Two local “good ol’ boys” asked me to please go on an ice fishing trip with them. I thought it odd when instead of inviting, they said, “Please.”
I’ve been ice fishing many times, so I had a pretty good idea what was involved. Boy, was I suckered in. After saying I would go, the word “cribbage” was mentioned as they wanted to know if I knew how to play. My reply was, “Yes,” I’ve played the game a “few times.”
At that point, the red carpet was laid out for me to join them. I had two of my very own holes with rattle reels for ice fishing. They would prepare the meals, do the dishes, unload and load the car as needed. I would have a roll-away bed to sleep on. Any fish caught were mine if I wanted to take them home. The royal treatment was mine. They even promised to point the overhead fan air into the inside private one-hole sanitized bathroom to warm up prior to my using it. My reaction to all this was, “Wow!”
They picked me up at 7 a.m. Sunday morning at my house. On the way I was informed we were going to Mille Lacs to a private ice fishing house, fishing from 12 noon until 12 noon Tuesday. Then it was back to Albert Lea, a total of about 48 hours.
We arrived at Mille Lacs and drove out on the road maintained by Lyback’s Resort, which also set up our ice fishing house on the lake. We were ice fishing by noon and playing cribbage at the same time. Cribbage and fishing continued at the same time until the great evening meal and dishes were over. Back to cribbage and ice fishing with the interior lights powered by a generator that also powered the furnace and overhead fan.
The eight fishing rattle reels (two lines per person is allowed in the winter) were left in the water from the time we started until 48 hours later as we slept in the ice house.
Monday morning, we played three games of cribbage, followed by breakfast, dishes and more cribbage. The Monday morning breakfast was a meal as only a great chef could prepare (orange juice, coffee, toast, bacon, fried potatoes and fried eggs to order with asparagus in the potatoes and eggs).
After drinking a few cups of coffee, I was told to use the urinal bottle in the indoor bathroom as it was windy and cold outside. This I did two or three times before the evening meal of chicken drummies as the entrée. They kept asking me if I smelled anything funny after using the urinal. I said I didn’t.
T’was then they showed me a letter stating they were both almost at the ultimate level of “grand pooh-bah” in cribbage. To reach this level each had to play 24 games of cribbage in 48 hours with an amateur and pull a mischievous prank on the amateur. The prank suggested was “asparagus.”
It read: asparagus contains the sulfur compound called mercaptan. Not everyone contains the specific enzyme responsible for breaking that enzyme down in the digestive tract, so about half the population will have stinky urine after eating asparagus. Sometimes it shows up in urine as quickly as 15 to 30 minutes after consuming asparagus. Even Ben Franklin described the odor as “disagreeable” in his essay on flatulence called “Fart Proudly.”
P.S. Did the two (Vern Rasmussen of Albert Lea and Greg Luettke of Conger) get to the next level of cribbage players?
P.S.S. A reminder of the F.R.O.G. Valentine’s Party at Central Freeborn Lutheran Church Saturday, Feb. 2 at 6 p.m. Cost is $5 per person, $10 per family with kids. All Lutherans and non-Lutherans are welcome. RSVP 373-8655 or 826-3267 to attend.
P.S.S.S. The smell didn’t happen!
Bob is a retired AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent, currently working on his master’s degree in Volunteering. His wife, Genie, is a retired RN, currently working on her doctor’s degree in Volunteering. They have two children, Deb in North Carolina, and Dan in Vermont. Bob says if you enjoy his column, let him know. If you don’t enjoy it, keep on reading, it can get worse. Words of wisdom: There is always room for God.