"Tale of the Tackle Box" . . .
based on a True story . . .
i'm not really a "fisherman" in the classic sense.
my dad would take me fishin', but he spent so much time
showing me how to do it, i never got to try it myself.
In all those years, neither one of us caught a fish.

i had a friend who was a big sportsman
offer to take me fishin' one day.
i could hardly wait for that morning!
He picked me up in this huge Suburban
with this even bigger "Bass Pro Bass Tracker"
boat, fully loaded with every kind of gadget imaginable!
"Like shooting fish in a barrel", i thought to myself !

Long story short, we got out on the lake,
and this guy pulls out two tackle boxes
filled to the brim with every lure known to
God and man. The electronics on board
looked like NASA Mission Control !
"Man, we're gonna SLAY em" i thought to myself !
All day, every day for a week and NO fish !!!
"Fishing Sucks" i said Real Loud !

So, me and the wifey move to Michigan,
to find Jesus and to get away from chicago
and all my Bad Company friends(they followed anyway).
So anyway, there i am, readin' my Bible and who walks up?
my religion hating, psycho drill instructor neighbor, Jerry.
"Jesus", i say to myself, "what the heck does he want" ?
"Hey" he says, "wanna go fishin' " ?
"Get the hell (oops) heck out of here" i'm thinking.
"When "? i ask, "i'm kinda of busy".
"Right now, lets go"! i am not going to argue with this nut.
So we jump in this beat up Chevy pickup,
attached to this yellow spray painted boat
with lawn chairs strapped to the hull.
Inside was a beat up tackle box, and two poles.
i remember groaning a vowel and thinking,
"This is going to be painful"...

Long story short, Jerry used three kinds of bait,
A plastic worm called a "Texas Rig".
Meal worms on little hooks, on an ultra lite rod.
and a lure he called a popper.
Every time and every day, we caught, me included,
Fish! bass, walleye, rainbow and brown trout,
salmon that were at least five feet long (no lie)!

Jerry taught me more about fishing, hunting, trapping
and life, than anyone i ever met.
The best was, he taught me more about God,
Jerry was very hard on religion and christians.
He offended me everyday in the beginning,
but as i got to know him i realized he wanted me to prove
what i said i believed. Because he wanted to believe too.
Once he said, "the Bible was a lot like a tackle box,
full of a lotta expensive crap, worthless,
if you don't know how to use it" !
When i thought of my other friends "Boxes",
i had to admit, Jerry was right.
i wasn't expecting that, not bad for a psycho!

When Jerry's wife found out he believed in God
she was thrilled, Jerry was a Bad man to live with.
i know he was, Was.
Hey Jer, i heard you and Kath moved to Ohio somewhere,
wherever you are, i owe ya and Love and Miss you !

P.S. me and Jerry took my dad fishin' before he died,
me and Jerry talked about catchin' fish and knowin' God.
my dad made fun of that plastic worm at first,
but after we caught a ton of fish, he was a "Believer"
it was healing for the two of us. Thanks Again Jerry.
That one made me cry, Paw