For a three hour tour....

"For a three hour tour.  A three hour tour"

Well I got home from the blind drawing at Pittsfield and decided to take a quick nap...and just got up!  That's right, seven hours later and I semi-forced myself too.

I had been not feeling well since Tuesday night from something I ate or drank which was still with me yesterday when I went fishing on what was the hottest day (for me) of the year. Got on the water around 7 am and went to one of my favorite deep brush piles and stayed too long. In fact, I never got a bite!

Decided to hit the Lythia Cove area finally and it varied from too much wind to no wind but the heat kept getting worse. I finally got on fish and kind of lost track of time - I had planned on leaving around 1-2 pm.  And then i overheated.

I was so concerned about leaving and possibly passing out that I decided to cool off there in the shade. At first I just got my shirt wet, put some ice in it and placed on my neck. Not enough.

Then I got the bag the ice came in and with a couple of pounds of ice in it, simply placed the dripping bag on top of my head and then my shirt over it to keep it in place.

Still not enough. So then I put my bare feet in ice too!  I finally felt somewhat coherent and looked at my cell which had been in the back of the boat - it was 5:30!!!!!!

I immediately took off and crashed through the waves on the way to the ramp only to discover a bunch of idiots had taken it over with tents -that's right, TENTS - and kids, and Sea Doos and the like, as if they owned it. I was pissed. So I pulled into the outside edge of where the ramps steps are and shut the engine off BEFORE I stopped. Big mistake as it was concrete. I guess I still wasn't up to par as the bow has a nice dent in the thick aluminum front.

Got the van, trailered it and dropped it off at Leprachaun before heading to a friends 50th birthday party. Yep, no shower and only a change of shirts: and man was my shorts soaked from all the ice. Drove like a madman and arrived at what I feared might be over by 8 pm. Luckily, it wasn't.

Grabbed a chair and began drinking water. That's right, no soda or beer, just water. I had already drank a gator ade and several sodas on the way but needed more. Finally ate something, the first since 4 am, an hour later and stayed till everyone had left...that is except Arick Clark who was on his second 30-pack and spending the night.

Was home and in bed before 1:30 but began (still) having issues and had to get up twice during the night. Got up around 9 am, showered and was late getting on the road for the blind drawing. Put the hammer down, ate a couple of Ho-Ho's and made it there as the rain started at 1130.

Was standing next to Ryan Hagenah and Dan Veile when I overheard Ryan say "he said he would be here by 1135" and I shocked them by saying I was! Everyone had umbrellas or raincoats for the most part and that was a wise choice for the rain started down heavy and blowing just before the drawing.

I had a fairly big umbrella and tried to not only stay somewhat dry but help protect our one guy without. As we congregated close together in our group, that rain really whipped down and across us all.

They finally started calling out names and people started getting boisterous. However I was amazed when they called the fifth name and that person had already left!

Then they kept calling names from places all over. From Quincy, to around Saint Louis, to Springfield and Hardin? A lot of names from Hardin. I mean A LOT!

Finally, the guy I had been trying to keep dry (but I wasnt going to hug him to stay warm) got drawn and we got pretty much what we wanted. But by them a lot of people had left and it was pass after pass. I guess that when a group got drawn, the rest left. So the "man" decides (several times) to do a redraw of the remaining people for there were nearly 15 or more blinds still available. That didn't come to pass and maybe 30-40 people remained so he asked someone from each group to come up and tell him what blind they wanted, and if everyone only wanted a different blind, then he would just dole them out.

Didn't work at first. But then after a fashion, everyone had what they wanted but a couple. One of the remaining blinds left was 13, the same number I took three years ago. As it must not be that great, I asked one of the guys how was it and he said it was diver blind. I appreciated his input and decided what the Hell, maybe I could get somebody in on it and do what we did three years ago.

You know it's funny, when your name is on a blind you can go pretty much whenever you want. However, when your name isn't on it in subsequent years, and even though you show up to help draw, the phone doesn't ring...

Anyway, I say what the Hell and ask for 13 only to discover two other people now want it too. But one of the guys was the very person who had been helpful just minutes before. So I make a quick decision to go ahead and draw for it as I felt the odds were better if I did. I mean, if I backed out he would only have a 50-50 chance but with two of us, it would be a 67%!

Put our names on cards and they drew for it and....I got it! Talked to the young man and his partner from Missouri (I won't hold that against them) and offered it basically to them to which they seemed happy. Filled out my paperwork and handle it to them.

Not sure how much I'll hunt it but hope my good Karma helps us all.

By now the rain had basically ceased and my guys and I hit the road. Then it dawned on me I hadn't asked them if they wanted on that blind and felt bad. Reached out to them and was told no problem....whew!

Hit the highway and get home around 3 pm and decide on a nap of a couple of hours and just now got up for the first time - 7.5 hours later.

Anyway, sorry for the long tale but blame it my still being delirious or old age. I hope the guys from Missouri are happy as I know my buddies and me are.  As for me, headed back to bed after my "three (+) hour  tour."