Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Dudley Stayed Up Late Last Night On The Computer ...
and after searching for several hours was rewarded with this image. It is Dudley's Great Grandfather, Iver K. Poulsen whom Dudley had heard about but until last night, had no idea what he looked like. This is Dudley's paternal Great Grandfather. Best as I can determine, he was born in 1846 along the western coastal area of Denmark. From some information provided by my Grandfather, I know as a young man he had two choices at that time to earn a living. The choices were to be a sailor or a farmer. He elected the sea and on his first voyage, the sailing ship he was on became grounded on a sandbar during a fierce storm and he and his ship mates were in fear of losing their lives. they were saved when a rogue wave lifted their wooden ship up off the sandbar and into deeper waters saving their lives. After that experience he went back home and studied to be a Lutheran Missionary. Upon completing his studies, he got married to Dudley's Great Grandmother, Henrietta and they went to India where they worked in the Mission Field for close to twenty years. They had to deal with some pretty difficult living conditions. There were a myriad of diseases, wild tigers, Cobras and tsunamis, cyclones, and hurricanes. There were a lot of spiders and ants and other insects to deal with not to mention the oppressive heat in the jungle. They managed to survive all of that somehow. Upon completing his work in India, Iver K and his wife and children went back to Denmark for a number of years. In 1893 the family boarded a boat and headed to the United States of America! The boat landed in Portland Maine that same year and shortly after arriving in the US, Dudley's grandfather was born, the youngest of 9 brothers and sisters and the only one born on US soil. They stayed in Portland for a time and then moved to Chicago IL living in the Humbolt Park area. Iver K. was a pastor of a Lutheran church until his death at the age of 67 in 1913. Dudley's grandfather had the good sense to come to Texas in the 1920's where he met and married an East Texas girl as did Dudley some sixty years later. Last night when Dudley found the image of his Great Grandfather and gazed upon it for the first time, a wave of emotion swept over him. A long lost link to Dudley's past had finally been revealed.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
When You Just Don't Have Enough Bureaucratic Red Tape In Your Life ...
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Monday, March 29, 2010
Dudley Went To The Class For The Renewal ...
of his Concealed Handgun License Saturday afternoon. The class was four hours in length. The chairs were not the most comfortable but Dudley made it through the class. Dudley passed the written test without any problem. After the classroom portion of the class, we went to the indoor shooting range to shoot fifty rounds at a B-27 silhouette target. Dudley is not very steady on his feet due to his disability so Dudley shot from a seated position. Dudley scored between 90 and 95 percent on the shooting portion of the class. There was an older guy in the class that was retired military. He shot a tight 50 round group that you could have covered with your fist. By the time the shooting portion of the class was complete, Dudley was pretty tired. That is a small price to pay to be able to carry a concealed weapon when one chooses to do so. Dudley has become so weak from the effects of Muscular Dystrophy that he would have a hard time fighting his way out of a wet paper bag. A handgun at least gives Dudley the ability to defend himself and his family using deadly force should a situation arise that warrants it.Sunday, March 28, 2010
Dudley's Wife And Daughter Have Gone To The Dairy Queen To Get Dudley An Ice Cream Sundae ...
Frank And Jeff Went Fishing Again Yesterday Afternoon ...
down at the river/creek. It was really windy yesterday but they paddled up the creek and got a little protection from the high wind. Frank had a good day catching two bass with the biggest pushing four pounds. He caught that one on a Texas Rigged Plastic Lizard. He caught the smaller bass on a small Yozuri Pins Minnow on his ultra light spinning rod and reel. He had noticed a bunch of small minnows in the back of the creek so he threw out the small top water minnow lure and caught the bass on his very first cast. Jeff got skunked but he is still learning how to paddle and fish from his new kayak. I am sure he will be catching fish in no time. Dudley noticed the temperature is going to be getting up into the eighties in a few days. The fishing should only get better as the water temperature rises. Frank went to the Sporting Goods store the other day and bought a plastic coated six pound dumbbell and an anchor rope. He used this yesterday for the first time to anchor his kayak to keep the winds from blowing him out of position. He said it worked great and should help him to catch more fish. Both of the bass he caught yesterday were CPR'd. Caught, Photographed and Released to spawn and insure the good fishing will continue in the future.Saturday, March 27, 2010
Looks Like She Is Fixing To Go Off With A Bang ...
Friday, March 26, 2010
Dudley Bought Frank A Couple Of Lures Online ...
last week and they came the other day. They are the biggest lures I have ever bought without a doubt. They are seven inches long and weigh two and one half ounces. They normally cost close to twenty bucks a piece but Dudley got them for less than five bucks each. Frank can use these when he goes kayaking below the dam on Possum Kingdom Reservoir on the Brazos River to try to catch a big Striper. The Stripers like to feed on the Rainbow Trout the State puts in the river every winter for the displaced Yankees to catch. Frank can also use these when he goes down to the Texas Coast to the Land Cut to try and catch a Bull Redfish or a trophy Speckled Trout. Last year he was fishing with a fly rod under the lights at night and was reeling in a lady fish about the size of this lure and he watched a twenty or thirty pound Redfish come out of no where and engulf his catch and take off for the depths. Frank said the drag on the fly reel started singing and line was flying through the line guides. Frank fought the giant Redfish for a short time until his leader snapped. He said it was fun while it lasted!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Click On The Link Below To Find Out Who This Guy Is ...
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Dirty Harry's Mailbox, Got It From Big Sis ...
Monday, March 22, 2010
Dudley Saw This Ad On Ebay The Other Day ...
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from 1953. It was an ad for Johnson Seahorse Outboards that ran in Saturday Evening Post. The lithograph depicts a scene on a lake up north with a busy dock and boaters and fisherman with their Johnson Seahorse Outboards. Those were the good old days when a fisherman could go to any lake or river and find a wooden boat to rent for a small amount of money. The fisherman then took his outboard out of the trunk of his car with a fuel tank and carried it down the water and put it on the rented boat and enjoyed a day of fishing. If you enlarge the middle photo you can see the prices for an outboard motor. Hard to believe the price then compared to the cost now. If you want to go out and buy a fully rigged bass boat and motor and trailer today you better be prepared to spend around fifty grand if you want to run with the big boys. On a lot of the lakes these days, if you go out in a small Jon boat with a small outboard, you risk getting run over by a bass boat being pushed along at 70 plus mph by a 300 horsepower outboard. Dudley misses the good old days .
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Frank And Jeff Made It Back From Their River Trip ...
early Saturday morning after quite an adventure. After stopping at a bait store on the way and buying a dozen live sunfish and three dozen live minnows, they drove up to the Stone Bridge below PK dam. They got there later than they had expected so they decided not to go up river and fish below the dam for stripers and decided to go down river about one mile and set up their campsite on a gravel bar near a big cove which was a good fishing spot. Friday it got up into the mid seventies and there was a strong south wind which made fishing a little difficult. During the day they had several bites but were not able to bring any fish to their kayaks. May have been gar which can be difficult to hook. They built a campfire right before dark and put out a couple of catfish baits. Jeff caught a nice three or four pound channel catfish. Frank caught a nice Rainbow Trout on his spinning rod. They cleaned and cooked the fish over the campfire and ate them for dinner. The second photo from the top shows the view from their campsite. Frank said they tried to put the tent up but they quickly found out it was going to be impossible to secure the tent in the high winds on the rocky bar they were camped on. Around midnight, the cold front hit with a vengeance. It started pouring down rain and the temperature dropped rapidly. They quickly realized the river was rising at a fast rate and they grabbed their kayaks and secured everything, climbed in and shoved off into the darkness. Frank led the way and Jeff followed as they paddled upriver against a strong rising current and a brutal headwind. They shouted to each other to stay together. Frank said for every three feet they moved forward, the wind and current would push them back two and one half feet. A couple of times when the river became shallow, the current was too strong and they had to get out and wade in the water and drag their kayaks to deeper water and then climb back in and paddle again. Frank said after two and one half hours of battling the strong rising river current and wind they made it up to his pick up parked below the Stone Bridge. Frank started his truck and turned on the heater and they loaded their gear into the truck. It was pouring rain during the entire two and one half hour ordeal. They pulled out about 2:30 AM and headed home. Frank said it was raining so hard it was difficult driving home and it took longer than usual. They pulled in at Jeff's house about 5:00 AM and Frank came home about 8:30 AM. Dudley was relieved they made it off the river safely. Dudley reminded Frank that they have this great new invention called a weather forecast. Maybe next time he will pay a little better attention. Reminds Dudley of a time back in college when Dudley and one of his roommates had a harrowing experience in a small boat on Sam Rayburn during a springtime thunderstorm. Dudley will save that story for another time.
Friday, March 19, 2010
As Dudley's Great Aunt Used To Say ...
I hope the Fool Killer is not out. Frank and Jeff went fishing today in their kayaks on the Brazos River. They have been fishing all day having a wonderful time. It was windy but the high temperature got up well into the seventies today on the river. They are going to fish tonight by camp fire and lantern light camped out on a sandbar in Franks new dome tent. Problem is a strong Canadian cold front is going to hit about midnight bringing thunderstorms, high winds and much colder temperatures. Dudley tried to talk him into coming on in tonight but the male testosterone is running at a high level and he is determined to tough it out and paddle back up river to his truck some time tomorrow. It is going to be cold in the mid to lower forties and he may be paddling against a strong head wind gusting up to 40 mph! Like my great Aunt Sister used to say, hope the fool killer is not out.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Frank Caught His First Fish In 2010 ...
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yesterday, a nice two and one half pound Largemouth Bass. He and his buddy Jeff took their kayaks down to a local river and paddled up to a creek and started fishing. Frank caught a smaller bass that got off at the boat but Jeff said that one did not count. On the very next cast he caught the two and one half pounder. Yesterday was the first time for Jeff to take out his new kayak and Frank said he is going to have to learn how to paddle and control the kayak and fish at the same time. I am sure he will be catching fish in no time. They had a great time and are going to leave tomorrow morning for an overnight kayak/fishing/camping trip on the Brazos River. Hopefully Frank will take a bunch of photos for Dudley to post on the blog. Dudley got his packet from the State of Texas yesterday for his CHL. Dudley called today and signed up for a class to renew his CHL-Concealed Handgun License. He also scheduled an appointment to go have his fingerprints done digitally. Dudley is trying to avoid having to go back and have the ink fingerprints redone like he did last time when the Texas Department Of Public Safety rejected the first set of prints that were done in the class. Dudley is not looking forward to sitting in class for five hours but it is a small price to pay to be able to carry a concealed weapon when one chooses to do so.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Dudley Updated This Slide Show On Hunting And Fishing With Dudley ...
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Must Be Driving One Of Those Runaway Toyotas ...
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Dudley Got A YUM 41 Piece Crawbug Kit ...
yesterday via UPS. Dudley bought this online from Lurenet and the whole package only cost about ten bucks. It was a great deal if you ask Dudley. Frank and Jeff can use these this summer when they go fishing down in the Texas Hill Country out of their kayaks. They are going to fish the Guadalupe and Medina Rivers and possibly the Llano River as well. The photo above is of the Texas State Fish, and is a Guadalupe Bass. It is a distinct species found only in Central Texas. It is a beautiful fish with distinctive markings. They can be caught in and around moving water. Hopefully Frank and Jeff will be able to catch one on their trip. They also may be able to catch their first Smallmouth Bass on the trip. Dudley has caught Smallmouth Bass before up in Northeastern Oklahoma on the Illinois River. Dudley got Frank and Jeff an invite to fish a stretch of the Guadalupe River that is closed to public access. Hopefully they will catch some fish. Spring break is fast approaching and Frank and Jeff are going to go on an overnight Kayaking trip on the Brazos River. Maybe Frank will take some photos so I can post them on Dudleys Diary.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Lizzie Got Her Present For Graduating High School ...
last night. She picked out an HP G60 635 DX Laptop Computer. Dudley thinks she made a good choice. Lizzie can surf the Internet, download her favorite music and have fun playing games on her new computer. Dudley used it today to surf the Internet for a while from his favorite recliner and also watched a DVD, one of Dudley's favorite movies HUD today. The laptop is great for watching movies with it's wide screen HD display. Dudley can tell he is going to have to get him one at some point in the future. Probably a year or two down the road, but Dudley can see a laptop computer for himself one of these days. Thursday, March 11, 2010
Dudley Got The New Supplies For His BiPap Machine ...
the other day. Dudley has a Respironics Bi Pap Auto SV BiPap machine and a Respironics Millennium Oxygen Concentrator that he uses to help him breath while he is sleeping. The machines cost about $7,500.00 for both of them and I guess it is worth it because without them Dudley would probably not be here. Dudley got a new Nasal Aire II mask and a new hose and filters and a new humidifier chamber. Dudley got everything replaced and is good to go for another six months. Dudley has been sleeping/breathing with the help of non invasive ventilation for close to ten years now. It has taken a long time to get used to the equipment and figure out what works and what doesn't. The BiPap machine has a computer in it and some complicated algorithm that helps Dudley to breath easier. It has a Smart Card that Dudley removes and takes with him when he goes to see his neurologist and he inserts it into a reader that gives him a computer printout so he can monitor how well Dudley is or is not sleeping at night. Pretty amazing when you think about it. Dudley is going to use these machine as long as he can because when these machines no longer get the job done, Dudley will probably be looking at getting a tracheotomy and being put on a ventilator. Dudley is sure not looking forward to that. Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Dudley Took These Photos Yesterday Evening ...
at a local river. Frank had gone fishing in his new kayak for a couple of hours yesterday after work. The weather was so nice yesterday evening, Dudley went out for a drive and met him at the river when he got through fishing. He had a good outing but did not catch any fish. The water is still too cold and the water is murky from all the recent rains. In another two weeks the fishing should really take off. Dudley went to his pulmonologist today and had a PFT done. That stand for Pulmonary Function Test. Dudley's lungs are a little weaker than one year ago which is not surprising. I don't know if it is the doctors or the Feds are screwing with Health Care before the bill is passed but the doctor made me pay an $81.00 Co Pay today out of pocket. In the past eight years or so I have never had to pay a Co Pay at any of my doctors and I have noticed this year they all have their hand out wanting money up front despite the fact I have two forms of insurance. I suspect the doctors are just trying to make all they can before the Feds take over and screw them out of a good portion of their income. It is getting to where Dudley can not afford to go to the doctor. Maybe that is the idea. If the Federal Government takes over Health Care, you can bet the quality of care will decrease as will the availability. It appears that the rationing of Health Care has already begun. Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Dudley Got Online Today And Started The Process ...
to renew his CHL Concealed Handgun License. Dudley paid $70.00 online to the State of Texas. They are going to send Dudley a renewal packet. When received, Dudley will go to the local shooting range and pay an additional $85.00 for the renewal class. The class includes a refresher of the Texas gun laws pertaining to the CHL and any changes to the gun laws since Dudley got his license four years ago. After the class you shoot around 50 rounds out of your handgun at a target. I think you have to take a written test also. Dudley called and made sure the range can accommodate a disabled shooter. For safety sake Dudley needs to shoot from a sitting position. Dudley can still stand for short periods of time but is unsteady on his feet and does not want to risk a fall at a crowded gun range. Going through the class is not something that Dudley is looking forward to but it is a small price to pay for the ability to be able to carry a concealed handgun when one chooses to do so. Dudley is 6'2" and weighs around 250 pounds and at least gives the appearance of a man that is able to defend himself. Looks can be deceiving, the truth is Dudley would not be able to put up much of a fight. Dudley feels much safer when carrying a concealed handgun. With all of the crime in the world these days, Dudley does not know why anyone would choose to be at the mercy of the criminal element. But a lot of people do, they are a lot more trusting than Dudley.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Feeling Of Fast ...
Be Careful Where You Park Your Car ...
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Frank Got A New Tent For His Birthday ...
it's a Coleman 7' x 9' Sundome model. Dudley always wanted a dome tent but never did get one. Dudley remembers well the last time he went tent camping. It was late summer probably in August. Frank was small probably around five or six years old. We lived in Tyler, TX and there was a beautiful State Park north of town. Dudley and his buddies used to go camping there when he was in High School. It is a beautiful park with mature pine trees surrounding a beautiful spring fed lake. Dudley and Frank had a great time watching a Texas Ranger Baseball game in the tent that night drinking Dr. Peppers and eating snacks. Dudley had won a small black and white portable t.v. through his job and it was a lot of fun watching the baseball game stretched out on top of our sleeping bags. It was hot, I remember that. By then Dudley's health was starting to go south and with work and having to change careers and move, it seemed Dudley never had the energy or time to go camping after that. Hopefully Frank will be able to go on some camping/fishing trips to the Sabine River, Brazos River and Guadalupe River in the next few years. Life will be getting a lot more complicated after that and it may not be so easy to drop everything and go camping.Saturday, March 6, 2010
Dudley Bought A New Book Recently ...
A Whitetail Retrospective, vintage photos and memorabilia from the Boone and Crockett Club archives. It is a great look back at Whitetail Deer Hunting over the last one hundred years or so. It is a wonderful addition to Dudley's extensive Whitetail Deer hunting library.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Message From A West Texas Farmer, Got It From Big Sis ...
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Frank Turned 21 Last Week And Got Some Money ...
for his birthday. Frank has been trying for a while now to get his buddy Jeff to break down and buy a kayak so he can go fishing with Frank on his kayak adventures. Jeff did not want to spring for a new kayak so Frank sold him his Malibu Mini X kayak for a good price and used his birthday money to buy himself a new kayak. He bought a brick red Native Manta Ray 11 pictured above. It is a really nice ride and Frank got one heck of a good deal on it. He bought it from H.O.T. Kayaks in Grapevine, TX. He lucked into a closeout on a brand new 2009 model which he was able to purchase for $535.00. The 2010 model of this kayak costs $829.00. He got one heck of a deal and got them to install two recessed fishing rod holders and an anchor trolley for very little cost. Frank took it out for the first time after school yesterday. He went to his secret spot on a local river and paddled up his favorite creek. He did not catch any fish but said he saw several Largemouth Bass in the creek. The spawn is just around the corner. Jeff needs to hurry up and get himself a paddle so he can get out there as the fishing is going to pick up very soon. This summer when Frank and Jeff get word from the taxidermist that their European mounts of their whitetail bucks are ready, they are going to drive down to the Texas Hill Country to pick them up. They are going to camp out and fish out of their kayaks. Dudley sent the man that owns the ranch we hunted on last December an email the other day letting him know how good the exotic venison has been from the hunt and I told him about Frank and Jeff coming down this summer to pick up their mounts. He wrote me back and invited them to come out to his home and is going to let them spend a day fishing in a private fishing hole on the Guadalupe River that has no public access! They should have a great time catching Guadalupe Bass, Smallmouth Bass and maybe a Rio Grande Cichlid if they are lucky. The river also has Sandbass, and Catfish and Largemouth Bass. Dudley wishes he could go but it is not meant to be. Frank better take lots of pictures so Dudley will not miss out completely. Dudley is going to get Frank some crayfish pattern flies to take so he can try to catch some fish on his flyrod. Should be an epic fishing adventure in one of the most beautiful areas of the great State of Texas.
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