Combat Fishing

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Savvy travelers to Pensacola, Florida know about camping on the beach at Fort Pickens. This historic site is the largest of four forts built around the bay and construction began in 1829. It was one of only four Federal forts in the South not to surrender during the Civil War. The fort also was home to Geronimo and his people  after their capture in 1886.

Its a great place to visit if you ever get a chance and there are great camping facilities on the island as well as condos and hotels close by for those of you whose idea of roughing it is the Holiday Inn.

Along with the whitest sand beaches in the world, the island offers a free fishing pier that juts out into the bay and no fishing license is required if you try your luck there.

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New trucks can save the US

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My entire married life was spent without a new truck. Once divorce came my way, though, three new trucks arrived over the course of five years.

Now while that may sound like I am wealthy beyond means, if you know me you will find out that just like a lot of people, it’s all about payments. This is a lesson the gold-digging women I met before Trixie found out about me early on. Many of the women seemed to mistakenly believe that a man like me who was retired at 52 had to be rich and the answer to all their problems, their kids braces, a college education -- or at least trade school tuition -- for Johnny and beauty school for Amanda.

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RainMan

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Ol’ Dutch has recently acquired quite the reputation for bringing wet weather events wherever he travels. This isn't something new of course since it always seemed to rain when I would plan fishing or hunting vacation while I was still working.

 

However, given the events of the past few years it has become apparent to even the most doubtful of souls that something mystical is at work.

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Bassmaster Classic

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Winter found me a short drive from the Bassmaster Classic held this year in Birmingham, Alabama. Personally, I am not that much into fishing tournaments but Trixie and my daughter Kellee, I mean Cricket, were all about going to the Super Bowl of fishing shows.

 

If you are unfamiliar with the format this is the championship tournament of the 2013 season and the top qualifiers from all the contests year-round get an invite to come fish for prizes and bragging rights.

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Laissez les Bons Temps Rouler!

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Though I am often near the Gulf Coast during Mardi Gras, I have never been to New Orleans for the big event. The only time I was in New Orleans at the right time, my camping neighbors made Swamp People look like Rhoads Scholars so there was no need to go down to Bourbon Street to see real characters!

If you are unaware what Mardi Gras is about, it’s actually a time where people can go out and sin as much as they can before Lent kicks in and spoils all the fun. Or something like that. They dress up in all kinds of weird costumes and throw five-cent beaded necklaces to the crowds who are begging for them like desperate masses hungry for bread. Not being too attentive, I know where lint comes from but not sure why it’s important this time of year.

Beads end up strung on light poles and trees, kids get lost, men wander off and screaming women lose all sanity in their rush for more beads and moon pies.

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Chuck-a-puck

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Today is my daughter’s birthday. I recall the day she was born so clearly yet I can't seem to remember where I put my glasses sometimes. On this day in 1980 at 1:06 p.m. she was handed to me all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

I am extremely proud of her as she is a professor at the University of Alabama Huntsville. Everyone says she got her mother's brains and my natural good looks so she has it made in this world.

To celebrate her birthday, last night we all went to the local arena to see a fight and a hockey game broke out.

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Guitars and cauterwauling men

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It is a truth universally acknowledged that as people age and lose their youthful looks they must develop new qualities to ensure their attractiveness to the opposite sex.

Women and men both diet and stay active. And that works for some. Others – especially men --rely on their bank accounts. Now, it is true that having a sizable bank account will make you more desirable, it is also true it seems to be the key ingredient for short marriages and multiple divorces.

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Armchair Olympians

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This week finds most of us watching the Olympic Games being held in Sochi, Russia. For those of you who don't know where that is, it is at the proverbial end of the earth – or, at least, you can see it from there.

While the media does its best to concentrate on the athletes, the real news out of that area is the number of empty seats in the Olympic venues, non-working toilets, athletes having to smash through doors and packs of roaming dogs.

Even in the midst of difficulties, the Olympic Games go on and athletes from across the globe have gathered to try and win a medal, instant  fame and a lifetime supply of Wheaties cereal.

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