Remembering the Good Times

If you've been reading my blog, you know that Pete was a fisherman through and through, that he loved the water and everything associated with water: boats, canoes, kayaks, surfboards, you name it. Here are some more memories his friends have offered to share with me, and I share them with you.

Colleen G recounts one of her memories of Pete when he was quite a bit younger:

I met Pete when I was about 19 and he was about 22. He was determined to teach me to fish after he'd heard I'd never really been. The very first time we went he took me to the inlet. He had a small tacklebox resting on the edge of the retaining wall. Within the first five minutes, I managed to accidentally knock it over into the water. I was mortified as we watched it sink. I told him we needed to leave right away so I could take him to the fish store and replace his stuff. I can still see his smile and how he laughed. He told me it was just some stuff and we weren’t going anywhere because he could tell I was going to be harder to teach than he thought. He said that I taught him something new about fishing, “Keep the lures and bait out of Colleen’s way.” Later that night I left some $ on his table for the stuff I lost. A couple days later, I found the $ deep at the bottom of my pocketbook… I have so many memories just like this. And then, there are the really fun ones… lol.

Rod S's story is another carefree youth, "boys just havin' good, clean (but muddy) fun" kind of adventure:

"Brendoon" called me the other day and reminded me of a great story. We used to go on a midnight canoe trip out of Brice Park. Mine and Brendoon's canoe got to the final destination first after much drinking and a few trips into the river. Muddy, wet, tired, and loud we caught the attention of the law enforcement. We were being questioned by a very confused officer when Pete comes stumbling out of the woods in just his "tighty whiteys". The cop took one look at Pete, who resembled Big Foot at this point, and got into his squad car and drove away without a single question more.

The friendship between Tim V and Pete goes back the farthest of all Pete's friendships, back to when they were babies. They grew up together and were fishing buddies from day one. Petey was best man at Tim and Sara's wedding. Tim tells this story, one that indirectly is related to fishing:

Tim V and Petey
sorting their catch

I have known Petey as long as I have been walking, there are so many good memories, but one that I will never forget is when Petey and I went fishing and got back to my house real late. He ended up staying the night. When Sara got up to get a drink in the a.m she came back in and asked me what happened last night. I said, "What do you mean?" and went into the kitchen to find all the appliances pulled out into the middle of the floor. I knew it wasn't me or Sara so I woke Petey and asked him about it. He looked around and remembered having a dream about looking for a mouse behind the stove. Hey- at least he didn't try getting in bed with us!!! Love ya, Petey.