As we celebrate this holiday season we should be extra thankful for family and friends when we gather to celebrate Christmas. I find it hard to imagine the grief that the families of those small children and teachers of Newtown are suffering during what is supposed to be a most joyous time of the year for all. As a parent and grandparent I find it incomprehensible that anyone could do such an act.

My first reaction was anger, then sadness and finally a feeling of helplessness when I think about the direction that some in our society are heading. The first thing to be brought up is gun control; yup, stricter gun laws will solve the problem — right? There are laws against illegal drugs — how’s that working out for us? We really need to find the reason that the person or persons on the other end of the gun do these despicable acts.

Just a thought; there are many video games out there where the object is to blow up or kill your opponent; does this make it difficult for some people to distinguish the difference between fantasy and reality?

With that being said, please keep the families of those who left us much too soon in your thoughts and prayers — I know that I will.

 

Time for ice fishing

With the first hardening of the water on our area lakes there were portable fish houses and folks sitting buckets popping up all over the channel by Frank Hall Park. Evidently these fishermen are light on their feet because the same day that they were standing on 2 inches of new ice law enforcement officials were chasing kids off Fountain Lake. Not being that much of a thin ice guy I know that I am missing out on the early ice fishing, which is supposed to be the best time of the season for hard water fishing. This is truly a fact that I will never be able to attest to personally because it could be said that I’m just a hard water version of the fair weather fisherman. I really desire thick ice under my feet before I venture out. This could probably be the reason why I usually don’t have much luck when it comes to ice fishing.

I will, however, be looking forward to fishing with my oldest grandson, Trevor, at least a couple of times this winter. He has a new fish house this year so it’s a given that he’ll be spending a lot of time on the ice. Trevor knows how to catch fish, and I’d like to think that time spent hanging out with grandpa over the years has had some influence on him. Like his grandpa he sure loves spending time in the outdoors. In my case, the main ingredient for mixing up a recipe for successful fishing is time; yes, time spent on a lake increases your chances of success. Trevor spends a lot of his time doing whatever outdoor activity the season warrants. I rarely see him during hunting season because when he isn’t working he is hunting and the same can be said for the fishing season. I don’t know which season is his favorite; “hard water fishing” or the open water of summer but whichever it is, he is very good at it.

This past week I also had a chance to spend time with my old friend the “scoop” which came in handy for moving the snow our first winter storm had left us with. I had gotten the scoop from Uncle Ben many years ago. A friend of his that worked at Queens made them and since Ben had bought a snow blower so he didn’t feel like he needed it any more. I had now graduated from a shovel to the scoop. To me, making this step up from the old shovel to the scoop was almost like when the caveman (Ed) discovered fire. It sure made my life easier on those snowy winter days.

The first significant snowfall always seems to bring out that “kid” feeling in me. While I have never really minded shoveling snow there are some times when it can be a little overwhelming. In some winters we have had so much snow that eventually a person runs out of places to put it, that’s when a snow blower does come in handy. I actually have a snow blower that I haven’t taken the time to dig out of my shed yet, but I actually do like hanging out with the old scoop whenever I can.

It was just a couple of weeks ago that I had my granddaughter Emma at the house when a few snowflakes started falling. She started calling out excitedly; “Papa, Papa, it’s snowing!” It’s fun to see how excited a child can get over something as simple as a few snowflakes. She’s only 3 but I’d bet that as much as she likes playing outdoors she was probably thinking “get enough of these snowflakes and I’ll be playing in the snow.”

Until next time, have very Merry Christmas and remember the true meaning of Christmas and why we celebrate it with family and friends.

Please remember to keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers this Christmas season and in the future because they are the reason we are able to enjoy all the freedoms that we have today.

 

Dick Herfindahl’s column appears in the Tribune each Sunday.