Bait & Gas

It's funny but all 6 of us kids each have lots of stories that start with 'when we were little, I remember when we would go fishin'........... 

Now really, at least for us girls, it wasn't like we went often but we always look back on the fun times when our family would rent a camp on a little known lake in central NY, full of weeds and lily pads but a fun- to- fish place.  We never kept them or ate them, but boy oh boy!! we were gonna get the BIG one!  

Eventful fishing, yes....productive no!  Couple of things that stick out as memorable to me--

-Trying to find a doctor, on a Sat. morning, in the tiny town nearest us to remove the fishing hook out of our oldest brother's ear!  How in the world did it get there you ask???........let's just put it this way.......he became much more proficient at casting as he grew up!

- Then there was the time that everything was just 'peachy' in the rowboat until my sister let (at least that's how it all played out) the fish not only take the worm, but the whole fishing pole and reel!  Oh boy, THAT fishing expedition was not fun anymore!!

Can't we JUST HAVE FUN!! I was thinking!   Okay......maybe tomorrow besides, now we're out of nightcrawlers and minnows.

Early on Sun. morning my dad sent me, the new driver, and my sister to get bait and gas.Keep in mind that this is WAY before everything was open on Sundays and we are not in a 'thriving metropolis' or any facsimile thereof. 

Now our dad has pretty much held the world's record for driving "on fumes" although sometimes having as much as 1/16 of a tank of gas,  but now we're heading out to who knows where with a 9 passenger V8 station wagon to get worms for bait and gas for the car and guess what?? ( Dad was definitely going for the 'on fumes' title this weekend I was soon to see)

For me, it was a chance to drive so let's go!

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We drove, and drove and found the bait shop just fine but no gas stations were open.

Did our dad not KNOW that gas stations just aren't open on Sundays or what!!!

I don't know, but I can tell you that after driving around for what seemed like an eternity, I was thrilled to see a car parked outside of a gas station and a couple of workers inside this one place. Sweaty hands by now I drive up to the pump and turn off the car while we wait for the attendant to pump our gas.  No problem.... Linda and I will just listen to our tunes until he comes out to us.

He keeps us waiting for quite awhile but who 'gives a birds beak' !!! .....we've got the Beach Boys on the radio and life is good!

I guess it was several songs later when a guy interrupts our music session and calls into my window-

Oh, miss.........we're not open yet!

Fine, I'll wait, I reply.  

 

Believe me, in my mind I didn't care if I had to wait even an hour

because at least I made it to the gas station and we're not sitting on the side of the road somewhere at the mercy of anybody who just might be out on a Sun. morning in rural America.

Well miss, you've got quite a wait he smiles at me.............didn't you notice that there are no nozzels or hoses on these pumps?  We're not openin' for another week yet!!  

                

We drove away, sheepishly, and then we started laughing and I'm not kidding you, we laughed so hard we thought we were gonna..........yup.......but we didn't..........

We were directed by this man to a station down the road 'a piece' ( WHAT in the world does that mean ???)...... now, turn right, turn left, and then go ............you've got the picture but miraculously we made it to the station, got gas and then drove back to camp,  still laughing our heads off!!

Oh, but I can just tell you .....this would have been a whole other story all together if we'd have run out of gas and not brought that bait back to camp for our next fishing trip. Be sure of that!

 

Although, when I think about it.......what was the rush??  We were already down one fishing pole and the brand new reel so what were our chances of catching 'the BIG one' today anyway?

You know, it is pretty amazing that a grown girl has resorted to catching fish this way but when I think about it........it's probably Linda's safest way!

GO FISH GIRL!!!!