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Welcome to Getting To Know Us

This page has little stories about us and some of the zany things we've done.  Some of these things were not very funny when they happened, but now we can all sit back and have a little chuckle at ourselves.
Some of the things are mistakes made while gaining experence as fishermen and boaters.  By sharing them here, maybe they will keep someone else from these pitfalls.  But then... maybe not!

Beulah is Deeadra's mom, Jamie and Scott's Grandmother and Brooke, Logan, Matthew and Beanna's great-grandmothre. 
Calling her Abel began when Brooke was little.  Jamie called her Grandma Abel and Brooke just said Abel.  Beulah thought it was cute and everyone has been calling her Abel since.
Abel is eighty-eight, a very spry eighty-eight, and loves to fish.  She had her reservations about Deeadra getting a pontoon boat.  It didn't take long before those reservations vanished, that happened the first time she was invited to go fishing on the boat.
The boats Abel had always fished in were small jon type boats.  Those aboard could help control those boats by catching hold of something and holding on, or push on an object to keep from hitting it.  Old habits are hard to break.
Matthew and Abel went with Deeadra and Fred on a windy July morning to Lynnville Lake.  Matthew. Abel and Deeadra boarded the boat before it was launched, Fred backed the boat and trailer into the water and Deeadra started it and headed for the dock to tie up and wait for everyone else to show up and get aboard.
As they approached the dock, the wind picked up and pushed the boat sideways and away from the dock.  Abel, wanting to help, went to the front and grabbed hold of the dock to help pull the boat toward the dock.  While holding the dock the wind kept pushing the boat, and Abel lost her balance and couldn't let go of the dock or step onto the dock.  The boat kept moving and Abel fell into the water, but kept hold of the dock.  She had her life-vest on, but it wasn't zipped.
Deeadra yelled for Fred to go get some help.  Fred quickly drove to the front gate and asked the attendent to call for help the Abel had fell in and didn't know how to swim.  Then rushed back to the dock area to see what he could do to help.
The gate attendent had ran to the dock and was there in seconds after calling 911.  A few seconds later a sheriff's call pull up and two deputies jumped out.  One ran to the dock and jumped into the water to hold Abel up while Deeadra, the attendent and the other deputy pulled Abel out and onto the dock. 
Just then an ambulance arrived, so Fred decided to move the Jeep and trailer out of their way and circle around and park, to wait.
The EMT's checked Abel over to make sure she was alright, and wrapped her in a warm blanket.
As Fred headed for a parking space, the trailer's fender caught the sheriff's car bumber and pulled it stright out backwards.  He had been trying to see if Abel was alright and misjudged the distance between the trailer and car.
Fred started getting his license, registration and proof of insurance together to give to the deputies when they came up to their car.  Deeadra came up to see what was taking Fred so long, and after a few minutes realized that Fred had hit the sheriff's car.
Fred's first accident in 41 years of driving and it had to be a sheriff's car. 
When Deeadra returned to the dock, the EMT's were looking for Abel.  They finally saw her sitting on the boat with her fishing pole hanging over the side, fishing.  They asked her if she wanted to go and get checked out at the hospital, and she said, "No!  I'm going to stay here and fish!"
Now that's a Fisherman.

If anyone loves to fish more that Abel, it would have to be Matthew. 
Matthew has been fishing since he was big enough to hold a pole.  Matthew not only fished, he caught fish and not just little ones.  He caught the catfish in the photo.  He hooked it and reeled it to shore, but couldn't get it totally on the bank.
When Matthew puts his mind to catching fish, he can catch them when nobody else is... except maybe Abel.  He can cast as far as anyone, and usually hits the spot he wants.  The only part of fishing he needs help with is taking the fish off his hook and rigging his line. 
Matthew has fished every place we go fishing and more.  He had fished in the Ohio River and the Mississippi River, too.  He makes catching fish appear so easy that those around him sometimes gets upset that he's catching and they're not, but he never rubs it in.  He's always willing to help others in any way he can, whether it's fishing or other things.
Who knows, he might be the next KVD.

Our other grandson is Logan.  He has been fishing since he was little, too.
Logan hasn't yet applied himself to fishing the way Matthew has, he's too interested in doing other things, like snacking.  We always have a supply of snacks and drinks onboard, so nobody gets dehydrated or dies of hunger, and Logan knows where they're stashed.  Yet, when Logan does decide to get serious about fishing he can put them in the boat.
Kids have a little difficulty grasping things and addapting to different surroundings.  This happened to Logan last Spring.
The kids wanted to go swimming, so they changed into their swimming suits.  We have an enclosure on the boat that can be used for a bathroom or a changing room.  The kids had finished swimming, so we decided to do some more fishing.  Logan had his other clothes in a sack in the seat next to him, and while cruising down the lake Logan had removed his underwear from the sack and began swinging them around. 
The movement caught Papaw's eye, so he turned around and started to tell Logan to put the underwear back before the wind catches them.
Just then Logan gave his underwear a toss in the air... Logan held his hands out, expecting the underwear to fall back into his hands.  The wind had caught the underwear and they were in the water in a split-second.
Jamie had been watching him, but not really thinking about what he was doing.  She suddenly realized that Logan had toss his underwear overboard.
Papaw cracked up laughing at their expressions.
Logan learned a lesson about tossing things in the air while riding in a moving boat.

Our oldest grandchild is Brooke.  Although Christian is the oldest, she is our step-granddaughter, but we love her just as much as we do our other grandkids.
Brooke doesn't go with us as much as Matthew and Logan, she spend most weekends with her dad, or other grandparents.
Although we haven't taken Brooke fishing as much as we have Matthew and Logan, Brooke can hold her own when it comes to catching her share.