Ooops. I caught your ear...

Kramer's Resort Big Swan Lake in Dassel, Minnesota was a usual vacation spot for our family. Due to my sister Cindy's health, we tried to stay close to home and Dassel allowed us just that. The cabins were fun and offered a lot of room for everyone. The swimming was great and the lake offered many varieties of fish. One day, Dad and Mr. Kramer were on the dock casting for Northerns. A Northern is a big fish that would have most likely pulled me into the lake had I ever hooked onto one...

I watched the two men throwing their lures time and time again. I decided I wanted to be a Northern fisherman too. Armed with my eight foot long cane pole, I began casting. Or maybe a better word is "throwing" my lure of nightcrawlers on a hook into the water.

After a few attempts, Dad warned me to stop. I was going to catch someone with the hook. What did he know? With that, I leaned back to hurl the worm into the dark, murky water. I tried to make my cast but it seemed I was caught on something. I heard a scream. I turned and had hooked Dad in the ear. Huh, what do you know, I laughed. The old man was right. I did hook somebody. I did the only thing I could. I ran. All the way back to the cabin and into the bed. I shut the door quickly and put a chair against the door. This would keep him out. The only problem was that the door opened the other direction and Dad entered the room quite easily. I received my beating and the next scene out the window was Dad breaking my canepole into a million different little pieces.....

He and Mr. Kramer never did catch their Northern...


Joe