Waters Revenge is a compilation of ten true adventures I experienced on, sometimes in, numerous lakes and rivers here in the state of Michigan where I was raised. It is written chronologically and spans a time period of forty years. Some of the stories include friends that joined me on my misadventures, usually only once. My earliest memory of one of the many close calls I had is told in the chapter, "The Laughing Frogs." I was totally consumed with the exploration of the Shiawassee River that ran through my grandparents' backyard in Fenton Michigan. It was the summer of my tenth birthday and if not for a buddy's older sister, it could have been my last birthday. I remember not being able to sit down comfortably for quite sometime due to my parents' wrath upon hearing the news, (needless to say, they were quite irate.) I was eleven when my folks bought a house in Plainwell, Michigan on the banks of the Kalamazoo River. Dad admitted years later that raising four boys at our young ages that close to a river may not have been the wisest thing he ever did, personally, I couldn't thank him enough. It was about a year later when a little escapade of mine helped prove his point (the chapter, "Fort Careful" is a testament to that.) Not all of the stories in this book deal with near tragic or traumatic events; some are so ridiculous they had to be told. The chapter, "Doctor, Doctor, Grab Those Scissors" is a perfect example of what not to do if your fishing lure gets hung up in a tree. I'm sure you've heard of road rage; well, "Close Encounters of the Granite Kind" is an example of water rage, which was brought on by a fourteen year old hooligan, who's idea of entertainment was seeing how long it would take to swamp some guy in a little ten foot flat bottom boat with his daddy's big expensive speed boat. My reaction to his daily harassment on Pine Lake number three damn near landed me in jail. Fortunately for me, the co-star of this story had an understanding father who was sympathetic to my point of view. Unfortunately for my deranged counter-part, dad had absolutely no sympathy for his, basically because he didn't have one. "Salmon Derby or Bust," reads like a step by step manual on how to drown in Lake Michigan. The situation my partner, "Captain Bob" and I found ourselves in came about gradually and actually began weeks before we even launched our boat. Our lack of logic in preparing for an excursion on the big lake was a direct result from an affliction I call, "Kings-la-bit-us Salmon-it is", a mental disease also known as Salmon Fever. It has been known to be fatal in idiots and ignorant folks who venture out on to the great lakes, like us at the time. It is brought on by the anticipation of catching one of those huge king salmon that lurk in the depths of the great lakes...it clouds the mind. These stories are burned into my memory like a photograph on film and will never forget them. I hope you find "Water's Revenge; a family legacy" as entertaining to read as I found to live.
