Just Making Memories or Ear Piercing--The Hard Way.

I always wondered what it felt like to have your ear pierced, but no longer do I wonder...

This weekend Grandpa Penn came down to take the guys fishing. We got up early and headed out to the lake in the Jon Boat. We really had a great day catching fish and just spending time together.

The weather was great - this was the first good cold fall weekend. The leaves were turning and there was a mist on the water. (That's a picture of Old Kinmundy Lake.)

My son started us off with a nice catch. It was also a lot of fun to see the Largemouth hit Grandpa's frog lure on the top of the water. I even had a lot of fun setting the hook on some Largemouth myself. But later in the afternoon, someone set the hook on me!

That's right - one of my fishing buddies was making a cast and on their back swing caught a hold of my right ear with an Eagle Claw Lazer Sharp Wide Gap Worm Hook. And yes, the way you are cringing right now is exactly how it feels!

At first it felt like someone just slapped me really hard across the right side of my face, but then I quickly realized that something else was attached to my previously undisturbed lobe. Not only that, but about 5 seconds after I realized what had happened, I thought I had a fish on my own pole. At least this time I can claim the "big one got away" because of my new instant piercing.

Grandpa examined his patient and the barb was only partially through my lobe.

You don't pull a barb back out the way it went in without ripping flesh. Instead it must go through - and it wasn't quite through yet. Grandpa cut off the back end of the hook to see if he could push it through. I don't know if he just has a soft heart or if maybe my grimace kept him from pulling the barb through with the red plyers, but he decided against pulling it through himself.

Now my frustration level really started rising. I knew this meant we had to end our fishing day and I would have to go and wait in an E.R. room for probably a few hours. We headed in to the boat dock and just as I got out of the boat my wife called. All I heard from her was laughing. Of course, it really is pretty funny - unless your the one with a new red worm hook hanging from your lobe.

I finally made it to the hospital after we took the boat home and waited - for about 2 hrs. The doctor gave me a shot to numb the ear, and then shoved the hook the rest of the way through and now I have a hole in my ear.

On days like these I'm reminded of one of my Mom's favorite phrases...

"We're just makin' memories."