JohnF

I'll find someone who can surely help. Ya know anybody? JF

I looked at them but I think frogs 'n worms are in my future. JF

Nice. What did you have to promise SWMBO to get that toy? JF

Just stopped in to the Gander Mtn in Twinsburg (east of Cleveland) to handle the merchandise. Bought a Calcutta 201B for $112, almost bought a Quantum Energy 20 series spinning reel for $90 but resisted the temptation, picked up a 10 bearing Gander Mtn branded reel apparently made by Pfleuger for $42 (it's that white colour body and feels very smooth), got a nice light 7'2" medium one piece Gander Mtn branded IM8 spinning rod for $42 (feels great, light in weight and decent backbone w/quick tip) Didn't plan to buy anything but couldn't resist. JF

As much as I dislike Pronger he has some pretty solid credentials as an international player. I just hope he can resist the temptation to do something dirty and give our country's team a black eye. JF

Some of the hockey talking heads discussed that and made a good point. Does the team want goal scorers for defencemen or defencemen who can score goals. Green may not measure up in the defence department. I was a little surprised at Fleury ahead of Luongo but the guys picking the team have done their due diligence. JF

I've never thought of them as pretty. We already checked and since we're flying out of the US it seems like we'll be ok. We'll see when we get to security I guess. Hopefully by the end of the montth things will have calmed down. We're only taking one big bag each and a backpack. If they hassle us we'll take the computer and the cameras out and send the backpacks thru checked luggage. We always fly Continental and apparently we can still check 2 bags each no extra charge. JF

I'll look for the gate with a cute security lady. JF

Heading out in the morning for Cleveland. We'll celebrate New Years Eve there then fly to Cancun for a few weeks. I'll have a computer so I'll keep tabs on y'all. Dawg, wave at the plane that goes over about 10 am on Saturday. That should be me. JF

Canned sardines??? JF

What's a bad hair day really like. I can't remember the 70's any more. Now I just have bad nose hair days. JF

I have 2 Fords - sorta. The Flex is about as close as I'm likely to get to a pickup. At least it's AWD. JF

Might be frost. Seems to me that was in November or December in Ohio. I remember it was durned cold. JF

Sounds like a perfect oldtimer's vehicle. JF

Didn't you mean don't stop drinking heavily? JF

Alabamaniacs don't do rum. They've figgered out how to distill the essence outa possum roadkill. They call it squeezin's fer a reason - possum squeezin's. The hot pavement is perfect for accelerating the fermentation process. Ya just have to get it up off the road before all the good juice gets squeezed out on the pavement by the buggy wheels. JF

Now that he's listening do we have to stop talking about him? JF

Every time I think these unforgiving thoughts about our young national teams I have to remind myself how tough it must be for the coachs to take a bunch of hometown, or more accurately adopted hometown, heroes still in their teens (the worst age for swollen ego problems) and turn them overnight into a cohesive team unit. These guys are coming from all different systems of hockey, but more importantly are all kids who are their own team leaders and have been put on a pedestal for much of their lives, or at least since they were ten years old in most cases, and constantly reminded about how incredible they are. I'm surprised at how some of them can even begin to act (and I use that word deliberately) normal when they hit the big time. Imagine how a kid like Crosby has been praised throughout much of his playing life, and to still have the self control (perhaps class) to play the role he does today. It's a wonder there aren't more breakdowns in that facade like in Tiger's case. We expect normal frailties from ourselves but not from our heroes. So it's understandable that with these kids only into their late teens there might be some showboating issues when they find themselves on the bigger international stage for perhaps the first time. They have to be forgiven for a little grandstanding. And for some they've probably had it pounded into them by proud parents and local coaches that they need to use this chance to show their own best stuff to shoot for a higher draft number, or a better first contract, or an earlier callup to the big show. whatever. I have to keep reminding myself of this stuff when I see the unnecessary toe drags and through the legs drop passes. They're all afraid to let it look too simple for fear no scouts will see how much talent they really have. But it's sure fun to watch, isn't it? JF

If I tried to cast left-handed I'd probably toss the rod into the water. Casting right-handed and reeling with the left for any kind of rod just seems like the natural thing to do. My right hand is my natural control hand and so probably the most sensitive to nibbles and taps. JF

Nice to know that all you crazy winter fishing OFNers aren't so desensitized to cold after all. I have been thinking how weird y'all must be when I see you tailing big wet cold fishies for the camera as naturally as I might hold up a summer bass. I get the shivers just seeing the pictures. Even Solopaddler with his fingerless gloves doesn't make me feel any better. Now I know the truth. Yer just all nutz. JF

Them too, but we haven't any bad girls here on OFC - or do we? JF

I'm no doc but I've been sitting here flexing my thumb and fingers and feeling where the tension is in my forearm. The thumb pulls way off to the side while the fingers pull straight up the inside. I'm thinking that if the major trauma was in the area of the thumb muscles (or whatever) then what you're getting is just the effect of the swelling, the body making it's own immobilizing cast. When I tore my achilles tendon some years ago the doc told me it would bother me for a year, and it was almost exactly a year to the day before I realized I no longer has any kind of discomfort there. I doubt any of this has any relevance in your case but I suppose it might. Hopefully you're just experiencing something like that and after the healing is done all will be well. JF

When I was a kid I was always being told not to play with the bad kids. That sucked. They had all the fun. JF

I'm with you on that, B. I couldn't figure out if they were just being clumsy in the slot or if they were trying to make too many passes. On another note. I watched those refs do the US game the other night. They were brutal. JF

An excuse to get away from my cell phone. I tell people I'm afraid I'll drop it in the creek. The fun of trying to outwit little fishies with brains the size of a pinkie nail. The little suckers beat me most of the time but every now and then I find 'em using my wits and a little help from my friends. Keeping up with the technology is kinda neat too. Reading and trying, figuring out some new system I've heard about. Learning to use unfamiliar gear (baitcaster, flyrod, pin etc). Trying new lure presentations and retrieves. It's all good, and the bonus is meeting good folks like y'all here on OFC. JF