By Joshua Elie
It’s springtime. Time to rake leaves, plant seeds and get the summer toys ready for the best summer ever. Why will this be the best? Because the next will always be better than the last.
With the weather getting warmer, the sunny days getting longer, the lilacs in bloom and the fish biting, you can’t help but be filled with the power of positivity. (Fishermen know what I am talking about. Read “A True Fishy Tale”, Freshwater Reporter, May 2022, then for more upbeat vibes, read “Rack ’Em Up”, Freshwater Reporter, November 2023. See Full Issues.)
Back when gas was under a dollar and everybody had cold beer on their boat, there was another water sport that I loved. Water skiing. I learned how to water ski when I was 5, on the best lake for it I have ever seen: Bass Lake, in the Irons area. There are three bays with islands in the middle, all connected by a canal, so the water stays nice and calm.
By age 12, even as light as I was, I could rooster up quite a wall of water with a slalom ski. I started to notice all the girls laying out, soaking up the sun on the floating docks. I certainly couldn’t let them get too overheated, so I would give them a friendly splash once in a while. Later, I learned that they didn’t enjoy it quite as much as I did; at least I think that is what the fist-pumping in the air meant.
I still did a bit of playful splashing, and the kids loved to try to jump through the wall of water. I guess one time I upset some grandparents. They came out in a paddle boat and just looked so overheated. I probably shouldn’t have … but I decided to let them in on the fun. Later, I was ticketed for reckless endangerment. Nothing further came of the incident, other than people joking about my “felonious splashing” record.
“Non”winter is over. Whether you were concerned about COVID or not, your fears about catching it are probably over too. Bad things are still going to happen sometimes, and things are always going to be more expensive than they should be. Staying home is not going to help. Our newspaper’s calendar of events is full of great things to do, and on top of that, we can throw our own parties.
When was the last time you did something completely childish and irresponsible? Vinnie’s B’Day Bash comes to mind. I saw my old buddy “Cornbread” at Dublin General Store the other day. I met him years ago at one of Vinnie’s parties. We were talking about how we are now perfectly content to just stay home. I thought about our conversation later, and how that attitude is just wrong.
Preparations for Vinnie’s bash would begin by building this ridiculously enormous stage. The last time I was there, we rolled out paper, about 8 feet high and 100 feet long, along the trees. Everybody could sign their names and whatever else they wanted using spray paint. We had a pig on the grill, some snapping turtles, and all the fixins you could imagine. There were five bands that could be heard for I-don’t-know-how-many miles. I was on stage, using a chainsaw as a musical instrument. Vinnie, in his 30s at the time, was hanging from a tree far above the stage in nothing but his Scooby-Doo underroos …
Really, how long has it been? What happened to us?
Let’s get back to going out, meeting up with friends we haven’t seen in years, and making new ones. Handshakes and hugs should not be lost forever, nor should we be content to spend all our free time (and possibly work time) at home. To simply exist is not enough. The proof is in the proof.
Elie’s “I’m Still Alive” Fruit Cocktail
Fill a clean container (from 1 to 50 gallons) with chunks of pineapple and apple, then fresh berries, about three-quarters from the top. Add Polish vodka and clear rum (must be clear) until the fruit begins to float. Let sit covered in a cool, dark place overnight, keeping the apple and pineapple at the bottom. Next day, stir and serve in clear plastic tumblers, adding ice to the batch as needed.
Joshua Elie is a musician and a retired building contractor. He now enjoys life as a homesteader.
