What's in a name?

If you think I would let a little thing like a "Broken Butt" stop me from going ice fishing, think again!!
I didn't say it was without some obvious pain, butt I wasn't to miss another trip to the lake.
Today I loaded up my gear, ice auger and headed to the drop off place where I was to meet Sid.
I have driven the route a gillion times, butt this was the first time I cut the corner at the intersection of the Spur Highway. My outside dual on the left rear hit the cement curb, tossing the rear of my truck into the air along with the sad remains of my poor old tail-bone. The event ended with a sharp downward slam onto the truck seat followed by a heart- wrenching stab of pain that was indescribable.
Once I had wiped the tears from my eyes, I smiled and thought things could be worse. Sure enough in a short while things certainly got worse.
I crawled into Sid's Argo atv. and we were off down the 5 mile trail to the lake.
What once was nice soft snow was now a solid frozen trail of lumps and bumps that defies description. It had been raining for days and now had dropped into the low 20's and everything was locked up tight.
The seat in the Argo was only wide enough for two people to sit. The only restitution I had was to roll over on one cheek to keep the bad place from absorbing the jolts of the rough trail. Five miles is a long ways to punish the only cheek that I could use, butt it was a lot better than what was second best!
We managed to catch our limits of fish and it was a nice crisp, sunny afternoon. Even with all of the pain, it was a trip that won't soon be forgotten.
I decided to re-name the lake from "Spirit Lake" to "Broke Butt Lake", to commemorate the trip that will forever be burned into my unforgettable adventures.
I also may re-name my home from "Shadow Mountain Lodge", to "Broke Butt Mountain Lodge"because that was the place of my ill-fated fall.
I had named the Lodge after Lin, whose pet-name is "Shadow". She hasn't taken to the name change very well so far. I don't think she likes the idea of "Shadow" being replaced with the likes of "Broke Butt". The only problem is, she knows where I sleep.

No Humor Yet

I always try to find something humorous about most bad things that happen to me.
This time I haven't come up with anything funny about the last bad event.
Last week I defied gravity and gained 10 feet in elevation without any effort from me. Some have said it was a true miracle.
The unfortunate incident took place when I decided to go out in the frozen darkness and start my vehicle. I needed to warm it up before we took the daily trip to the Post Office.
I slipped on my boots, without putting on my coat, because I was only going to be outside for a minute. I then started down the 10 steps of my porch.
The really ugly thing about all of this is that I had just been out there sweeping all of the snow off of those mean steps. I knew there was a thin layer of ice on each step. However it had snowed a few more flakes on the steps hiding that thin little layer of ice.
Being in a bit of a hurry, not having a coat on, I bravely hit the first step with my right foot.
That is where the miracle took place. Instead of simply falling down the steps on my rear-end, I know that I went straight up in the air at least 10 feet before I came down on the very top step. I think I done at least two complete spins in mid-air before I came down exactly on my poor old tail-bone. Another miracle is I was able to hit each of the ten frozen steps and the frozen ground on exactly the same damaged area. If I didn't already know that there were only ten steps, I would have sworn that it was 50 feet down those stairs.
Well, so far it has costed me a fishing trip last week. I had to tell Sid, my old fishing partner, about the incident. He was able to contain a chuckle, although I could hear it in the tone of his voice. He offered the use of a tire inner-tube with a hole in the middle to comfort me. I know very well he was doing his best to contain a very large belly-laugh.
He was helpful though, to inform me that the third day would be the worse. I thanked him for the encouragement.
It has been a week and things still ain't much better. There... I knew you were concerned!!
Sid has invited me on another fishing trip for tomorrow. I am going to ride that bouncy Argo 5 miles back into a frozen lake to catch some slimy fish!
Picture this...Old Bubba runs to get the pole that is jerking with a fish on the line, and slips on the ice falling on his poor old broken butt.
What would you do??
This may turn into a GOOD BYE blog. I likely couldn't live through an event such as that!!
I'm digging a big hole in the ice for Sid to shove me down in case I do fall. I know I couldn't ride all of the miles back to the truck on that Argo!!
I'm amazed how many of my friends find my miss-step to be something that brings a big smile to their unconcerned faces.
Am I missing something here? As hard as I have tried to find something funny about all of this, I have come up empty. Actually, I find it kind of a sore subject.

Tustumena 200 Sled Dog Race

I just finished producing the DVD of the 2006 Tustumena Sled Dog Race. It is 55 minutes long.
It covers the start, mushers coming into Rocky's, and the finish line. I also have the awards banquet.
I have a few interviews at the Vet. Check-in and some the day of the race.
I think it is a fairly good production for my first "cold weather" project. I learned a lot about frozen camera equipment and how to keep them from freezing up.
If you would like a copy, let me know.