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TENACIOUS

 

 

Thirty degrees and it just doesn't want to let go!

 

Are we having fun yet? 

 

Paul, Pauly, DC, Dumb Cop or Fuzz!

 

Not such a  dumb cop when he was working.  He became one of the three or four NJ State Policemen to become Captain.  But to us he will always affectionately be the "The Dumb Cop".  Paul lived across the street from "Boat Ride" in Bissel, NJ.  He has been part of the NJ crowd for years.  The town where they lived was nothing more than three roads coming together, but they were the prominent citizens.  Like the rest of us they were always sawing and cutting wood for wood stoves in the winter, growing vegetables in a garden, and raising animals which eventually made it to the freezers.  Real, gentrified, country folk.  I think he in fact, was the one to find one of the "Capes" wives  in Abe's swimming pool, naked with a local judge.  But we are not completely sure of all of those facts.

 

Paul's a big guy and in fact once on the dock, picked me up in his arms and dumped me unceremoniously in the lake.  Ahhhh, the good old days and an abundance of beer and scotch.

 

 

 

DEAL PAULY

Paul is at the end of the breakfast, lunch, dinner, and poker table.  He is probably the most avid poker enthusiast in the group.  No naps....."Let's just turn a few!"   I think that quote has been uttered a thousand time by him.  He caught on to fly fishing rather early after hanging out with Abe and I, and also took up golf.  In my opinion golf is down there, as a sport, right next to "Bait" fishing.  But we have three in the group who do it all the time and are fairly good.  This photo also reminds me that most of us smoked at one time or another.  This photo was taken back,,,I say back,,,,,when we were younger and thought we would live forever.  Today. the only ones who do smoke do so only on this trip.  I cannot understand that at all, having been a two pack a day guy myself long ago.  That is also not a milk carton on the table....probably Cheez-its or some other health food.

 

 

Paul is probably the one of the men most easily teased.  He takes it so well, but only up to a point.  Which is the point.  Caught one yet Pauly?  Here smell my hands.  This is what we're up here for.  Or perhaps it was the night at the card game when Paul so annoyed his host that Abe took Paul's watch and threw it against the wall.  Took a couple of days for everybody to get over that one.  But still remembered.

 

 The one good thing about having him along on the trip was because he was a cop.  That meant we could drive at just about any speed we wished.  If stopped....."Paul get your badge out"!  One trip somewhere along the highway in Massachusetts, the gumball machine behind us went off and the trooper pulled us over.  His immediate commend to us, instead of license and registration please, was "You guys look like a bunch of cops going on a fishing trip".  Honestly, that was the opening line.  Paul flashed his badge and we sat and talked about the NJ State Police Picnic for fifteen minutes.  He never once commented about our speeding.  Good to know people in high places

 

He also gave each one of us his business card.  Said to use it as a get out of jail free card if ever pulled over.  I tried it once in Maryland and the trooper asked me for my badge.  I told him to forget it as he probably never got the memo.  I guess he was too young to understand the reciprocity

 

Pauly is probably one of the hardest workers when it came time for "Chores".  On certain years we had to do such things as a group as chop firewood, paint the porch, or build an outdoor shower.

 

 

 

DC (Paul)  is on the left with the St. Paulie Girl non-alcoholic beer.  Abe's two sons are center and rear center.  Green left middle and the Cape middle right.  I took the photo and Boat Ride is on the right with the evening or noon cocktail.  Not pertinent.  We are not a bad crew. Please notice the fact that the right wall of the newly constructed shower is parallel with the door.  This is an extremely modern convenience as proven by the hook upon which to hang one's underwear.