your not perceptive enough to recognize it....
anyone that isn't i instantly consider suspicious....

as i like to say.... everyone is a little bit crazy...



if they don'y have much money they're a lunatic



if they have allot of money they are deemed to be


....... ecentric
my injuries...i should write a freakin book... two are memorable.
i had a wipe out in california on a windey road one day after work heading home...it was one of those super windey (wine dee) SP?
snake roads called highway 94....everyone had bumper stickers that said: pray for me ...i drive on 94.
this guy on a lay down jap bike comes zig zaging through at 90 mph
i swerved ...got into the sand doing maybe 55 or 60 mph next thing i knew....i was side ways in a vw bug still doing 55 0r 60 mph.
thats when you suddenly realize that you are no longer the driver
and are indeed just the pasenger. TIME instantly slows down like your seeing it in strobe light mode from a distance like you've already left your body and are watching yourself have an accident
in slow motion. the car rolls like ten times then girates in a twist spiral flip end over end....shooting me out a side rear window.

i found myself sailing thru the air pitched like super man looking down on the tree tops (thinking with a concussion mind you)
how the hell did i get here.....??? have i fallen from the sky from an airplane dazed and confused...i see the ground coming up rather quickly ...so i ...went into wrestling mode and thought most rapidly ->tuck and roll ....tuck and roll....TUCK AND ROLL!
and got into cannonball posture for impact with asphalt ...captain...
shields up... wham....i hit and now i'm rolling down the high way like a ball... this family is heading right for me ,screech to a hault and jump out...with their kid yelling excitedly (and i'll never forget this)

"WE thought you were a tumble weed...we thought you were a tumble weed...." i was all lacerated with glass everwhere with pieces of it stuck in me and bruised and battered pretty bad... i drag myself up and try to get my tool box with no shoes on as they flew off... i'm delerious, disorientated, and bloody

next this guys helping me into his truck saying i'll take you home...
just get in...30 mins,later he brings me up to my front door and knocks....
my wife opens the door ...and this is when it really began to hurt...
ENDORPHIN RELEASE spared me the pain until that very moment
my WIFE, she takes one look at me...and just PUKES out of horror....
but soon she calls the ambulance....crying...it was a disaster....

that was just one of dozens of Adventures you could say...
that i've had....

the latest was...in 1995....i'm installing radon systems in houses....and this ones going in a garage... im 20 feet
up on a ladder opening a second floor hay door hatch for access
and its painted shut...a little bit...ok....so i dig my finger nails and give it the kung fu pop open trick....it opens...fine....but right behind it is the biggest fricken paper wasp nests i've ever seen or ever will see....and not only that...its completely covered with hornets 2 inches thick on the OUTSIDE of it.... for a moment i wasnt sweating it as they were staying Put.. by unfortunately the hatch door was still swinging....it ka-bams the wall and all 25,000 hornets get shook loose right in my face from 2 feet away....next your heart rate quadruples and a rush of adrenalin shoots into your heart.making you leap without even thinking about it rationally....i landed on one heel of my right foot..i can only describe it as like taking a two by four and with all your might slam ramming it into a huge rock and SOUNDING it .... you know..ringing it....making it hit so hard and making a "tone sound"... thats how hard i hit....i look up from the driveway
and theres enough hornets buzzing around to fill a whole auditorium...so i leaped up and hopped away before i was stung to death....and got operated on that afternoon and got screwed back together with 1 1/2 inch screws. arthritus sets in to an injury like that....and its not good....in fact on my doctor's paper work it specifically describes me as DOOMED....ten years later i've arrived at that stage and now understand why he origionally wrote that.

[gone fishin]

Hey Ravin been there done that! When you reach my age all the damaged parts compress and the pains increase. Only thing that will help is fishing season. Take care of what you have left and hope for the best!

[Raven]

i want to know how many years i have left before i compress.

yesterday i was told by my doctor that i have to give up coffee
all together..... ...so its gonna be a rough week...

i know i'm not the only S-B member who's seen some destruction to the ole body.... i've just had a long history of it....and it's why some consider me to be in the "internet fisherman" group....but i'm presently
working to change all that......