“Faithful friends…”
Dateline: Christmas Eve 2017
“The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated.”
– William James
If you read this on Christmas Eve, I want you to know this, I am sitting downstairs in my recliner, I’m all alone, the house is quiet and dark everywhere except in front on me as I am lit by the lights of our Christmas tree.
Every Christmas Eve after everyone goes to bed I just sit and look at the tree, earphones in playing Christmas music, a Christmas cookie or three next to me on the end table.
Just me, it is my favorite night of the year, I’ve told Barb that if I pass before she does it will be the night I whisper “I Love You” in her ear, will be the night I kiss the cheeks of both kids no matter where they are, and will be the night that someday will bring peace to this planet.
If you read this on Christmas Eve, I want you to know this, I wish you the gift of happiness, I wish you the gift of love be it you for others and others for you, I wish you good health, I wish you patience, I wish you benevolence, and above all I wish that some Christmas morning the gift we all open around the world is simply, the kind in man.
That’s my wish for you.
Now, on with the show.
“…who are dear to us…”
“You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
Never forget the man with the wrench who built the stage, the woman who set up the camera, the people who drive the trucks with all the stuff for the show inside.
Never forget the fans in the seats, the fans who dial us up online, the fans who stop to talk to us at the events, at gas stations, in supermarkets.
Never forget just whose backs we stand on.
And those backs are yours.
You the fan of B.A.S.S.
You the employees of B.A.S.S. who I know for a fact to also be fans.
You the folks who bring us to different towns.
You the folks who build the baits, the rods and reels, the boats and motors that we use.
We know you are fans, and in our upcoming 50th anniversary celebration of the founding of B.A.S.S., next year we’re going to give back, and I’m going to be able to do a bunch of the giving.
The year 2018 will be the year of the fan.
I want to meet you and tell your story. We will find 50 of you, I’ll will sit and talk with you, take a picture or two, and put your story up on Bassmaster.com.
And we’ll be doing this all over the place, at events both with those in front of the stage and those behind it. We’ll find you in booths at the gigs, and in the cubicles and offices of B.A.S.S., in the industries that make all the various stuff we use, even back out there were the service crews hang out.
We’ll find you.
And I’m loving this.
“…gather near to us once more…”
“Silent gratitude isn’t very much to anyone.”
– Gertrude Stein
Hey, I want you to meet a friend of mine, Paula Ray, the town clerk of the town I live in, and what I am holding is the first fishing license I got when I took the full time gig with B.A.S.S.
I bought an annual, as I do now in almost every state we visit, just a thank you from me to the people in the state who keep the lakes and rivers working well for us. Paula signed the license and “for two bucks extra laminated it” for you.
Here’s another cool thing about Paula and B.A.S.S., we’ve known each other for more than 20 years, our sons grew up together, same school, same sports, we are good buds and go out to dinner often, Paula and her husband Kevin, and Barb and I.
One time at dinner Kevin was telling a story, “Hey Don, you know what we were watching on TV the other night? Some crazy thing with a bunch of fishermen being brought into an arena somewhere, the stands full with people going crazy, fireworks going off and then the fishermen going up on stage and weighing in a bunch of bass fish, the winner got a ton of money. They called it Bassmaster or something. You ever heard of it?”
“Nope.”
“Huh, it looked like fun you should check it out.”
True story, it was way before I came to B.A.S.S., at dinner Ray and Paula still remind me of that conversation.
And now though, yeah I’ve heard of it…and yeah…it’s fun and pretty cool.”
Paula Ray and her husband Kevin, the first fans of B.A.S.S. even before I knew what B.A.S.S. was…
“…through the years…”
“There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread”
– Mother Teresa
Meet Arthur Ahalt…not sure his dog’s name. By the way, from here on most of the photos you will see I stole off the person’s Facebook page. We did a special thing the other night where fans could call me while I was home in my office, and as they talked I went on their Facebook pages and looked at their photos of family, boats and fish (basically in that order). It was pretty cool to see who I was talking with.
I thought Arthur lived in New York, I met him at last year’s Waddington gig but it turns out he is a retired Carman at CSX who lives in Maryland, dude drove up to New York, way up in New York, to watch the tournament…that’s a fan, cool.
Here’s Arthur: “db I was a Marshal in Maryland at one of the events, it was such a great experience.”
“How so, man?”
“Well you know how athletes can be these days but all the anglers I was a Marshal for and the ones I met throughout the event were such nice guys, just regular people like us. That to me was the nicest part of it all, just meeting them, listening to them, learning from them, I’ll tell you honestly db it was an experience I’ll never forget.”
Know this too about Art, he is a longtime fan of B.A.S.S. I know this because he brought with him to the Waddington event a Bassmaster Classic hat from the 1998 event that he had a bunch of the anglers sign for him.
Know this as well…he gave it to me so I could auction it off to benefit the kids of Tackle The Storm Foundation. Hey Arthur buddy, so you know your hat raised enough money so that we could buy kids combos for 10 children…thanks, man.
“…we all will be together…”
“Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart.”
– Seneca
Meet Paul Hudson, retired 20 years with the Syracuse Police Department, went back to school and became an RN, did that for 17 years and retired. Current pilot of the New York State B.A.S.S. Nation catch and release boat.
“db, I grew up on a farm but was allergic to dust, knew I had to do something different, I remember as a kid, I’m in the 7th grade and I’m helping my father deliver eggs at 4 a.m. throughout downtown Syracuse…a few years later I’m patrolling the same streets where we drove the truck with the eggs.”
Paul…an ex-cop and nurse…told me, “Those Elite anglers, boy they have more commitment to the sport and what they do than I ever could have.” High praise my friend, high praise for the guys, and their families who make that happen as well.
“You know db I never started fishing for bass until I was 55 years old, did so because I went to one of those Bass University things, thought it sounded like fun…and here I am.”
He told me, “Yep I like catching bass, but you know that the biggest thrill I get is on the catch and release boat. It’s such a wonderful feeling to release a fish back out into the wild, watching it swim off, I think I get a bigger thrill doing that, such a privilege, such a privilege.”
The privilege my friend is knowing that someone who has spent their entire adult life serving others is a fan of ours. That’s a privilege for us buddy.
Thank you for your service, it’s a honor to tell your story.
“…if the fates allow…”
“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, creates a vision for tomorrow.”
– Melody Bettie
Meet Iowa seed salesman Nick Shaffer who told me he plays a Playstation Farm Sim game, “Can’t afford the real thing now but would love to one day own a real farm.”
Nick lives somewhere between the 2018 Bassmaster Elite Series gigs in Wisconsin and South Dakota, “You know db you may be driving within a half hour or so of me on your way between the two events, stop on by, get something to eat, rest, stay the night if you need.”
I can’t tell you how many fans of B.A.S.S. are kindhearted like that to many of us out on the road. I get invites like that all the time. I have no doubt that if I ever, or any of us break down on the road, there would be offers to come help us just like that.
Yep, you folks are fans but many of us consider you family as well.
“You got any kids Nick?”
“Yep, three – 5, 8 and 10.”
For a moment there I drifted off some, actually said to Nick, “Lucky you dude, those are the best ages for kids and Christmas, what do they want…”
“The 5-year-old, my youngest son wants anything to do with cars, four wheel cars, loves cars…”
Me too, I was a car guy at 5 way before I was a car guy at 65.
“My daughter, she’s 8, getting into the dolls and jewelry, and wants a hair crimper thing.”
Um.
“My oldest he’s into building stuff, science, Lego Technic things like that…
“How cool I loved that erector set when I was a kid…”
“Wow, I just took my kids to a museum last weekend and they had an erector set on display.”
Um.
As I sit here and type this last fan of B.A.S.S. thing, for a moment, a bunch of moments I could feel my old erector set in my hands, could feel playing cars with my son and trying to learn the mysteries of all the Barbie doll stuff with my daughter come those Christmas mornings that go by so quick.
To mom and dad Shaffer, enjoy these Christmas days, linger with the toys, sip coffee and play with the kids. Trust me, life comes at you warp speed…
Warp speed.
“…hang a shining star…”
“One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas Day. Don’t clean it up quickly.”
– Andy Rooney
Meet Chris and Renee Himstedt, my first ever “stereo phone call.” When they called in to me, “they” called in, both on the line.
Just like a “party line.”
Um.
By the way…that fabulous photo of the two of them…I took it. I sat with them at the Bass Fishing Hall Of Fame dinner. Chris is a Facebook friend and knew me. Renee on the other hand had no idea who she was sitting next to, or what to expect.
I was unaware of that tiny little fact, thought she was just one of the bunch.
Um.
Welcome now to the family Renee, after a couple of root beers, and other things, I was, you know, just myself, and while on the record I never saw any of her drinks come out her nose with laughing, some came darn close.
Renee, we here at this gig, be it way at the top, out in the boats, or those of us who take the photos and bang the keyboards, we are what we are…no pretense here. That’s what makes it so cool, you didn’t know us, we didn’t know you but now my lady, you are family too.
Trust me folks, Renee is going to be busy this Christmas Eve, “db we have about 20 or so family members coming to our house this year. I make a breakfast dinner (I love that) with pancakes, eggs, bacon and all the fixins.”
Now while I could fixate a little there on the bacon and pancakes aspect of all that I will pull myself back in because what will happen at Chris and Renee’s house will also happen all over America and the world that night.
The gift of family, you can’t wrap that but it is the best present that night and that day.
“…upon the highest place…”
“We are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime.”
– Laura Ingalls Wilder
And then came the call from Canada, from the fishing manager of a Bass Pro somewhere around Toronto…and this photo.
“db I have lots of photos I can send you but this one, this one is close to my heart.”
The guy on the phone is Nick Terpselas, “Call me Niko, that’s what everyone calls me.” I tell Nick…Niko…I’m a huge fan of Canada, my maternal grandparents came from there, I spent many summers growing up on a farm near Dunnville, Ontario.
“So Niko dude, first things first…what’s that ‘Boxing Day’ in Canada all about?”
For those of you who didn’t happen to grow up in a state that shared the border with Canada as I did, “Boxing Day” is a Canadian (and U.K.) holiday that is always celebrated the day after Christmas.
“Ha, Boxing Day is like your Black Friday day down there in the states. It started because rather than boxing back up the stuff that didn’t sell on Christmas the stores keep it on the shelves and greatly discount it. It can be a little crazy you know.”
There you go, now you know.
“You know db, fishing, fishing is something families can all do together, that photo is of my daughter, Isabella, every time I look at it I get a tear in my eye. That was the first ever smallmouth she caught, caught it all by herself, and she has developed a passion for the sport. Tell you this, when I asked her what she wants for her birthday she said she wanted go fishing with me, so now that’s what we do, on her birthday. I get to take my little girl out fishing with me, spend the day together, can’t ask for much better than that.”
No you can’t.
Can’t ask for better fans than that either. It’s a flat out honor to be involved with a sport with a fan base who cares so much about the sport as those who play it.
Look for more of these Fans of B.A.S.S. stories to go up throughout 2018. If you see me around at a tournament come on up to me and tell me your story…you just never know what might happen.
To all of you, both fans of B.A.S.S. and those of B.A.S.S., have a happy, healthy, peaceful family filled Christmas.
To all you servicemen and women out there who may read this while on-duty protecting us on this day, thank you, thank you. Make no bones about it, our life, my life would be totally different without you doing what you do.
To all those on patrol, to all those in the firehouse, to all those in the E.R. and nurses’ stations who must work on the Eve and day…thank you for being there for us as well.
And to the Father, thank you for sending us your Son.
And to the Son, happy birthday.
Merry Christmas.
db, bb, ab, jb…and Riley too.
“…so have yourself a merry little Christmas.”
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Songwriters: Hugh Martin/Ralph Blane
“I truly believe that if we keep telling the Christmas story, singing the Christmas songs, and living the Christmas spirit, we can bring joy and happiness and peace to this world.”
– Norman Vincent Peale
(me too)