| The Greatest Man I Ever Knew |
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| Written by CrappieDoll |
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The Greatest Man I Ever Knew  There was this man. I always looked up to him. He would always try to point me in the right directions and teach me right from wrong. Sometimes I listened to him and sometimes I didn't. For the most part, I think he did a great job. This man is my dad, aka Rango. I can remember being a little girl and dad and mom would take me and my sister fishing. Dad taught us early in life about fishing because it was something he had so much passion for. When dad wasn't delivering mail, he was fishing. Growing up, we always thought we were lucky because our parents had a boat. Dad had this little aluminum boat. This boat was so little that when you stood up you had to be careful because it would rock.
The four of us would go out fishing at night for crappie. Me and my sister would fish until we got bored. We would then take our sleeping bags out and lay side by side on the bottom of the boat and talk until we fell asleep. Once you were out on the lake, the only things that would make dad leave would either be rain or someone getting sick. To this day, that is the same rule dad has stuck to. So after sleeping all night, dad and mom would wake us up and it would be daybreak. They had caught their limits and it was time to go home. They would always have a cooler full of fish. My mom went to the Philippines when I was younger for a couple of weeks to visit my older sister who was in the Air Force and stationed there. Dad would pick me and my sister Wendy up from school sometimes with the boat in tow. The other times, we would have to go home and get it. Before heading to the lake, dad would take us by Hardee's and we would get us a bunch of cheeseburgers for our dinner. We were on our way to the lake eating greasy burgers hoping that the fish would be biting that day. We would fish for a couple of hours each day. I think we fished almost every day while mom was away. I didn't do much fishing once I got in high school. You know how teenagers are once they are getting older. They  always have something more important to do than doing things with their parents. The get a little bit more freedom, play sports, want to hang out with no one but their friends. After I graduated, I started doing a little more fishing. Dad called me one day and said that he had just bought a new boat. Wow!! I couldn't believe it. I went over to his house and pulled up in the yard and couldn't believe my eyes. He had bought a Sea Ark. All I could think of was NO MORE LITTLE ALUMINUM BOAT!! This boat looked like a yacht compared to the other boat that I had fished in all my life. Dad said he never knew how miserable he was fishing in the little boat until he bought his new one. So now began the task of fixing up the boat. It took awhile but it finally got finished from dad's blue prints that was inside his head. He had it just the way he wanted it. Dad introduced me to striper fishing in 2005. He had set up a striper rodeo at Lake Wateree. We fished all morning maybe catching one or two small striper and a small catfish. We got fed up with not catching anything of decent size so we moved up towards cedar creek and got the boat anchored near the rocks. I was fishing off the back of the boat. I threw my lines out and waited. Nothing. I started to reel in one of my lines to check the bait and I got it hung. So what do most girls do?? Dad, can you come and get me unhung?? So he came to the back of the boat and told me to go watch his rods while he fixed my mess. He told me to keep and eye on the last rod because it looked like it was getting a bite. As soon I as steeped up to his rods, it went down. It took all I had to get the rod out of the rod holder. I knew I had the biggest fish of my life on the rod but I didn't know what it was. After fighting it for about three or four minutes, it decided to go under the anchor line to the other side of the boat. So I had to carefully get the rod under the anchor line hoping I wasn't going to give it any slack. After realizing I still had the fish on, I finally took a breath. I fought the fish for about ten minutes and finally got it to the surface. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was a 9.4oz. striper. This was first striper and to this day still my biggest. Dad was proud but not once did he try to claim the fish for himself because it was his rod I caught it on. I guess it was just my day to experience what one of those bad boys feels like. I am now hooked. I still try to get out there and beat my best but haven't succeeded so far.  These are just a few of the memories I will always remember and hold dear in my heart. I want to thank you dad for showing and sharing with me something that you have so much passion for. And from your passion, it is something I have so much passion for. One day, hopefully I will get to pass my passion on and tell stories about The Greatest Man I Ever Knew. You!! |
