Called Linda McCallister, my fishing reporter from Dains Fish Farm to be sure she gets the paper. She said she does and sees that I put in exactly what she reports. She said, “That is kinda scary.” She said that she sees that she may have a little info on fishing and another reporter has the rest of the story. I remember when Linda knew they were catching cats from the bank up at Schell but that’s all. Ruth Foreman told me that week what they were using for bait and the size of the fish. That’s the way it works.

I remember when Sheriff Frog Morlan told me you don’t need a good memory if you tell the truth every time. He said it will all line up.

I guess most of you know there are two Kenny Longs in town. That’s why we list our phone as Kimball so we won’t get his calls. Some people saw that and thought we got a divorce. One night Frog was looking for me to give me some information on a case and wound up on the other Kenny Long’s doorstep. Kenny said his life flashed before his eyes when he opened the door and saw it was the sheriff.

– I didn’t say anything last week about the sudden death of Nancy Brown. Our condolences to Ron and the rest of the family. We first heard about it in a text message to Kimball from Bob Leeper.

– We got the usual warning from the police chief to share with you: Don’t be shooting no fireworks in town ‘cept during the day on the 4th. Haven’t shot off any in years. Last time I did a rocket that was supposed to go straight up got to about waist high and headed for Davis who was standing 30 feet away. Davis stepped behind a 4×4 deck support and let it take the punishment from the sharp black point. Made me cringe.

We’re putting the area fireworks shows on Page 1 so you can let someone else take the risk and the expense. I noticed that Wilbur no longer sets off the big aerial stuff – bowing to the wishes of his insurance company, I suppose.

– I remember several years ago when Kendall Vickers and I celebrated the 4th by fishing in some strip pits near Walker that have since sold. They were a bass haven. Randy Akers at the Daily Mail told me about catching fish on the sand points that had washed in over the years.

We discovered what they were eating and various fishing partners and I caught (and released) hundreds over the next several years. I only released one that I still regret. She hit a balsa diving bait as soon as it hit the water, charged the boat and jumped, throwing the bait within 10 ft. of the front of the boat. My partner that day, Dan Hare, from New Orleans, had caught bass up to 10 lbs. in Florida and said this one looked bigger than that. Dan always went to a hospital personnel administrator’s conference and on his way home stopped here during the Picnic.

Dan has retired so I won’t be distracted this year. KL