"Life thoughts Archives '06"

Just for sheer entertainment...

"Questions, questions, but nothing really to say!"

Have you been telling the same stories over and over again?  Are your conversations with others feeling stale and you feel like you are starting to sound mundane or worse yet, gossiping?  Just not much new to tell that is worthy, ya' know, same old thing?  Are you sounding like someone that is retired with "good 'ol day" stories? Has it been a while since you have been out paddling?   "Don't just sit and quit!"  Maybe it is time for some fresh stories!

"Hanging with my little masked friends..."

On a recent hot weather, evening paddle event, I found a little still water bayou branch off the Eleven Point River and paddled up in to it.  It was very close to our house.  I did not know it was there!  The fish were jumping as I quietly paddled in.  They startled me, a couple of them, as they were pretty big and right next to my kayak paddle!  Then two deer jumped up from being "bedded down" and couldn't have been 10 feet from me on the island between the river and the bayou branch, again startling me!  They made my heart jump a bit because they were so close.  It started feeling eerie, like I was in uncharted territory and invading the natives.  Nature can do that when you don't expect it!  I Loved it, not knowing what was indeed lurking.  They were messing with my senses for sure!  Now feeling like a real adventure, I continued with caution waiting for the next "start".  As I finished exploring the wildlife in the little bayou I came out and quietly slipped across the down stream edge of the island.  This brought me up the main river channel as I coasted my kayak upon two young raccoons.  They were playing on the island, full black eyed masks and tail colors coming in, but still fuzzy bodies and short little legs.  I quietly slid right up on them, maybe 4 feet away if that much, lightly beaching my kayak.  They didn't see me for about 3 minutes as I sat very still and watched.  Then I started softly talking to them, getting a little louder as I spoke.  They finally noticed me and we had a few minutes together, very close, looking at me repeatedly and cocking their heads with an apparent curious expression.  They had no problem with me being there as they played around together.  They must have known that I had no ill intentions but wanted to just be with them.  They "hung with me", as I softly talked to them.  I slowly eased out as I said goodbye, leaving them for hopes of a welcome return visit someday.  With all the spooks I got, and the "little raccoon" event, it was a fantastic short paddle experience.  I got to "hang" with the wildlife as we got to know each other a little bit.  What a difference a few minutes on the water can make for me.  I reeled in it for hours.  

I didn't think to take my camera this trip, darn it!  The pictures would have been "intimate", a true addition to my photo collecting fun.  So... what have you been up to?

"What do you do, way out there?  Isn't it boring living in the sticks?"

Folks do seem to be up for excitement it seems.  To me, we have intense excitement.  There is dangers in the landscape that come with rivers and moving water, weather and natural forces that can rearrange that rugged landscape "right before your very eyes", especially when you happen to be there to witness it.  It  humbles me...  There is a lot of excitement when nature rears its head.  We recently saw roaring rivers and side creeks during plummeting rains of 7+ inches in 7 hours.  It blanketed the Missouri - Arkansas state line, our Eleven Point Watershed area, as well as many other reported areas.  Be prepared, be high enough, be observant, and stay put!  We pulled things to high ground from the riverfront, watched the water rise, and "stayed put"!  The county roads were awful the next morning!  Many were impassable from water damage, several places on the same dirt road!  Glad we stayed home!  We could have gotten caught between any two of the washed out road spots!  The water power in the lower section in the Eleven Point River "moved things around" with unbelievable power!  A side stream by our house kicked out several 100+ lb square shaped rocks!  Wow!  Yes, intense excitement!

"Well... Hi."  

No Rat like a Muskrat...  

"What is right?"

OK.. rightly so, upright, a big right-o, right on the spot, and right in time.  Correctly right, and of course handled right, right nicely and neighborly, while acting right, everything really looking all right.   Straight up though, maybe a twitch to the right.  With all of this, it is just plain, well,  "right". What is this about?  Order from us, work with us, and you shall see.  We got your boat...

"Quote of the times we're in..." 

This is AWESOME! Thank you so much Bill. "Luckie" is in great shape, no problems, all went well. She is sitting atop the truck on my Yakima rack.  The girls are going to freak out when I get this home.  Maybe someday I will look into kayaks also, I will come your way if I do.  Best of luck to you, and God Bless!  Thank you for everything.  Claude

Have you forgot how to "play"?

Claude, his wife, and girls too are going to love their new 3 seater Osprey 155 Canoe.  This one got named Luckie!  The reason?  The first canoe sent to him had received rare shipment damage, and and after "old system" delays before our new shipment guarantee, Luckie finally arrived to him and was lucky to be theirs for sure!  We aren't perfect, but it ended up right.  Indeed very right it appears.  Luckie is now a part of the family, loved all the more.  Thanks Claude, for sure...

Sometimes there is a purpose beyond our comprehension.  Life can be perfectly patterned by design, and sometimes not.  We all see examples as we go through our daily lives of both perfection and confusion, with no rhyme or reason.  When we see it, it stops us dead in our tracks...

(Click on the picture if you want to see a close up.  Click back on your browser to get here again)

"A hard lesson learned fast.  Go paddle, be a more fun person?  Maybe..."

I was talking to my "still best friend", several years back, but remembered one statement about the conversation to this day!  I started a typical conversation but this one was about someone else, a comment or opinion I had about this person.  I didn't really give it much thought, but started in, voicing my opinion of this person.  My friend stopped me cold in my tracks.  He said, "I don't talk about other people."  What else have you been doing.  Ever since then, I have had a lot to say!  The topics though take effort, to get out and make the stories happen with experiences.  I learned not to talk about others, those many years ago.  I have also learned it takes effort to experience life, and to have something to talk about!  Now I am full of great conversation, and heading out on adventures to make more!  Does that make me more fun?  I dunno, but a startling "one line lesson", I will never forget...  

Paddler's Digest, "where your life, and the wildlife meet"...

"I am a good listener honey!  Really!"

My kayak caught me talking to myself in my 'shed' this weekend.  The kayak was sitting there, ever-ready to paddle as she always is.  I was worried about what to do, contemplating a major purchase.  A motor boat would be fun for our river, a little jet boat that I could race up and down, get anywhere I want, and quick too!  But the fuel, the down payment...  My boat is listening.  She is saying, "Take me, take me"!  I didn't hear of course, as my wife will tell you.  Then there are the payments, every month, for several years probably...  "Take me, take me", my kayak persisted... Then there is the insurance, the tires on the trailer, the battery that never lasts...  "Take me, take me", my kayak said again.  But again I wasn't listening.  To make a loan on a motor boat, I would have to take out a major loan.  Now that is an inquiry on my credit report, not to mention another loan to add to my list of credit lines.  That would drop my credit score as any major purchase does.  "Take me, take me", my kayak is turning colors now, trying to get my attention.  I always see the reality when I paddle I thought, as I spun around to see the kayaks setting there, my old faithful yellow boat.  She is not so attractive, but was a kayak that I took that was left over, and adopted her a few years back as one that no one else wanted.  I do love that ugly, pale yellow boat.  I then thought to myself, why don't I just take my kayak down to the water and surf around our little rapid while I contemplate this kind of big purchase.  A few minutes in the boat, and she handled "so sweet" by the way, I thought, "That's it!"  Like a revelation out of the blue, I just need to paddle more and "Take her" out more often!  This is way too much fun, and no payments, no gasoline to burn up, no insurance, no tires, no maintenance, my credit report is safe from dropped credit score for things coming up that might be important.  ...and I can get a Brand New kayak for the price of a motor boat down payment!  It was then that I dumped.  It was totally unexpected.  I still can't figure out why...

Human Nature and Mother Nature sometimes conflict in a big way.  You will see what I mean.  Let’s take a few major weather and natural forces for examples;

• Hurricane:  What should we do?  Evacuate, evacuate, evacuate!  What do we do? Desire to stay and "Experience the Hurricane"!

• Volcano:  What should we do?  Again evacuate, evacuate, evacuate!  What do we do?  Want to go see it, thinking we are at a safe distance.  Is any visual distance safe from a major erupting Volcano?

• Earthquake: What should we do?  Get outside and away from buildings!  What do we do? Hide under something in the comfort and safety of our home.

• Flash Flood:  What should we do?  Never cross that bridge!  What do we do?  “I need to get to the other side.  I can make it!”  

• Tornado:  What should we do?  Hide in the basement or the lowest level of your home.  What do we do? Run outside to see it, and maybe get a picture?

Animals seem to know, and why don't we?  We are more intelligent than animals, right?  Curiosity can indeed kill the cat...

We laugh at squirrels in the road...

You know what I am talking about.  When a car comes up on a squirrel at highway speeds, the squirrel darts around like he has no idea which way to run!  Look at it from this perspective.  What if a big tornado was coming at you, "freight train roar" and all as a squirrel might feel under his feet.  You, for the moment, are not sure which way it was coming!  You are in the middle of the road, and know you do not have but a split second to make your decision.  I would probably dart around like that squirrel too!  Tornados are huge and dangerous to us, moving at highway speeds many times, and can flatten us like car tires on the highway.  When you look at it like that, I am amazed that squirrels do survive many times, running around under our tires, to come out, still alive!  I rest my case...

Touché Global Warming!

Support your local gasoline CUSTOMER.  Leave the gas guzzler toys at home and go paddle this summer!  Maybe the prices will go down with less demand this year from everyone!  "Take that", You big oil companies, You!  Ya' think?  

"The impact that the outdoors has on you is directly related to the length of time you are there.  Five minutes, no long term effect, possibly generating an "impulse";  Two days, a refreshing break with some clarity from thinking; A week or longer, a renewed prospective. This amount of clarity in your thinking might change you entire life."  New!  Life Thoughts 06!

We have a blood pressure remedy for you.  

Take two "kayaks", before you go to "drive".  Get some rest, "on the river" for two days...

Generation "M" - Kids of the 90's

Generation M.  This is the new name for this young generation of multi-taskers, text messaging while watching TV, playing a video game, and surfing the net, while chatting online.  I think any small business person is a multi-tasker, so maybe they are preparing themselves to be successful in business, mopping the floor while thinking what is the best way to go to market, and answering the phone.  It is good in my opinion, but one must stay diversified.  I have a multi task challenge for them.  Get your gear out of your kayak or canoe for a night on the river, get the fire going, set up your tent, get the food cooked, with a great fire pit, utilizing fireside culinary talents for superb taste with some sort of effort to presentation, before sunset, and be able to turn in at a decent hour, while reflecting on life, and planning your trip for the next day, while cleaning up and putting away your gear for the night.  It truly is multi-tasking many times throughout the evening.  Besides, that cell phone or computer "does you no good" out here...

Scenery Surprise!

One spring morning we got a surprise here on the Eleven Point River in the South Missouri, Ozarks.  This is a preparation phase for the nurturing of the plants, seeds, and trees.  Gone already, the greenery is to follow shortly.  (Click on the picture for a larger version, then back to get here again.)

"Patience has virtue.  Boy Howdy!  It seems if you take a small snapshot in time, it is never accurate.  It can be the stock market, the relationship you are in, or even a short term ailment.  During that snapshot you can look broke and feeling bad.  Just wait a week, and all will look totally different as your next snapshot in time approaches that you can look at.  This one might make you feel rich, happy, and feeling great!  Any small snapshot in time in the wilderness however, always works..."

"Bring whatever ya' got!  As long as you get out!"

So you have paid for a boat, waiting for it to arrive, or coming to get it soon.  This is for you.  You know who you are:

We talk to our Canoes and Kayaks, here at ORC.  Are we crazy?  Maybe.  But what better companion can you have?  Don't answer that out loud to your spouse, or your dog.  (Although your dog would not get mad at you...)  Boats take on an individual personality around here.  Each and every boat is important to someone, their partner for years to come, a companion that one never forgets.  Each has personality, acts different too, because of their individual characteristics.  They have individual looks too: brightness; presentation; regal stances.  You got it.  There are runts and big boys, beauties, even sporting types of many kinds.   When a boat gets bought, we tag it with your name, and it immediately knows he or she got adopted and gets very excited.  The buzz stirs around the room.  "I got an owner!", they proudly boast.  The other boats while happy for the one adopted, is disappointed in the moment, still knowing their time is coming.  "ORC gets all boats matched up with owners and out the door, don't they?"  They have moments of doubt but hold faith in us because when it is their turn, the buzz around the room of boats starts once again for them this time.  Even the ones nestled together in the back waiting comfortably, well, they all know.  The day the owners come to pick up their boat it seems all boats look at them and say, "pick me too!"  As they all can never go at once, it gets quiet again, until the phone rings or the next shopper hits the door.  The buzz stirs again as they watch us approach each of them wondering who gets tagged next.  The boats are also excited to take the truck ride.  They all leave together, that week's load of lucky adoptees, as they have been prepped for their day.  All dressed with labels with owners names and bright stickers, they stand out in the room for their moment.  Again on this Friday, many leave at once and the room gets quiet again as there are less boats left in the room to talk to.  They all are looking for homes, some setting in a big Old Town warehouse for a while after being born, ready for that day they get to go out and serve masters, their friends, dog companions too.  They finally feel like a "fish in water".  We know you are waiting for your boat, just like a new found friend is coming to be with you.  Your boat feels the very same way about you, counting the hours before it leaves.  Don't forget to name your canoe, your kayak, be it a he or a she.  If all else fails, just call your boat "Bob".  He will love that too.  Learn to work with him, get to know him and take care of him.  He will always be ready to look and act like he is made to, like a loyal friend, with that individual personality, any day you are...

We caught this pair of otters swimming the currents, fishing and playing.  When you see otters on the rivers in Missouri,  look for eagles too.  Many bald eagles follow the otters for a free fish meal that might be left.  (Click on the picture for a larger version.  Click back to get here again.)

"Have you ever noticed that everything seems loud when you get back from an outdoor trip?  Noise pollution..."

Did we think the 2006 Winter Olympics were boring, mundane, and NBC did a poor job?  

We do not hesitate to say, this has been some of the best Winter Olympics we have ever watched!  NBC did a great job, covered events well, dedicated the time and energy to do so.  Italy was a superb host, could not have been more fitting for them to win the cross country skiing event at the end, and my hats off to the Italians for a job well done!  It is beautiful there, isn't it?  I want to visit!  Thanks for having us!  The competitors and events, some real unforgettable moments!  The Flying Tomato commanded that great new young folks sport of  snow boarding in the half pipe.  Wow!  Apollo Ohno, that 500 meter dual against the Koreans was awesome!  The perfect race!  The Koreans, now that kid is fast!  Incredible racers this year.  The downhill, that Mancuso can fly!  She deserves it, tiara and all!  A little princess that works hard.  The Chicago skater rocked!  Davis?  Two medals!  He is buds with Apollo too, a grand fellow American for sure!  The skaters, the skeletons, what an awesome time!  The only thing that makes us sad with this year's best world wide outdoor events?  They are over, but a fun television marathon we will surely remember.  Hurry up 2010 Winter Olympics, Vancouver!  We are already want more!!!

Tweener or Sp-pedition.  A spirited debate?  We're not worked up.  Are we?

Tweener is a phrase I have heard a lot lately among boaters.  It means "between styles" in kayak choices.  An example is a rec/touring style kayak.  Touring boats are rollers, for the Eskimo roll.  A rec/touring (the tweener), is built for speed like a touring kayak, just not a roller for extreme condition recovery like being way out there on a large lake or bay.  Adversely in size and boating style the whitewater kayak is also a roller with the thigh braces and the small cockpit size for neoprene skirts for recovery in whitewater conditions.  The tweener in a rec/whitewater capable kayak is also not a roller.  It is however a recreational kayak that is capable of surfing stunts in easy rapids, as well as the roominess found in a recreational style kayak.  I guess all of us recreational kayakers are tweeners.  

I am "picking up on it" that some paddlers have an attitude (Paddlers have attitudes?), that tweener boaters are dweebs, because we are not there for their same chosen extreme activities.  I just challenge these young and cocky (opinionated ones) extreme boaters to stay in these same tippy and tight fitting boats when they get old.  I like class one and two, easier rivers.  I relax.  I am already old.   I never traded my kayak in for the station wagon.  We challenge you.  We are watching as you grow older.  Lets do a 12 mile day float.  Bring your hole playing whitewater boat, I'll take my tweener.  You will feel cramped with your shoe horn fit, have no room for gear, be super slow for this longer trip, not much of a day tripping explorer.  We call them "whiners" then.  I think I will call my tweener a "sp-pedition" boat.  I can "sport" around, or do an "expedition", comfortably!  Who chooses a limited use boat now, the non-tweeners, right?  Maybe as a "second boat".  By the way, we do have a roll.  We just choose to stay upright at this point.  

Fun with naming your boat:

We have had some real fun with customers in the naming of canoes and kayaks here at ORC.  There are discussions like; all boats have women's names.  Is that true?  Guess it is in history, but many of our boats have masculine names too.  We have seen "Dimples", a kayak with an experience that left her with a couple of dimples on her bow side.  She was proud to get adopted, presented in all her "dimples" feature and glory.  You could almost see a bow smile when she left.  Then there was "Prudence".  This was a high end boat that got bought just the right short week of "off season" ebay listing changes.  I mean who knew?  This prudent owner had been camping out and watching the auctions.  I mean what a deal!  Very prudent for sure.  Then there was Chaser, went to Chicago, (downtown soho building residents,  fast paced lifestyle, owners).  Chaser was a birthday surprise from a great girlfriend to her guy.  With her paddling in the front seat with him, he will always be chasing her everywhere they go together, when they take that break from their "chasing lifestyle".  Very appropriate name for sure.  What about Bob.  You know, Bob in the water?  We talk about him a little, as a name to fill a need.  I knew a great dog name Bob, God rest his soul. To me well, it has a different meaning.  You can do anything with the name of your boat, but give her, or he, the respect of picking one out.  I mean, it is easier to say you are taking, "Deliverance" out, rather than explain you are going float tripping.  It just seems, well... fitting.   

We hope you have been informed and entertained!  Thanks for visiting!  ORC...