Here it is....nicely written John.
Sometime back in late December, I put an important sidebar next to my column. It warned about the closing of tail waters at some dams to fishing. I urged sportsmen and women to contact their congresspersons protesting this stupid move by the Corps of Engineers.
Then it all got quiet for a while. It seemed nobody but a few outdoor writers were concerned. And maybe Lamar Alexander got a little concerned.
Finally, it made front-page news and folks got all excited and Ole Lamar, he jumped in and got elbow deep. Dang! That is some good punkins right there. But will it do any good? The Corps sorta has the attitude that we can holler all we want, they are going to do what they dang well please. But it might do some good.
It sure might. If he is able to get the Corps to do some kind of feasibility study and Congress has to mull it over first, you bet Aunt Ida�s china settin egg it will do some good. Congress will take well over a year to do anything and then, probably will not do anything and the whole magilla will end up as lost as last year�s Easter egg.
That is as it should be. The entire plan is just meadow muffins with no logical, factual background. Just some dude with an eagle or something on his shirt collar making a final decree.
I think the Corps of Engineers is way off base in trying to close the dam tail waters to boats. See, any idiot that does something stupid is liable to kill himself or others. We cannot legislate against stupidity. You run a boat up next to the generators when they are running full blast, that is stupid.
There is a real good chance you and whoever is in the boat with you is going to get all wet and maybe drowned. This is in spite of every dam I have ever been to being covered up with warning signs. Do you think there is sufficient reason to keep perfectly sane anglers from fishing that area even when there is no generation?
Think about it. They only generate about 25% of time. That means, 75% of the time, it is perfectly safe. It is a little like saying, �We will get our feet wet if we step in the yard, every time it rains. So let us fence off the yard and keep folks feet dry.� That is stupid.
So see, that is my opinion. I do not think the authorities, should allow the Corps to close that water to boats. You can still fish from the bank. Apparently, the Corps does not think people fall in while fishing from the bank. See, stupid! That is my opinion and I have no trouble espousing it.
Reckon they are going to seriously change anything in firearm ownership? We can worry about that some more. I sure do not and never did think so. Oh, they�ll blow and go for a while and toughen up the background check for a time but that is about it. Too much weight against them, as in money. Too many levelheaded folks walking around. Too many people realize gun control does not keep people from killing other people. Has no impact at all.
I didn�t see it but somebody told me a reader wrote a letter to the editor kinda protesting my column on gun control. Way I heard it, he wrote I was using my column to voice my political view. Well, if I had a political view, I reckon he is dead on right. Anything that affects the sportsmen and women of this country deserves to be written about in an outdoor column. I see nothing wrong with whoever writes that column, telling it as they see it. Therefore, for whoever wrote that letter, here is another column you can write a letter about.
Well, that is a couple things we can worry about. Of course, it will not do us a bit of good but we can worry about them. You call or email your elected officials, voice your opinion and that is about the best you can do. Then, you move on to important matters. I�ll write a newspaper column about them.
Right now, I am concerned regarding just when the bass are going to move up, down in AL. Sir Pitman and I have a fishing tournament scheduled. He is going to fish with antique equipment and use 1.5 hands. I will use my regular gear and use both and hands maybe a foot. So, I shall worry about that.
There is quite a large gobbler near my house. He sounds off every morning. I worry that either he will move before the season opens or Senor Whitener will kill him before I do.
I have things to worry about that I can maybe do something about. I will worry about those and the ones I cannot do anything about, well; I�ll just leave them to the folks in Washington. That way, absolutely nothing will happen.
