We had a very enjoyable day on South Holston Lake yesterday. We caught 14 nice fish, and brought home 9 (6 lake trout, 2 rainbow trout, and 1 walleye pike). Here’s a few pictures.
| Here’s view of the lake from the boat. We had a beautiful day for fishing. |  |
| Here’s Doug with one of the lake trout we caught. |  |
| Here’s Ralph showing another that he just got in the boat. |  Her |
| I’m smiling while holding the stringer. The walleye is the fish on the left. |  |
The Road Traveled is Worth the Trip
I enjoyed this article by Jacob T. Bradsher, Jr. who is a retired medical doctor in Knoxville, TN. The following article was a Guest Column in the Knoxville News-Sentinel on May 31, 2009. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
I am old. A few months ago, I began my 89th year. The ages in the daily obituary column are mostly less than that. At the moment, I can’t think of anyone I should say “Sir” or “Ma’am” to on the basis of age.
It sneaked up on me in a way. Until a few years ago, when physical changes began to occur, I felt forever young. I still feel young in mind, but the physical part of me doesn’t respond as it did. Joints creak and ache; I totter at times; I feel more secure with a walker to hold on to.
In my personal plumbing, the valves don’t close as tightly as they used to. I often have to ask my family and friends and acquaintances to repeat something I didn’t hear clearly. The radio and TV I listen to are too loud for the rest of my family.
The birds I used to listen for don’t seem to sing any more. I see the lightning but don’t always hear the thunder. But the sunrises and sunsets are as colorful and spectacular as ever.
The warmth of friendships is more apparent than ever. There is no joy like that of seeing and meeting with old friends. At this age, many of the older friends have completed their earthly journey. I miss their conversations.
A few, unfortunately, have lost contact with reality and the ability to share their thoughts as they once did. There is the comfort of the family nearby and the security of their presence.
Through the telephone and the Internet, I maintain contact with three sisters and a brother. A large family has always been a source of pleasure. We have remained close through the years sharing the happenings of our children’s lives.
Aging is a process not fully understood. What happens to the individual cell, the smallest unit of the body’s composition, as it grows old? Why do older cells more often change their growth behavior and become cancerous? Much research is being devoted to these questions. “Normal aging” is a term used — whatever that means. Maybe it means a little arthritis, a little loss of hearing, a little incontinence, a little imbalance occurring with age. A heart attack and damaged heart muscle, making the heart an ineffective pump is not, probably, a part of normal aging. The dementias, especially Alzheimer’s is not a part of normal aging. Given a mind that seems to be working well except for the ability to recall names quickly, I believe one can put up with aches, pains, loss of mobility. The consequent loss of some freedom can be accepted and dealt with. But, it seems, more often than not, there has been a heart attack, a badly damaged heart, a stroke, cancer, a fall and broken bones. The adjustments to be made to these are greater and more difficult to accept. This is where the art of aging may apply. I’m not sure I have acquired that yet.
Annoyance is what aging seems to bring to the younger generation. It is annoying to them to be requested to repeat what was said as our hearing fails. The slowness of movement, too, that comes with age is annoying.
Being old and slow in movement is not to be equated with loss of mental acuity. That’s an annoyance to me.
If I hear, I understand. If I don’t hear, I don’t always respond. But it’s not that I don’t understand. I dislike inconveniencing others by asking a statement to be repeated.
I hope our age group has made a difference for the better. I hope we have shown that we care about each other and about our environment and hoped our children and grandchildren could inherit a world as beautiful as that we were born into. We hoped for a peaceful world that did not occur in our lifetime. We hoped we could learn to disagree and still be friends.
The road traveled has had its rough spots and passed through stormy weather. Sometimes I wasn’t sure where it was leading. But it was always interesting, and I am glad to have taken the trip. I’m sort of sidelined now, away from the big parade and counting on those on stage now to put on a great and successful show.
Looking back, I am grateful to so many who made the journey easier, worthwhile, interesting and entertaining. I am grateful for my family that gave a start and my wife and children who stick with me, and give their love, in these later days.
Sue, Get Well Soon!
Our good friend, Sue, Kevin’s Mother-in-Law, had surgery last Wednesday. We have been thinking of her every day. And today I wanted to wish her a special Get Well! We love you!
Life may not be fair, but it’s still very good.
Enjoy every minute of it.
And the best is yet to come!
~Coleman Cox
Joke of the Day
There were two old boys from Alabama who love to fish, and they wanted to do some ice fishing. They'd heard about it up in Canada, and they took off up there. The lake was frozen nicely. They stopped just before they got to the lake at a little bait shop and got all their tackle. One of them said, "We're going to need an ice pick."
So they got that, and they took off. In about two hours, one of them was back at the shop and said, "We're going to need another dozen ice picks."
Well, the fellow in the shop wanted to ask some questions, but he didn't. He sold him the picks, and the old boy left.
In about an hour, he was back. Said, "We're going to need all the ice picks you've got."
The bait man couldn't stand it any longer. "By the way," he asked, "how are you fellows doing?"
"Not very well at all," he said. "We don't even have the boat in the water yet.
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