In fact, it’s almost like “Murphy” and I are related…!
Take
my golf game. No matter where I hit the
ball, if you can get a bad lie, it will happen to me…every time…no
exception. Won’t happen to anyone
else…but it will ALWAYS happen to
me. What? You say I should hit it in the fairway more
often? Really! Now you sound like my golfing buddies…one of
which calls me “Hit and Hunt”. I am not
really sure…but…I don’t think he means that as a compliment.
Let
me tell you how bad “Murphy’s Law” has affected my golfing. Any time someone in our group gets a bad
lie…it’s called a “Clay Lie”. No
really…I’m serious. My golfing buddies
have named a bad lie after me because “Murphy” has practically become my middle
name.
He is around so much…I’m tellin’ you…I
almost feel like we are related.
In
our group we have a “Jack Par”…named after my fishing and golfing buddy Jack
(clever huh!). That’s a term of
endearment that means someone made a bogey (one over par) on that hole. We have another saying…”Chuck Bounce”. That’s when someone gets a lucky bounce (off
rocks, trees, etc.) and the ball somehow ends up in the fairway. That’s named after Chuck because he never
gets a bad bounce…EVER…! (We used to call him “Foot Wedge”…for reasons
that need no explanation…but he gets mad when we call him that so…now we only
do that when he can’t hear us.)
We
don’t have anything named after Dan because it’s hard to come up with a name
for someone that always hits it in the fairway and on the green all the time. He shot 1-under on the front-nine last time he
played. (Actually we do have a name for him too but only when he can’t hear us…!)
So
these are all terms of “endearment”…but me…oh no…mine is “Clay Lie”…yes, even on
the rare occasions when my ball gets a “Chuck Bounce” and ends up in the
fairway…I still get a “Clay Lie”…!
Well…Murphy
follows me everywhere…even fishing. This
trip was no exception. I was scheduled
to fish with a member for catfish one evening on Osage State Fishing Lake near
Topeka. (Stay tuned for the next Blog
posting where we do some nighttime cat fishing together.) So it just made sense
to take my boat and film a Blog video during the day while he was at work. Right?
Nope…that didn’t work out as planned.
I
wanted to arrive around 10:00am so I would have plenty of time to fish (and a
better chance to keep my streak alive)…but…no not me…I get there at
3:00pm…! Hey…not bad…only 5 hours later
than I had planned. Okay…no problem. After all, I am the greatest unknown
fisherman of all time…so what’s the big deal…just go catch some fish. Right?
This
was a Saturday…something I had not thought much about…until I saw people…not
just “people”…a LOT of people. Some were picnicking, some were fishing from
the bank, some were fishing from boats, some were just running around the lake
in their boat never stopping to fish, some were throwing rocks in the lake…WHEW…it was exhausting just watching
everyone.
Took
an hour to get the boat in the water!!!
Why? Don’t ask! It is a long story and not one I am proud
of. But…FINALLY…the boat is in by 4:00pm and I’m fishing. Now I am at home.
Nothing else can go wrong…I am now in my
element and all is right with the world…!
A
short time later I tried to start my motor…it won’t start! REALLY? This motor has never failed to start…usually
on the very first pull. REALLY?
Okay…time
to digress…time to be totally honest (Can someone be something other than
“totally” honest? Hum!) Anyway…the motor did actually start…but then
I flooded it. Yep...me…the greatest
unknown fisherman of all time…flooded the motor. REALLY?
Okay…at
least that’s it…there is absolutely-nothing
else left that can go wrong. Let’s
just go fish using the trolling motor and keep the streak alive. It’s a chance to show just how really awesome
of a fisherman I really am.
My cell phone rings.
It
is Dan B. calling to say he was off work sooner than expected and would arrive
at the lake a couple hours before our scheduled time. REALLY? One look at my watch and I realized I had
less than 2-hours to fish before I had to meet him. That’s
less time than it took me to drive to the lake in the first place…!
Murphy started
laughing…really…seriously…I heard him.
He has a weird sense of humor.
Anyway…here
I am…5 hours later than planned…another hour to launch the boat (don’t ask)… people
everywhere, my motor won’t start and I’m down to less than 2-hours of actual
fishing time on a lake I never even seen before much less fished.
I am beginning to think that Murphy and
I really are related…!
I
will let the video show you what happens.
I will tell you that trying to film and catch a fish at the same time is
much more difficult than it looks. The
camera doesn’t stay on all the time. I
have to reach up and push the on button…wait…then push the record button…all
while fighting a fish and trying not to lose it.
If
I wasn’t the greatest unknown fisherman of all time (and a great athlete) this
would clearly not be possible. Certainly
not something I would recommend to any of my golfing buddies to try while
actually on the water where even a “Chuck Bounce” would not help them…unless
of course you are Dan…then nothing goes wrong anyway.
Sorry…there
is no “What We Learned Today” video this time. (I say, “Sorry” because I know how much you
look forward to watching the Hemmingway of Blogs). But…I don’t think you want to learn how to
deal with “Murphy” in your life. You are
better off not making him feel so much at home as I have apparently done. You don’t need another relative like him.
You
know…it hasn’t always been like this for me.
Come to think about it…my youngest daughter married a guy named
“Murphy”…all about the same time that “Murphy’s Law” found me to be such an
easy target. Coincidence? Maybe.
Then again…now that I think about it…“Murphy”
and I are actually related…!
Until
next time…go fishing…catch a lot…keep some to eat…turn back the rest.
Clay
Web Site: http://www.KansasFisherman.comBlog: http://www.KansasFisherman.blogspot.com
Email: clay@kansasfisherman.com
