A Day of Infamy

So many have done so much over the years for all of the rest of us that it seems apropos that I take a minute to pause & say thanks on behalf of a grateful nation for the military sacrifices *(up to & including loss of life) that our men & women in uniform have (& continue) made.

Today marks the 69^th anniversary of that early Sunday morning in 1941 when an audacious & cowardly surprise attack by the Japanese on the Naval Facility at Pearl Harbor left over 2400 personnel dead and over 1200 injured. The plan of the Japanese to thwart military involvement by the US failed. World War II ensued. America bandaged its wounds & came out swinging.

Then & now the thoughts & prayers of the American people are with our military!

Cheesy Fishing Shirts

Every fisherman (or woman) worth his/her salt (or fresh) water will invariably have a collection of cheesy fishing shirts. This unwritten rule is the angler’s way of advertising their passion for their favorite sport.

People like Guy Harvey, Ron Jon (is that his real name?), & Christian Riese Lasson have made tons of dough creating clothing (and all sorts of other accessories) with fish (and other aquatic animals) on them.

Since I have never been in the habit (I don’t have a single Harvey t-shirt) of running with the “big dogs” (aforementioned) that’s where for me the “cheese” factor comes in. You see there is this whole subset of casual fishing-inspired wear by much lesser (if at all) known artisans. If you don’t know what I mean check any Goodwill or Salvation Army for budget-conscious choices as there are likely many shirts to be found there that have “accidentally” been “donated” by a caring (but insensitive) spouse.

It kind of goes without saying that to the angler whether they go mainstream or other stream in their attire choices it is almost guaranteed that their spouse will disdain or at very least look on with raised eyebrow when their sweetheart busts out his or her favorite fish shirt. Since the confused spouse is not dazed and confused by the overpowering urge to “represent” even while not in the act of fishing itself they just shrug.

In my fish shirt collection there are several standouts which I have included here for your assessment. My wife cringes when the black one comes out and has kindly asked that I not wear it when we are together if at all possible. I have done my best to honor this request but I cannot bring my self to jettison the shirt as I think it may have some really good karma and anglers are a somewhat superstitious lot. The yellow shirt featuring a fisherman and a small jon boat has been my lucky fishing shirt for years. When the chips are down or the bugs are up I break it out. I don’t think it’s been washed at all this year and it has remained in the trunk of the car (along with my fishing rod) so it’s handy at all times.

If you don’t collect fishing shirts you should. It’ll give your spouse something really legitimate to complain about.

Whew!

Today John Isner of the US was able to knock off Nicholas Mahut of France after 3 days of play. I listened to it via the web as e world cup was on both ESPN stations. It was an incredible event that will not soon (likely never be repeated). 

From Wikipedia:
Longest professional match: The Wimbledon 2010 first round match in which John Isner took 11 hours and 5 minutes to defeat Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(7), 7-6(3), 70-68 over the three day period of 22–24 June 2010.[2][3] The fifth set was the longest set in history as determined by both duration and number of games (8 hours 11 minutes, 138 games); the set itself would have broken the duration (previous record: 6 hours 33 minutes)