LESSONS LEARNED, Things You Do Only Once

[AJ's Dad]

I got married to my first wife back in 1981. Now that was a "Lesson Learned" WOW!

[G-Man]

I got married to my first wife back in 1981. Now that was a "Lesson Learned" WOW!

Shouldn't that have read, "I got married once, back in 1981. Now that was a "Lesson Learned" WOW!"

[MotoBoat]

I got married to my first wife back in 1981. Now that was a "Lesson Learned" WOW!

Shouldn't that have read, "I got married once, back in 1981. Now that was a "Lesson Learned" WOW!"

My take is AJ was married in 1981, got divorced (lesson learned), and remarried.

Gman's sentence implies one marriage. Which, unless Mormon. ONe (at a time) is all ya get. No implication of a second wife.

Unless your Quad, then you get your 8th grade girlfriend and you present wife.


Another story. Travel 175 miles from W. Washington to E. Washington lake. Boat in tow. One stop along the way. Reach the boat ramp. Back boat trailer into the lake. Keep in mind this boat ramp is very shallow, not at all steep. About the time the trailer tires touch the lake water. The boat trailer tongue hits the pavement!!! The tow ball is coupled in the trailer tongue and the hitch has a empty hole where the tow ball should be!!!. The style of tow ball is like none I have ever seen. It is not a one piece tow ball with a threaded stud protruding down through it. But has a hole drilled up into the tow ball, tapped for threads and a bolt thread's up through the hole in the tow hitch and into the threaded hole in the tow ball. Luckily the trailer stops on the almost flat boat ramp. I tell my dad to stop backing immediately. He says why. I say the boat trailer is no longer attached to the truck!! LOL!!! We are standing there wondering what the hell and how did we ever make it to this point without the catastrophe occurring somewhere on the highway!!!! Feeling very lucky at the time. Another issue showed itself. When the boat trailer tongue hit the pavement. The trailer's tongue extension of the trailer bent. Revealing a badly rusted, thin walled piece of boat trailer, hidden under some decent looking trailer paint. Tightened the tow ball bolt and made it back home. Replaced the damaged trailer piece with the help of Mann's welding. This wasn't a car topper on a trailer either. It was a 18ft boat.

[AJ's Dad]

I seem to have created some confusion here so maybe I should clarify my wedded position. I got married in 1981 (a wicked woman), then I got divorced. She found someone she liked better. Don't ask me how she managed that. Then in 1982 I got married again (tramp). Yes, that's right 1982. They were about a year and a half apart. Hey, I was young. Then a year later I got divorced. She to found someone she liked better. I can't imagine how. I took a 6 year break and got married again in 1988. In 1996 I got divorced again. You guessed it, she found someone she liked better. Problem was, I kept finding these gals that liked to go out drinking and partying all night and I had outgrown that stuff. Some might call me unlucky. I actually prefer to look at those three experiences as good luck. In late 1996 I was lucky enough to find a great woman and she actually had some morals. We got married in 1998 and believe it or not, we're still married (13 years now). Finally!! The lesson to be learned here is ------ Well, I guess I don't know what the lesson was. I just got lucky this time. I'll bet the guy that started this thread never expected this subject to come up. LOL

Happy Fishing,

AJ's Dad

[MotoBoat]

I seem to have created some confusion here so maybe I should clarify my wedded position. I got married in 1981 (a wicked woman), then I got divorced. She found someone she liked better. Don't ask me how she managed that. Then in 1982 I got married again (tramp). Yes, that's right 1982. They were about a year and a half apart. Hey, I was young. Then a year later I got divorced. She to found someone she liked better. I can't imagine how. I took a 6 year break and got married again in 1988. In 1996 I got divorced again. You guessed it, she found someone she liked better. Problem was, I kept finding these gals that liked to go out drinking and partying all night and I had outgrown that stuff. Some might call me unlucky. I actually prefer to look at those three experiences as good luck. In late 1996 I was lucky enough to find a great woman and she actually had some morals. We got married in 1998 and believe it or not, we're still married (13 years now). Finally!! The lesson to be learned here is ------ Well, I guess I don't know what the lesson was. I just got lucky this time. I'll bet the guy that started this thread never expected this subject to come up. LOL

Happy Fishing,

AJ's Dad

Well, your probably right about the "guy" starting the thread "lesson learned" probably not going in this direction. But at the same time, glad you clarified. Cause, the story got waaaaaay better than: Got married.........divorced...........didn't work out.............lesson learned.............Got re-married.......still married. It isn't often at all one sais " Fourth time is a charm". The lesson here is.......well I don't know what the lesson is.........that is classic!! LOL. I like it!!

[rseas]

***REVISED***

Hey this is Rseas, the guy that started all this and your right I didn’t expect this thread to head in the direction it has. That said, I have been to the alter a few times myself and I can safely say that I was the one at fault when the decision was made to head different directions. Well maybe I wasn’t directly at fault, but a major character flaw that I have. I love to fish and explore (not the flaw) and in fact would rather be out and about looking to see what is at the end of the dirt road or in search of one more remote fishing hole than absolutely anything else. The flaw was that I didn’t seem to choose a mate that could enjoy or even understand my sense of wanderlust and the need to explore (Not an employment issue, I have worked for my current employer for almost 35 years and always have an extra iron or two in the fire). There was nothing wrong with my previous partners and in fact they are probably wonderful wives but I just couldn’t say home. Age and responsibility have tempered my adventures a bit and probably made me easier to live with but when Saturday morning rolls around the thought of laying around in bed always takes second billing to a pre-dawn trip to some local body of water.

Lesson learned; enjoy the razzmatazz of a new relationship while being honest in your assessment of your combined futures. Most importantly, allow your relationship to fulfill your sense of adventure as that is where you will find true wonder… That said, discovering that your intended would rather get up four hours before the sun does to start a day of exploration is a bonus and if so set the hook and enjoy! Where’s the coffee!

[Mike Carey]

OK, this is a story from about 10 years ago that I will never forget for the pure terror of the event.

I was fishing with a friend in my boat and we had anchored up at the Clay Cliffs area of the Cowlitz river just downstream from Blue Creek. I had us pretty close to shore but the boat was kind of waving back and forth at anchor so I put out a stern anchor to hold us steady. I was in the back of the boat, and noticed that the boat was moving. The front anchor had lost it's hold and in a flash the boat had swung around stern into the current. Realizing this was not a good situation, I reached for the rear anchor rope to untie and release the anchor so the boat would again swing bow first. As I untied the slip knot the rear anchor rope began playing rapidly out and became tangled in my right hand and the rear gunnel.

The anchor line tightens up around my hand as I become an intimate part of this deadly situation. The stern of the boat now begins to take serious water and we are sinking under the current, with me firmly tied into the stern of the boat. My friend is at the bow, but he can't come to help because when he tries the boat start to slip under that much faster. It is at this moment that I see with horrifying clarity that the boat is going to be dragged under the water and this is going to be the moment of my death. I have no other thought in my head - it's just like you've read about from people that have near death experiences - everything cystalizes into a terrifying "in the moment" reality.

I give my hand a massive yank! and somehow it pulls free. The anchor line plays out and runs through, and the boat is again free and does a rapid 180 degree turn in the current. Now the bow anchor again grabs hold of the bottom, and the boat swings close to shore. My hand is a bloody, torn mess. The boat is over 50% full of water and still thankfully afloat. All this has happened in a matter of a minute - time had ceased to exist for me so that's just my best guess.

We bail the boat out and fire up the motor - it starts right up - amazing. Being that I am a steelheader and this is the Cowlitz river in prime steelheading season, I rig up and we fish the rest of the day. Even caught one as I recall. The next day my hand has huge black and blue marks and deep contusion injuries. I learned several valuable lessons, not least of which is when your time comes you never think it is your time. And you don't get much warning. I now have a very healthy respect for the water, more than I ever had before this experience. I'm a hell of a lot more cautious on the river, that's for sure!

[BentRod]

....Good Lord Mike. That would be a terrifying moment. I've had a few "after the event" moments, but can't think of any "realize it while it's happening" type moments. Kind of makes me sick to think of it. God was surely watching out for you on that day. Wow.

[Mike Carey]

....Good Lord Mike. That would be a terrifying moment. I've had a few "after the event" moments, but can't think of any "realize it while it's happening" type moments. Kind of makes me sick to think of it. God was surely watching out for you on that day. Wow.

yes, I would say that as well.

[bob johansen]

Great story Mike. Think I heard part of it the day we fished Lake St. Claire in the down pore when I asked you if you had a bilge pump. I have fished under those clay banks many times with an old fishing buddy. We tied up under some overhanging trees that leaned over the river from high above. This area has a reputation of erosion so I always feared we were in much danger just being there. I worried the trees from above and a huge clump of earth would tumble down on top of us. We did catch quite a few steelies there though. Earl Wasser was my fishing buddy's name. He was a great guy but is now gone.

[Mike Carey]

That name sounds familiar...

The Clay Banks are definately risky to anchor under as there have been trees and rocks that will come down and into the river. I think it's more dangerous after warming temps and heavy rains if I remember correctly.

[AJ's Dad]

Mike,
I would say the Lord was defenitely watching over you that day as well. Your sinking ship story reminds me of a day when I was only about 19 or 20 years old. I'm sure everyone remembers those days when they were young, invinceable, and knew everything.

I was fishing for catfish with a friend at Lower granite dam on the Snake River. Another know it all young guy had told us that the really big catfish satyed close to the dam. My friend and I figured we would have no trouble finding them in his 14' aluminum boat. He had a nice 9.9 hp outboard that started first pull every time and ran like a top. You can probably see where this is going. We ventured under the cable with the sign on it that said don't go beyond this point, or something close to that. The current being what it was, we couldn't even find the bottom of the river with our heavily weighted lines and bait. After a very short time we decided this was probably not the smartest thing we had ever done and we reeled our lines in and he reached for the pull starter cord on his "First Pull Every Time Motor". Guess what. 10 or twelve pulls and she was still not running. Fortunately there was not a lot of water comming over the dam that day. There was however enough to create a strong current that pulled us right up to the dam and scared that crap out of us as I was pushing off of the concrete of the dam. Water was pouring very close to the back end of the boat as you can imagine. All I could think of was how hard it was going to be to swim out of there in that strong current (yeah right). He obviously got the motor running just in time or I wouldn't be here to tell this story. That was about 33 years ago so it's been a long time and the details are a little fuzzy. One thing I remember very clearly is fishing the rest of the day about 2 miles down stream, and doing it without my undershorts on. They were not fit for wearing after that ordeal.

Now that was a lesson learned!

[Mike Carey]

dams are scary things, I had a high school friend die going over one. Very sad to spend a day grappling under a dam to find a friend. He was 19 years old and I've thought of him often since then.

[MotoBoat]

dams are scary things, I had a high school friend die going over one. Very sad to spend a day grappling under a dam to find a friend. He was 19 years old and I've thought of him often since then.

Grappling, as in "hook". Like the Deadliest Catch guys throw overboard in search of there crab pot buoy rope? That is quit the stunning visual for sure. A defining moment in your life, that is without question, Mike.

[Mike Carey]

yup. Someone post a funny story, I'm getting depressed. Although, I will say this, my friend lived his life to the fullest and I try to honor that good memory of him. He was one of those rare persons that everyone seemed to like, and he seemed to like most everyone.

[zen leecher]

I was gonna say I touched that sparkey thing in my electronic ignition bbq once.

[BentRod]

Ok, Mike, here you go.

Back in college, I was working on my old Toyota pickup. I was having timing/electrical issues under the hood, so was working on the distributor, cap, plugs...and of course, wires. It was something like my 4th or 5th time pulling all this stuff apart and putting it back together and was testing out various leads and such. Since this job required about four hands and I only had two, I was occasionally holding wires in my mouth. At one point, I had the end of what I thought was an extra wire in my mouth and asked my dad to turn the starter over to see if the truck would fire......that extra wire in my mouth turned out to be the wire from the coil, which was still plugged in. That is something you only do once.

[AJ's Dad]

I gotta say that's something I wouldn't even try once! Great story.

[MotoBoat]

Ok, Mike, here you go.

Back in college, I was working on my old Toyota pickup. I was having timing/electrical issues under the hood, so was working on the distributor, cap, plugs...and of course, wires. It was something like my 4th or 5th time pulling all this stuff apart and putting it back together and was testing out various leads and such. Since this job required about four hands and I only had two, I was occasionally holding wires in my mouth. At one point, I had the end of what I thought was an extra wire in my mouth and asked my dad to turn the starter over to see if the truck would fire......that extra wire in my mouth turned out to be the wire from the coil, which was still plugged in. That is something you only do once.

And then the truck actually started..........Human bodies.......are.........good conductors of Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelectricity!!

[Gringo Pescador]

Ok, Mike, here you go.

Back in college, I was working on my old Toyota pickup. I was having timing/electrical issues under the hood, so was working on the distributor, cap, plugs...and of course, wires. It was something like my 4th or 5th time pulling all this stuff apart and putting it back together and was testing out various leads and such. Since this job required about four hands and I only had two, I was occasionally holding wires in my mouth. At one point, I had the end of what I thought was an extra wire in my mouth and asked my dad to turn the starter over to see if the truck would fire......that extra wire in my mouth turned out to be the wire from the coil, which was still plugged in. That is something you only do once.

And then the truck actually started..........Human bodies.......are.........good conductors of Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelectricity!!

Um - I chewed aluminum foil on a dare once