I read a small article in the Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO) recently that I'd like to share with you. It concerns charitible donations. It appears that donations are down in Colorado because of tight money and outdoor activities for kids has been curtailed because corporate donations are down. Now, our good President Bush visits our fair state for four hours and flies away with $1,000,000 of Colorado money for his reelection campaign. "Thank you, Colorado, for doing the right thing," I believe his parting words were.
Out of all the countries in the world, I'm sure there's a few that we don't have a military presence in so his work isn't done and needs another four years. But that's another story.
My point is, the well-off can write off $2000 (for a stale sandwich and a glimpse of the President of the United States, but can't afford to donate $100 for a worthwhile program such as Fishing for Kids. I'm not rich, far from it, but I can still afford to walk into Eagle Claw's store (we have a factory here in Denver, great place to shop) and buy a new fishing rod and reel for a kid who doesn't have one. I even throw in a pack of hooks and sinkers, a bobber or two, just for good measure. For $25, I've put a
on someone's face that may not have cracked a cheek muscle in months. We even have several well-stocked empoundments reserved just for kids (adults by invitation only and you'd better let the younger ones catch the first and biggest fish).
I don't know about anyone else but I think this countries priorities are screwed up. Any other thoughts on this subject?
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Hi johnincolorado,
I agree! Goveler Gumby here in California should be replaced with Zane Gray opps gone, Ernest Hemingway opps gone, maybe Curt Gowdey. Now that's focusing on the important things in life. What a world we could show the youth as an alternate to the trash generating centers we sometimes call the inner city.
JapanRon
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IT'S BEEN THAT WAY FOR ONE LONG TIME , THE WORD FUBAR WAS COINED IN WWII , I BELEVE , AND THAT SEEMS TO SUM IT UP EXACTALLY . BUT BEFORE WE GO BASHING OUR SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT , CAN YOU SHOW ME A BETTER ONE ? WE CAN AT LEAST CHANGE OUR'S .
WE HAVE THE RIGHT AND RESPONSIBILTY TO VOTE . THAT GIVES US THE CHANGE WE NEED .
I DO AGREE WITH YOU , WHAT'S UP WITH THE GOVERNMENT ? IF THERE WAS A RIOT IN AN MAJOR AMERICAN CITY , DO YOU THINK THEY WOULD CUT THE SAME SLACK TO US AS THEY ARE THE PEOPLE THAT WE ARE TRING TO LIBERATE NOW ? I DON'T THINK SO . I SAY JAIL THE PUNKS THAT ARE THROWING ROCKS AT OUR TROOPS , DON'T BACK OFF FROM THEM . JAIL THEM NOW OR THERE JUST LEARNING THAT THE U.S. WILL TOLIRATE MORE BEHAVIOR LIKE THAT . STOP THE CYCLE NOW !
I THINK THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY THAT AN INVADING FORCE HAS PUT UP WITH THIS BULL . I DON'Y LIKE IT !
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son your singing to the quirer here today.
bush reported several months ago that he is going to use his own money so he wont have a cap on his spending on his re-election fund.
where dose he get off dong this? why is he running fund raisers if he is going to use his own money? he should not be able to use both. and there should be a spending cap eather way.
this is sounding a lot like watergate all over again [unsure]
I agree with ya that spending $25.oo to keep a kid of the streets and off the drugs is by far better spent than giving a billion air more money than he needs to do his job.
frankly I dont beleive political donations should be deductable. mainly because it is an envestment not a donation. if your candidate prospers than you probably will also. if your candidate dosnt then you wont. I dont get re-emberced when I get a bad deal on the stock market. why should a rich man get one for buying a 1000 dollar plate so he can have the privalage to sit in the same room as a billion air?
yes when he was here in michigan a couple weeks ago the plates sold for $1000.oo each. and yes it was a sell out, my question is why wasnt he in office doing his job? if ya ask me the best way to show you want to keep your job is to keep your nose to the grind stone, I had to when I wanted to keep my job. I couldnt go out a partying or do a side job even if I were to make 5 million in just a couple hours shoveling monky grubs in to my face.
I sure am glad that I dont know any thing about all that lobying that goes on those few hours just before the plate is loaded.[shocked]
I am not just picking on him, I am picking on all of them, I lived in the heart of getoes for a while as a child and I can tell you that what ever goes on at the top just gets proverted by the time it hits the bottom of the pile and any break that can be given to a kid is worth more than all the gold you can lay on ceasor's plate.
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What I failed to mention is that he gave an award to a teenager for some civic work, that meant he didn't have to pay for using Air Force One because he performed an official Presidential act while here. It costs $4,000 a minute to operate that gas-guzzling aircraft.
The American public knew from the get-go that he had a fondness for the gas/oil, lumber and big business in general. Now we're reaping what we voted for. This has got to be the most openly corrupt, lie-in-your-teeth administration I've ever had the misfortune to witness (I first voted for Kennedy). Enough said. We could discuss this subject till Mars is populated, for all the good it'd do.
On another, more happy note, I've gotten emails from Blue Goose Tours saying that he can always use closed face fishing combo. Luckily, Eagle Claw has their factory nearby and I frequent them often (they have a well-stocked country store open to the public). And last night I figured out that the combo, broken down, will fit in a mailing tube very nicely, and postage doesn't bother me. I know there must be someone, an organization, somebody, here in Colorado that does the same thing, but I haven't been able to find them yet. Until I do, I'll be satisfied knowing that a kid elsewhere will have the opportunity to enjoy a day of fishing with his/hers very own fishing rod and reel. Sometimes I daydream about renting a big pontoon boat and taking a bunch of kids fishing for the day, but then the logistics of that project becomes overwhelming.
But then there's another forgotten segment of our society that has been shuffled to a dark corner, the elderly. Luckily, I don't count myself in the catagory, even if I am 59 years old and considered a disabled senior citizen. I drive by a nursing home everyday and see these still-mobile and active members of our society just sitting in a chair gazing out into nothing, as if drugged. And I wonder how many of them fished while younger and how many would love to sepnd a day fishing again. It is
to see these people confined to a home where every move is regulated and they can't just pack up and go fishing for a day. So there are two elements of socity that could use some recreation and I'm sure there are plenty more.
Whew!! Your email really got me wound up this morning, Dave. And I haven't even finished my first cup of coffee.
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It's every citizen's responsibility to question their elected officials. It always falls on deaf ears but we must continue trying. I'm a Vietnam Vet so I know about freedom and its sacrifices. I didn't realize just what a can of worms (pardon the pun) I'd open with my first post but now that it's out in the open, let's continue and figure out what we can do to change the system (using PETA members for alligator bait would be a good start) so that a good day of fishing is available to all. Of course any day fishing is a good day, by a fisherman's measuring tape.
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JOHN I AGREE WITH ALL THAT HAS BEEN SAID HERE JUST LAST WEEK I TOOK MY LITTLE BROTHER AND HIS FRIEND FISHING TO GET THERE FISHING MERIT BADGE{ BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA} THEY LOVED IT AND WANT TO GO WITH ME MORE OFTEN.
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That's better than finding a sack of freshly minted gold coins, isn't it? Another aspect of fishing, it isn't gender specific. Daughters welcome. When I was a Girl Scout Leader (yes, a crusty old fart like me lead a troop of Girl Scouts), I suggested taking all the girls fishing. Unfortunately, the parents didn't think it was a good idea simply because they didn't want to take the time to go (I couldn't fit 23 scouts in my truck) or were afraid that it would become habit forming. So I did the next best thing, I taught them to cast at our weekly meetings. In return, I designed them a Merit Badge and "everyone" earned one.
The down side to all this was the local Girl Scout Council wouldn't accept the badge because it wasn't in the Girl Scout training manual (7 & 8 year old girls don't read that manual), plus they didn't like my teaching them knife safety (with paper knives) or photography (with a Poloroid), things that weren't on the training schedule (my girls weren't interested in finger-painting t-shirts or making sprinkles on paper, they wanted to learn stuff from the real world). I even arranged to have a local game warden talk to them about animal wildlife and conservation (not the PETA garbage). Have you ever seen 23- rambuncious, full-of-energy kids sit still for an hour? These did, giving the game warden their full attention, undivided attention.
The point being, girls enjoy the outdoors, especially fishing when they catch fish, and are just as much fun as sons. My 28-y/o daughter still bugs me to take her fishing, when we can find a babysitter for my grandson. My 24-y/o daughter was disappointed when we didn't go fishing the last time she visited me from California. I have two granddaughter in Wisconsin that have their own fishing outfits, thanks to me, and bug my son-in-law to take them fishing (he doesn't enjoy the outdoors), and then take off and go with their friends. Fishing and being outdoors is the greatest anti-drug there is. My daughter in Cal tells me once in a while that she's run into an ex-GS member and they always ask about me, even when they have kids in tow. They remember those two years of my being their GS leader even after all these years, and they things they learned. If you can believe this, one girl, who turned out to be a beautiful model, wouldn't marry until she found someone who enjoyed fishing as much as she did. They now regularly travel the world, fishing while she's on assignment.
Things doesn't get any better that that and are memories I'll take to my grave. Take 'em fishing every chance you get, Shark_Hunter. You're making an investment in "their" future.
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I took my girlfriends niece fishing and she was more fun than anybody I have ever been fishing with.I have never seen anybody so excited that they caught a three inch sun fish. or so interested in just my tackle and all the "little fishies" that are in that box. I gave her a rubber fish and she still has it and it has been about a week she likes it more than any of her other toys. so if anybody gets the chance to take a child fishing I highly suggest it. good fishing to you all.
joe
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I couldn't agree with you more, Shark Hunter, unless I wrote a proclamation and posted it on the White House website. Unfortunately, there are a few animals out there who spoil it for the rest of us. I'm talking about pediophils and their twisted way of thinking. One ruined my shortlived, but enjoyable, career as a Girl Scout Leader. I hope the SOB burns in hell.
Anyway. I've been looking for any organization here that takes kids fishing for their first time, and just another fishing trip, but nothing yet. Everybody would love to take my money but not my time and participation. I'm being particular on this, it has to be taking kids fishing or nothing. I'd be happy to pile them in my '03 Silverado and drive them to a nice little lake where they can hook into a pan-size trout and feel the pull of a native fish on a light line. When my granddaughters visited me last year, their first request for recreation was fishing, and they are 16 and 18 with raging harmones. Unfortunately, my grandson is only six months old so I have a time to wait for him but I've already have his fishing outfit picked out. For my greatnieces first birthday, I gave her a Eagle Claw fishing rod and reel with a small tackle box. She is now ready to try it out, she's three now. I even wrote an article for Senior Citizens Magazine (it's an on-line mag) about taking my granddaughters fishing, complete with pictures.
There's a lot of enjoyment and self-satisfaction in taking a youngster fishing, either his/hers first time or not. My hat's off to you (pardon the glare from my bald head), Shark Hunter. I expect to hear more from you on the joys of taking kids fishing.
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I agree that he should burn in hell. I am only nineteen and when I have kids I look forward to taking them fishing but for now it will have to be my girlfriends niece and my little brother. but that is still fun. don't worry about the glare. I also took one of my friends fishing for the first time and it was just as much fun and he is twenty. it is so much fun just to watch somebody catch thier first fish I don't care who it is. have you ever thought about the boy scouts? but I hope that you can find something that will allow you to teach kids to fish. keep me posted.
joe
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As a matter of fact, I have tried the Boy Scouts but the Scout leaders think they are fully qualified and don't need any help. What a
state of affairs.
I'm 59 and it just makes my heart go pitter patter to hear that some of the younger generation love to fish, and to take others. I have a son who will be 32 and lives in Huntington Beach, and he loves to fish. He even takes his girlfriend. I must have done something right along the way.
Good fishing, Shark Hunter, you're making a lot of good memories.
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I HOPE THAT YOU FIND A PROGRAM THAT TAKES KIDS FISHING. BUT IT HAS BEEN A PLEASURE TALKING WITH YOU AND IF YOUR EVER INT HE SALT LAKE AREA LET ME KNOW WE CAN DROP A LINE IN THE WATER OR SOMETHING.
JOE
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Hey there johnincolorado,
John! I thought you were enviornmentally correct. With the Alligators finally coming back from being endangered in Florida, you want to poison a poor little innocent creature of the wild, well maybe not that little, with a PETA member.
Viet Nam vet here too. 1st Batt/9th Marines, Quang Tri, 68-69.
JapanRon
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Navy here. 1963,64 and 65. 1967,68and 69. Fleet oilers and some riverine duty, that's where I got the shrapnel in my leg. Semper Fi.
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Hey there johnincolorado,
Semper Fi
JapanRon
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to both of you and all your comrads ,
THANK YOU !
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