So a couple of years ago my son and I bought a 15 foot aluminum boat with a 20 horse outboard. Both are pretty old. We took it out a few times and then he got a girlfriend and didn’t have time to go fishing with Dad. Then I had both of my knees replaced and I never ended up taking it out last year.
There’s been gas in the tank for nearly two years. I’m pretty sure I put Stabil in the tank when I put the gas in. What are the chances that gas is okay?
If it’s bad, and it probably is, what do I need to do? Of course with this virus thing going on the county’s hazardous waste drop off is closed. I could sure use some advise on how to make sure I get this mess resolved.

BadBobby was spending his day fishing by a creek.

Soon a wagon pulled by horses and driven by BadFisherman approached on the road behind him.

BF bellowed, “Is the water shallow enough to pass through with my horses and supplies, old man?”

“Sure. A mere few feet to the right, a small family made their way across not an hour ago” quietly said the old-feller.

Happy to shorten his journey, BF reined his horses into the stream.

He was but a few steps in when the horses succumbed to the water's depth.

Barely holding onto the bank, BadFisherman escaped the waters with his life intact.

Recovering, BF yelled “Hey, you old fart, you said I could make my way across here. Didn’t you tell me that a small family made it across?”

BadBobby grinned mischievously and said, ”I don’t get it. The family of ducks passed, and their legs were much shorter than the ones on your horses.”

The durn Squid.

When I was about three years old, my parents and I lived in a rented farmhouse in West Texas, between Levelland and Whiteface, Texas. I’ve written in My Stories about the dust bowl days and how when a dust storm arrived it would turn the day into night. My mother would wet rags and place them around the closed window edges, and dust would still seep through. I could still play on the linoleum floor and have enough dirt to create roads for my toys.

One of my fond memories of this time was when either Dad or Uncle Claude had brought home a basket of apples. Now I don’t remember seeing a basket of this type in a long time, perhaps it was a “peck” basket, rather than a bushel. The shape of this basket was taller but tapered from larger at the top and narrower at the bottom.

My favorite thing about this basket of apples was to rummage through and pick out all the very small apples. I would then announce to all that these small apples were mine! Another favorite thing was to get dressed up and go to town, which was either Whiteface, or Levelland TX.

I can recall that the automobiles in the late 1930’s had unusual radiator caps, which had some sort of thermometer to tell the driver if his car’s radiator was getting too hot. I can also remember watching boys, teenagers, fixing a flat on the driveway of a station. They were using a sheet of tin to place the tire and rim upon. I asked them why they were using this tin? They replied that it kept any gravel from getting between the rim and tire.

Another thing I remember was I loved to buy salted peanuts. At the time, there would be a display of a number of small cylinders filled with peanuts located by the cash register, and it would also have a placard announcing that one of the various cylinders would also have a coin; a penny, nickel, or dime, maybe even a quarter in one of the various cylinders. I suspect the store clerk probably weighted all the packages and took those with any money. Sort of like a punch board game. If you ever saw the movie, The Flim Flam Man, even as a 3 and 4-year-old, I suspected such tricks were being played. I never got any money as I can remember. I didn’t care, I loved the Spanish peanuts!

One time, I was allowed to go with my dad and Uncle Claude to haul a trailer full of cotton to the gin. I was standing the the back of this old four door car, looking out the back window. I suddenly saw the trailer tongue come loose and the trailer was going too fast and simply vaulted over the tongue. I yelled for dad to stop. They had to remove the tongue to get it out from under the bed to the trailer. I suppose the time we go to the gin, I had fallen asleep because I don't remember anything about the rest of the trip.

I can also remember that on at least one occasion I was dressed up on the promise we were going to town. It turned out to be a ruse, as all was to happen was my mother and aunt wanted to take some pictures with a Kodak camera. I was really upset at being told one thing and it not to be true. I think I would have not minded getting dressed for a photo shoot, but I was mad for some time at being deceived. Just Sayin…RJS

I made my second attempt at fishing saltwater from the Johnnie Mercer pier at Wilmington NC. Before I could catch anything I noticed that my neighbors were pulling up brown and yellow fish ranging in size between 4 to 8 inches. They are throwing them in their coolers and i'm thinking they are collecting bait. Then I realized the fish were puffers and they were keeping them to eat. About that time I get a hit on one of my poles and it seems like a monster that I couldn't get to the surface. Unfortunately, I didn't have the drag set and for every crank I made, whatever was on my line would take two cranks worth of line. I don't know whstrat it was, but I learned a lesson. Next nibble I got, I hooked it and brought up a nice 10 inch puffer. I gave it to the guy on the other side of the pier who seemed real happy to have it.

Now, I am interested in going back and fishing for a mess of puffers that I could take home and serve the family. I understand they are quite easy to clean and really great eating. My question is: Do they "run" in the spring only, or do they stay around the pier for the summer? Did I miss my chance?