Fantastic Four Fish Stories - Chapter 1

       One of the great things about Alaska was all of the fishing we did.  I had fished most of my life.  At least during the times I lived with my Dad.  Alaska fishing was different, however, because of all the fishing locations, amounts of fish and the size of the fish.  If you went fishing in Alaska and you came home empty handed, then you had better stick to buying your fish at the local supermarket.  That would be just as easy. Here is the first of 4 fish stories that I thought I would share from my time in Alaska.
The Anchor River ran very nearby our little home and we could go fishing in the evening and it would literally take us an hour to leave, fish, make our catch and return home.  This was nice because it wouldn't take up so much time when there was homework or other family things that needed done.
Dad had a knack for catching fish.  It was a trait that was handed down from his father and for the most part passed on down to me.  One time we went up to the Kasilof River where many of the large King Salmon were. The Kasilof was one of the larger rivers where fishing was more than a leisure activity. It was sometimes very dangerous. Which is why it was referred to as "combat fishing". People would line up and down the banks of the river pretty much elbow to elbow. This made it very important to follow the rules of the river. The rules were fairly simple to understand, somewhat difficult to follow, and downright suicidal to not concede to.
    The rule was to cast in rhythm and in perfect timing with all of the other fishermen. Everyone would pull their lines in, lift their poles slightly and toss their lines back into the water upriver about 10 or 12 feet or so. Then you would let the line drift past and then wait as everyone seemingly at the same time would pull their lines in, lift their poles slightly and again toss their lines upriver. You would continue to repeat this unless you heard someone shout "fish on!". If you heard that and you were upriver from the person who shouted it, you just continued on with your rhythmic casting. However, if you were down river, you needed to quickly reel in your line and back out of the water. This would allow the lucky fisherman to follow his fish as it fought to swim down river. Once he had past you, you could walk forward and resume your fishing. Sounds easy, right? Well you should see what happens when someone gets a snag and can't keep with the flow! Or if they cast out of time, throwing their lines up and over multiple peoples drifting lines. Let's just say that Alaskans are really nice people. Unless you get in the way of their fishing! Big, lumberjack looking dudes that would scare even your tapeworm out of you!

    This day was a bit of a blustery day, looking like it would soon rain.  That had never stopped us before and wouldn't on this particular day either. We arrived at our spot somewhat late in the morning, pulled all the fishing gear out of the Subaru and headed down to the bank of the river.  We passed along a number of fishermen and asked how they'd been doing.  They said they had only seen one fish caught in the past couple of hours.  That did not sound very promising but we continued on anyway.
We found a nice little area down near the end of the line of about 25 fishermen and began to get our poles ready.  It started to rain fairly hard and the other fishermen began to pack up to go wait out the rain in their vehicles. Dad smiled and shrugged at me and I knew he wasn't going to let a little rain stop his fishing.  We finished putting our "Spin & Glo's" on the end of our lines and I cast mine first.  My line no sooner began to follow the current than, BANG, my pole nearly flew out of my hands.
"Woohoohoo!" I yelled and gained control of my rod. I didn't have to yell "Fish on" because everyone had left the river.  It was a matter of seconds and out of the water jumped the biggest fish I'd ever hooked.  Dad started talking me through the process of reeling it in as I was inexperienced in bring in such a large catch.  He also did not want me to break one of his nicer poles either.
I fought the salmon for about 4 or 5 minutes and then was about to bring him close enough to the bank so Dad could net it when the hook came loose from the fish's mouth.  I sulked as I realized I had just lost a huge catch.  Dad said he figured the fish was about 50 pounds.
He saw that I was disappointed and encouraged me to recast.  "Trust me, Horace," he said, "there are plenty of fish in this river." Then he promptly cast his own line into the water.  Before I could get my second cast out I heard Dad again saying, "Fish On!"

I chuckled because I think he was only yelling it so that those that had left could hear him. He was more successful with his fish than I was and he actually landed his.  It was also around 50-55 pounds and Dad was pleased.  We had no sooner fetched the hook from the mouth of the fish when we noticed that everyone else had decided that a little rain would not be so bad.  They were coming back to the river bank almost as fast as they had left.
It took about another 15 minutes and then I was able to land my own fish.  Though only about 35 pounds it was fine with me and was huge in comparison to the fish the other fishermen were catching.  It was at least 35 pounds bigger!
We received a lot of glares from everyone when we packed up our gear and our fish and headed back to our car.  We had only been there for about 30 minutes and had only seen 3 fish hooked and only 2 that were landed.  They were the exact same fish that we were hauling up to our car and that didn't sit well with all those who had been there since the wee morning hours.
I often thought that there was some divine intervention that day.  What are the chances of my Dad and me going fishing among a group of ornery, tired, native Alaskan fishermen and arriving at the same time as a down pour?  It was like we were supposed to have the entire river to ourselves.  We quickly caught our fish and went home.  It was awesome.

A little Martian learning about those pretty aliens from Venus.

So a couple of nights ago I had the opportunity to spend an evening with a number of young men and women from our church. The purpose for our getting together was to have a discussion about dating. We had a nice couple, Bob and Judy Holbrook, who had just moved into the neighborhood with their two teenage boys speak to the youth and share their experiences. They discussed a lot of what is good and bad about dating and what the difference is between dating and just hanging out.

It was fun to listen to the ideas that were presented and the questions that were asked. It caused me to reflect on my own history of dating and I was able to share some of it with the youth that night. I think it is important to discuss dating with our children so I thought I would share some of my thoughts on dating as well as some experiences that I had with dating, or the lack thereof, and my list of "firsts" with girls.

I remember the first time I held hands with a girl. I was in the 9th grade at Alameda Jr. High. The girl's name was Jennifer. (I will keep the last name's to myself on this one) Jennifer was in the band with me and we lived not to far away from each other so we saw each other often. I liked Jennifer but I liked a lot of other girls as well. I was quite small in stature so most girls did not notice me as an attractive guy.  I really never thought about many of the girls to seriously for a lot of reasons. For one, I knew they weren't interested. Two, I was taught that I shouldn't date until I was 16. And three, I was pretty busy with my selling, gambling (see previous posts), and my paper routes. 

So when I first held hands with Jennifer, it was quite unexpected. I remember we were at one of the school's "Sock Hops", which is an after school dance that they held in the school gymnasium. I went to quite a few of the dances but never danced much. I spent most of the time with a friend or two on the sidelines just watching all the cool kids dancing with all the popular girls. I would sing along with Journey, Pat Benetar, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Survivor and the rest of the great 80's bands.  I was actually sitting alone on the bleachers and Jennifer came over and we started talking. She was acting kinda weird and then awkwardly asked if I would like to dance. I said sure and we walked out and began to dance to Twisted Sister's song "We're not gonna take it!" 

I know I looked like a real klutz but it was fun joining the crowd of popular kids. My dancing skills were somewhat like Willard learning to dance in the movie "Footloose". When the song finished it was immediately replaced with the popular slow hit "Love is a battlefield" by Pat Benetar. Before I could walk off of the floor Jennifer grabbed my hand and pulled me closer and we began to dance. Her hands were on my shoulders and my hands were on her waist and we took slow steps in a circle.

Dancing slow was actually pretty nice. I enjoyed the closeness. I wondered the whole time what she was thinking. I imagined it was something like "Wow, he's a lot shorter than I thought" or "why doesn't he feather his hair more?" More than likely she was thinking like I was which was "I can't believe I'm dancing with a girl!" 

At the end of the song I released her and started to say thanks when she reached out and grabbed my hand and led me back to the bleachers. I don't know why but I didn't fight it. We got to the bleachers and sat down still holding hands. She began rubbing the back of my hand with her thumb. I was completely taken off guard and didn't know what to do or what to say so I just sat there and let her hold my hand. For the rest of the dance she held my hand. 

At the completion of the Sock Hop she asked if I would walk her home. I said sure and we grabbed our books and went out the door and into the early evening air. We hadn't gone but a couple of steps when I again felt her hand grab onto mine. This time I felt her fingers working their way between mine. We walked about a mile to her street and then to her house. I left her at the porch and said good bye. She said "Thanks for walking me home, I'll see you tomorrow." She looked at me strangely with her eyes partially closed and a slight grin. 

"OK" I replied and turned and walked away. "Holy cow, I think she likes me!" I thought to myself as I quickened my step and then ran home.

So that was the first time I held hands with a girl. Had a great impact on me. My self confidence received a gigantic boost. Even though our "relationship" only lasted a couple of days, I now knew what it was like to have a girl like me.

The next year I was brought back to earth. I finally worked up the nerve to ask a cute girl that lived down the street to the homecoming dance at Highland H.S. Her name was Camille and I'd had a little crush on her for about a year. She was smaller like me so that was good. She was good friends with my older sister but she was my age. It took a while to get the nerve and I was scared to death when I picked up the phone to call her. When I finally did, I fumbled through the question. My heart was beating out of my chest and my hands were clammy and my forehead was perspiring as I waited for her to reply. There was a little delay before she finally said, "Thanks for asking, Horace, but I am waiting for someone else to ask me." 

Talk about a blow to the ego. Felt like I'd been punched right in the...in the....in the gut. (I'll try to keep it PG). I don't think I even responded to her. I just hung up the phone, went to my room and threw myself on my bed. I couldn't believe what had happened. Thought I hate to admit it, I cried myself to sleep.

The next day I avoided her like the plague. I couldn't even look at her. I wasn't even mad at her though. I was just too embarrassed to look at her. Later that day I ran into a good friend Malinda. We talked about it and she felt bad for me. I asked her who had asked her and she said she probably wasn't going. Out of nowhere I said, "Do you want to go with me?" 

Before I realized what I had done she said, "Sure, that would be fun!" And just like that I had planned my first date!

A few months later I had fallen for one of the trumpet players in the band. Her name was Lori and she was a lot of fun. Super cute and great personality. She always included me in whatever was going on. One time she invited me to go hot-tubbing. She said there were a bunch of people going. I said I would love that and we made the arrangements. 

I remember telling my mom that I was going out for the evening and she asked what I was doing. I said that I was meeting some friends at the Holiday Inn to go hot-tubbing and then over to a girl's house to watch a movie. She laughed at me. I think she believed the movie part but the hot tubbing didn't sound like something I would do. I guess she wasn't seeing that her little man was growing up!

When I got to the hotel I went back to the pool area and found Lori and some of her friends already in the hot tub. The guys in the tub were all ripped with muscles and I again felt that twinge of insecurity knowing that I was not built that way. Lori seemed happy to see me however and when she asked me to jump in I quickly removed my shirt exposing my skinny undefined body underneath. Before anyone could get a good look I quickly entered the hot tub and sunk down below the surface of the water. This is when I realized that they called it a "hot" tub for a reason and it was all I could do not to scream. Oh am I glad I didn't scream. My voice had still not changed and I could hit the high notes with the best of them. That would have been the end of me!!

Gritting my teeth I adjusted to the water temperature. Then I noticed that Lori was holding hands with one of the guys in the tub. Keeping it PG, I felt like I was punched in the gut again. I tried my best not to show my sadness. I just sat and quietly listened to them all talk. After what seemed like forever, Lori said that we should all get going so that we could have time to watch the movie. So we all got out, dried off and went out to the cars. I got in next to one of the guys and we all drove over to Lori's house.

When we got to Lori's house she pulled me aside right before we went in. She said, "Horace, are you ok?" 

"I'm OK" I said. "Just a little headache". Though the truth was it was heartache that was bothering me.

She said, "Well I wanted to introduce you to my little sister. I think you will really like her and I know she already has a crush on you."

"OK" I said, but to myself I was thinking "Great, her sister likes me but I like her. How's that going to play out?"

We went inside and their were people sprawled out on the floor, the sofa's and other chairs. I found an open spot on the sofa and sat down. Lori walked out of the room down the hallway and then returned with a pretty brunette girl. "Everyone, this is my sister, Andrea." she said "She is a freshman at Franklin Jr. High." 

We all said hi to her as Lori went around the room and introduced everyone to her. "Andrea, you can sit here next to Horace." Lori said to her and those of us on the sofa adjusted to make room. Andrea looked at me and I saw that same look that I had seen on Jennifer a year or so before. She sat down and any gap that was available was on the other side of her as she seemed content to sit right next to me. I could feel my stomach turn to nerves as I thought about sitting this close to such a pretty girl.

Lori opened up the case to the rental video her mom had rented for us and put it in the cool VCR with big colored buttons on it. The movie was Footloose starring Kevin Bacon. I had heard it was a good movie so I was excited to see it. Lori got everyone some drinks and made some popcorn and passed it around. It was an enjoyable time but I couldn't feel comfortable as I felt I was in a sauna or something. It felt so hot. Mostly because of the cute girl to my left who was giggling at anything I did or said.

I was keenly aware that Andrea was intentionally putting her leg against mine. Ten minutes into the movie I felt something moving on my thigh. I glanced down and saw that she was nonchalantly rubbing her pinkie finger against my leg. Slowly I turned my head and it was then that I realized that she was not watching the movie but rather was staring at my face. Talk about turning up the heat. I could feel the temperature rise into my face. I was glad that the lights were off for the movie because she surely would have seen my face turn into a bright red tomato!

She smiled at me and then without saying a word she moved her hand over to mine and entwined her fingers with mine. Finally I was able to crack a smile and turned back to somewhat focus on the movie. I felt her lean her head on my shoulder. I looked around the room and it appeared that nobody was paying attention to us. I searched the room and finally found Lori laying on the floor over to the side of the couch. She was laying next to the guy she'd been holding hands with. She was looking at me with a big smile on her face. I felt a twinge of guilt for acting the way I had earlier when I realized she had a boyfriend. She had set me up with her very pretty sister.

About a half hour later Andrea got up and went to her bedroom or the bathroom or somewhere down the hall. She came back and like we had been together forever sat down next to me and moved my arm so that it would be around her. Then she placed her hand on my muscular chest and lightly moved her fingers around. I have to admit, this was pretty nice.

The movie continued to play though I wasn't really paying too much attention even though I was looking at the TV. My mind was definitely elsewhere. I felt my temperature rising again when I realized that Andrea was slowly moving her head closer to mine until I could actually feel her breath on my neck. That made me a little disoriented. I guess it was a natural high or something. A combination of excitement and nerves all at the same time and in huge doses.

Then the unexpected happened. I barely turned my head down towards hers to look at her and she was like a mountain lion pouncing on her prey. Her lips were on mine and I'm pretty sure I lost consciousness. OK, not really but I was completely unaware of where I was or what I was doing. I don't even know how long it lasted. When she broke away from me I stared at her with my mouth wide open and she just smiled showing her pretty teeth. I think I tried to smile back but I don't know what that looked like. Then she nuzzled herself back into my neck and left me gazing at the TV. I remember seeing scenes of the movie but not hearing any of the words spoken. I didn't understand anything that was going on in the movie or in real life.

Right before the movie ended she took her hand off my chest and reached up and grabbed the back of my head and pulled me into her again. This time I was felt her lips as they lightly brushed against mine. Without thinking, I sorta kissed her back. It was amazing.

The movie ended and someone turned on the lights. That's when the razzing began. Everyone looked at Andrea and I and knew exactly what had happened. What I didn't know, was that Andrea had put on some nice red lipstick when she had got up during the movie. And apparently I was now wearing it too. There I was again with the heat rising to my head.

Now you would think that this has a great ending to the night. But, and remember I never claimed to be very smart, I would do something that will blow your mind. You see, I made the mistake of telling Andrea that the reason I had come that night was because I had a long time crush on her sister, Lori. And that I had been disappointed when I found out that she liked somebody else. I honestly didn't think much of what I was saying but it didn't go over very well. Andrea had a look of anger and then she turned and walked away from me. She never spoke to me again. She didn't even let me finish telling her that I was glad that Lori had someone else because I really liked her too.

So a note to self, never tell a girl that she wasn't first on your list. Even when she wasn't even on the list in the first place!

After Andrea I didn't have to many other opportunities with the ladies. There were a couple of school dances but they were with friends of mine. They were a lot of fun but no romance.

It wasn't until after my mission that I began to date. I dated a couple of times a week. Mostly dinner and movies. Sometimes bowling or hiking. I had a lot of fun. I liked some of them a lot. At least until they would bring up marriage on the first date and I was out of there. I didn't understand why we couldn't get to know each other a little before we were planning our families.

One girl that I really liked worked at the Safeway store in the Strawberry Village in Mill Valley, CA where I worked at a print shop. I would make up reasons to go into the Safeway just to see her. She was one of the checkers and I would conveniently buy my stuff in her lane. My work associates knew how much I liked her and even got me her name which was Kim. She was a short gal. Cute as a button. The guys finally talked me into introducing myself to her. I just had to figure out how.

I wandered around the store looking at her from a few different places. I probably looked a little suspicious if anyone was watching me. I decided to by a nice red rose and a little card. I wrote a little message on the card basically asking her out on a date. I walked up to her lane and laid the flower and card on the checkstand. She rang up the charges and I paid her in cash. Then I left the flowers and started walking away. "Sir, you forgot your flowers." she called to me. I stopped and turned towards her.

"Those are for you." I replied and turned back around and left the store. I walked quickly back to work and told the guys what I had done. They all thought it was a great idea and they wanted to know what she said. "I don't know." I said. "I walked away before she said anything."

About 15 minutes later Kim walked into the print shop. She was holding the flower and had a big smile on her face. "What is your name?" she asked me.

"Horace" I replied.

"Well, Horace" she said, "That was very sweet of you. Thank you for the flower. I really needed that today".

"You're welcome" I answered.

"I'm free tomorrow night. If that works for you." She said and smiled even bigger.

All I could say was "OK" and I smiled back.

"Pick me up at 6pm after work tomorrow." She said.

"I'll be there!" I said. Kim walked out the door and I basked in the cheers of my workmates.

We went to a wonderful dinner the next night and I loved watching her as she talked to me. She had the cutest little smile. After dinner we went to Sausalito and looked at the boats in the marina. The sunset was beautiful and it was very romantic. We talked about a lot of things. Religion came up and we talked about my missionary service. I could tell that she was impressed by that but she grabbed my hand and asked me then "what do you see in me?"

"I see a beautiful girl who has an amazing personality and I like being around her." I responded.

"You don't really know me" she stated. "I am not good enough for you, Horace. You deserve someone who is as good as you."

"I think you are great" I said.

"You don't know me" She restated. "I have so much baggage and I would never unload that on somebody as sweet as you. I really appreciate your good intentions and for being so kind to me. You are an angel. But I need you to take me back to my car. I am not the one for you."

I didn't say much. I just honored her wish and took her back to my car. She thanked me again and then kissed me on my cheek. She got into her car and drove away.

I was beginning to think that understanding girls was impossible. I went home and laid in my bed and again cried myself to sleep.


 I would go on to have a few other dates. Mostly just one timers. Not one night stands just no long term relationships.

                                                                                                                                                   
Things would get better for me though. I would move back to Boise and receive a phone call that would change my life forever. (See previous post about how I met my sweet wife.) All that inexperience and I still found the love of my life. She is the only one I have actually dated more than a couple of times. Now I've been dating my wife for over 22 years. I love our dates more than any time I had dating or hanging out with the girls of my boyhood. I still feel the excitement when she holds my had or kisses me softly. I still look forward to spending exclusive time with her. We love the same things and life never gets old.

The other day I was driving and I thought to myself, "I wonder how my beautiful wife is doing today." As a 6th grade middle school teacher I'm sure it was awesome but I thought about how much I love her. I couldn't help stopping by the flower shop and picking up a nice arrangement of flowers in a vase. I delivered them to her classroom during her lunch time and received a huge welcome from her. She got up and said, "Horace, you have no idea how much I needed this today. I have had a day to forget."  She hugged me tight and gave me a nice sweet kiss. Oh it is good to be in love!!! 

Today I find joy in the fact that I never had serious girlfriends. I'm glad that I experienced what I did but I feel that things worked out the way they were meant. I like knowing that my entire love life has revolved around one sweet girl who I have the pleasure of going home to each and every day.

Love At First Sight Worked For Me!

So after my post "Prove It", I have had many people ask about how my beautiful wife, Trina, and I met, so I thought I would share for everyone. I must apologize because this one is a little long. But each part is important to the story so be patient and I promise it will be worth it!

After I completed my mission for LDS Church in the Santa Rosa, CA Mission, I returned home to Boise and tried to get back into the swing of non-missionary life. It was difficult because so much had changed, most of all myself. Many of the things that I liked before my mission were now things that didn't matter so much anymore.

I had attended Utah State University on a full ride scholarship for music prior to my mission and that was still

an option if I chose to return. I loved Utah State and had a lot of fun during my freshman year there, but I had now taken 2 years away from school and had a new perspective of what I wanted to become. All through my High School Years and into that first year of college, I had a dream to play the tuba for the Boston Pops. I wanted to perform on the biggest stages with some of the best musicians in the world. I was confident that I could do it too.

The tuba had come easily for me to learn. From day one I was a natural. Though my size completely shouted out piccolo player, I was going to play the tuba. Throughout my junior high and high school years I was usually the only tuba player. This meant that I was always first chair. I had no competition. I didn't know how good I was until it would come time for Honors Band or All-State Band and there were other tuba players for me to test my abilities against. Honors Band and All-State Bands required students to tryout in order to be accepted. For four straight years I was selected to both bands. Each time I would compete for first chair within those bands. Each time I would make it.

Sometimes I felt bad because the other tuba players would talk about how hard they worked at becoming a good player. I don't want you to think that I didn't practice hard but I didn't practice nearly as hard as I could of nor as often. Every piece of music that was placed in front of me I would quickly and easily learn.

When I first got to Utah State University I was humbled when I competed for 1st chair and I was placed as 3rd chair behind a couple of seniors. I wasn't sure how to handle this other than to become one of those hard working players that I knew in high school. Within a couple of weeks I had moved to second chair but it was another month before I achieved my goal and became the 1st chair tuba player for the Utah State University Symphonic, Marching and Pep Bands. I was even given the opening solo for the Marching Band's opening piece "Killer Joe".

From 1984-1988 I played in the school bands, city bands, and even played with the Utah State Symphony once. In Alaska, we had the privilege of meeting the United States Air Force Band and the Canadian Brass.

Both of which I was able to play with during their visits. I received great advice from those band members as well as some encouragement. The tuba player for the Air Force Band told me he was very impressed with my level of play at that age. He told me that he definitely could see me playing one day for the Boston Pops.

However, when I returned from my mission, I realized what it was going to take to one day play for the Boston Pops. The chances were extremely slim. More than likely I would end up teaching junior high band and that was something I was certainly not interested in. The dream was a good one, but I just wasn't interested in the schooling that would be required for me to get there and to me the risk of not making it was also not worth it. The life of a musician can be glorious but the number of musicians that make it big compared to those who do not has quite a gap. For me, though I thought I was good enough, I did not want to play for just any band. I wanted the Boston Pops. That would make the road that much more difficult.

So I decided to forego my scholarship and utilize the skills that I gained serving as a missionary for my church. I had a new love for people and the ability to talk to all of them. I would become a salesman. I contacted Sonja Jensen, one of the church members that I had met on my mission, who lived in San Rafael. She owned a little print shop/copy center called Ram Insta-Print. They offered me a job running the hi-speed copy center with the chance to move up into a printing sales position. I told them I would accept the position and made the preparations to leave.

I wasn't sure how I was going to make it work financially because I didn't have a car and only about $1500 to my name. I had nowhere to live either. I called one of the families, the Becker's, that I had become very good friends with and asked if I could stay with them for a short while until I found something. They were very willing and told me they would love to have me for a while. So I moved back to California.

The Becker s lived in Novato, which is located north of San Rafael. I would need to drive about 20 miles into work. When I arrived at the Becker's home, I was greeted with hugs and then I followed them downstairs to where they had set up a place for me. They had basically made a small apartment downstairs off of the garage that had it's own entrance too. It didn't have a kitchen but it had a small studio apartment type feel with a living area, bed, and a separate bathroom. They said that I could use the kitchen upstairs as well and to make myself at home. The rest of the house was beautiful and spacious. There was a grand piano in the living room, a pool table in the family room as well as a big screen TV and mini fridge. Outside was a ground level trampoline, hot tub and a wonderful swimming pool. A bachelor's dream!

I called Sonja and told her I had made it to town and then made arrangements with Jon Canaan to carpool with into work. He worked somewhere that was conveniently nearby my job. I was all set. Things couldn't go any better. But they actually did!

My first day at work went very well. I learned about all kinds of paper types and was trained on how to use the new high tech copy machines that could copy in color, collate, staple, 3-hole punch and even put nice covers on. After work Sonja gave me the number of a friend of theirs who was an older woman and she was recently widowed. She was selling one of her cars. I contacted her and made an appointment to visit her and see the vehicle.

When I got to her house she took me to her garage where I found two cars parked inside. One was a very nice luxury car that she said had been her husband's car and a cute little VW Rabbit next to it. "The Rabbit was my car" she said. "I didn't drive it much, just to and from the grocery store and sometimes to my bowling league. The rest of the time we always drove my husband's car. Now I don't need it because I have his car to enjoy."

I looked at the Rabbit and it was in great condition. It was a '79 so about 12 years old. It had 4 doors and a sun roof. All leather interior and the best part, it was diesel! Not a big deal in Idaho, but it was golden in California. I looked at the mileage and it said 38,000 miles! She wasn't kidding that she hadn't driven it much. I got nervous that I wouldn't be able to afford it now.

"How much are you asking for it?" I asked.

"I just want to get rid of it without a hassle." She replied. "Sonja is a good friend and she told me that you were a fine young man that had a good need for it. I will sell it to you for $1200 cash, or $1500 and you can make me payments."

I hoped that the shock on my face was not apparent. "You are so kind." I said. I can have the cash for you tomorrow. She nodded and threw me the keys.

"You can sign the title tomorrow when you come back with your money," she said. And with that, I was set.

The car was perfect for me. It got about 60 miles per gallon so I could drive a lot and not spend too much. I did have to learn where the diesel stations were located just in case. In 1991 there were not a lot of standard gas stations that also had diesel offered.

I was only making about $8/hr and I had $300 left after purchasing the vehicle. I was not having much luck finding a place to live either. Most of the apartments were more than $1000/month. The places that were near where I worked were even more! After a week of looking for a place, the Becker's came downstairs and knocked on the door to my room. I opened the door and they both burst out that they would like me to stay permanently. I thanked them but I said I didn't want to stay anywhere for free. It was important to me that I earned my way and contributed as well. They said that they would figure out a "rent" for me and they went out the door and back upstairs. About 10 minutes later they returned, knocking at my door. They told me that they had made a decision and hoped that it work for me. The offer was $100/month plus a 6-pack of diet coke every week to help stock up the mini-fridge. This would include access to the entire home, amenities and even included the kitchen and food! I thought about it for about, say, half a second! I couldn't pass it up. I asked them if they were sure and they said absolutely. They liked having me around, their kids enjoyed my company and they also knew they would be out of town often, so they needed someone who could watch the house.

I was now living the dream on $8 per hour. I got a very part time job at the Roger Wilco grocery store as well. My rent was low, my gas was low and my food expenses were low even though I ate out a lot.  I was called by the church to serve as the Regional Young Single Adult rep for the area. This pretty much included my mission area which consisted of the northern California coastline up to the Oregon border and down to the Golden Gate Bridge. My duties were to put together events for all of the 18-30 year old single people, like dances, devotionals and other fun stuff. Many times this meant everyone was invited to my residence when the Becker's were on one of their excursions to Tahoe. We had pool parties, movie parties and just hung out a lot. It also opened the door up for some dating. Dating was fun. Mostly because I had little competition. Many of the young women were searching for good young men who had served a mission and that basically was just me.

Most of the other young men who had served missions would quickly move away from home to places like Utah or Idaho where they could afford to live and go to school. My setup allowed me to stay in California. So I dated a lot. I was having fun but it was a little disturbing that so many of the girls I was interested in were talking about marriage on the FIRST date! (Note to you single ladies out there, this is not recommended if you are truly looking to get married!) I was just not ready for that.

I was doing very well. My bank account was beginning to grow. I had lots of friends and lots of fun. This went on for about 7 months and then something kept creeping into my mind that I needed to go home. I ignored it for a while. The feeling wouldn't go away. I called my Dad and explained to him my feelings and he told me to pray about it and do what you feel is right. That was a no-brainer! Look at my life! Why would I possibly give this up? I stalled a week but the feeling never went away. So I hit my knees and prayed to see why I was getting this feeling all the time. Instantly I received my answer. As clear as day, I knew that I needed to go home. I didn't know why but I knew that I would find out later.

So I quit my job, said good-byes to everyone and moved back to Boise. During the drive home I contemplated all of the possibilities as to why I was going home. It became clear that I was to return to school and finish my education.

Once home, I immediately began to make arrangements to transfer my Utah State University records over to Boise State University. I became extremely frustrated at the process and felt that I wasn't getting anywhere. I soon found out that most of my records would not transfer to BSU. This meant I would basically begin again as a freshman. Then I found out that I wouldn't be able to attend until the following fall semester. I was angry and decided that I would return to my California life at least until the following year.

On Sept 7, 1991, I was about to pick up the phone to call the Becker's and Sonja to let them know I was
coming. As I reached for the handset I was startled when it began to ring. I answered the phone and to my great surprise it was a great friend from Alaska. My best friend Tony Darling's little sister Jenny was calling to let me know they were heading to Rexburg to visit Tony and surprise him for his birthday on the upcoming Tuesday. I asked who "we"
was and she said it was her, her little brother, Seth, and Sarah Anderson.

I thought for a moment and thought "what could it hurt?" I could call California later. "I will meet you guys there on Monday." I said. "I have a few things to do tomorrow before I leave."

It had been a while since I had been to Eastern Idaho. I had moved away from there to Homer, Alaska during my 10th grade year. I decided to contact some of my old friends and see if I could stop by while I was in the area. I really wanted to see one person in particular. The girl I'd had the biggest crush on since 1st grade, Diana Almohanna. Actually, I think everyone had a crush on Diana. She was the sweetest person I knew and she was gorgeous as well. I talked to a couple of friends and they told me that Diana was still in the area and she was still single. My heart leaped in my chest at the thought.

I got her phone number and nervously dialed her up. A few years prior I never would have had the courage to make that call. I had really changed in my confidence. Even so, I was still shaking as I heard the phone ringing through the handset. When Diana answered, I cleared my throat and said "Hi Diana, this is Horace Hallenberger, I'm not sure if you remem..."

I didn't get to finish my sentence. Diana excitedly exclaimed "Horace, how have you been! I can't believe it!"

I could hear she was genuinely happy to hear my name. That gave me all the confidence I needed. "It's been a long time! I wasn't sure you would remember me or not."

"Horace, I couldn't forget you!" She replied.

I continued, "I am coming to Eastern Idaho on Monday to visit an old friend up in Rexburg. I was hoping that maybe you would like to go out to dinner and a movie or something on Tuesday evening before I head home?"

"I am free that night, that would be great! I'm excited to see you again!" She answered.

"Great! I will pick you up at 6:00pm."  I got her address and said good bye. I hung up the phone and sat there and grinned from ear to ear. I was going to go out with the girl of my dreams in only two days.

Sunday couldn't pass quick enough. I couldn't get the thought of seeing Tony and Diana out of my mind. I kept asking myself if Diana would like me now. I had changed a lot since the last time I saw her. I was about 5 feet 1 inch tall and under 100 lbs as a sophomore in high school. Now I was 10 inches taller and 60 lbs heavier. I felt that my chances were much greater now.

Monday late morning I headed for Rexburg. The Rabbit was running nice and I had the sun roof open and the beach boys blasting. I was pretty excited for this trip. I stopped for lunch at a burger place in Twin Falls and made it into Rexburg mid afternoon. I met Jenny, Seth and Sarah and they took me to Tony's apartment. He had already seen them but they hadn't told him that I was coming. We knocked on the door and one of Tony's roommates answered. He said that Tony was in his bedroom and he went to get him for us. When Tony finally appeared his eyes became wide when he saw who was standing in the doorway. "Horace Hallenberger, is that you?" He asked as he came to me and we embraced in a bear hug.

It was so good to see Tony. Tony's family was very close to my family in Alaska and Tony was a great friend for me through some very difficult times. We talked for hours about our missions, music and Alaska. It was great. He told me he had to go to a class but that I could stay at his apartment. We made plans to meet up later that evening with everyone so we could celebrate his birthday.

After he left, I met up with Jenny, Seth and Sarah again. They said they were going over to Jenny's old apartment from the previous year to visit her old roommates. She had graduated in the spring but the girls that she roomed with were still there.When we got there we found that there were a whole bunch of people at the apartment. They were having a family home evening with some of the guys and other girls who lived in the nearby apartments. They were playing a game of some sorts. Jenny and Sarah saw some girls they knew and went over and sat with them. Seth and I sat on the crowded floor right inside the door and watched the game. It seemed a little confusing and there was too much commotion with that many people crammed into the little apartment.

We were talking and laughing as we watched. Then I stopped and caught myself staring into the little kitchen area. Seth saw me and asked me what I was looking at.

"That's the girl I'm going to marry." I said.

"What are you talking about?" Seth asked and laughed at my comment.

"That's the girl I'm going to marry." I repeated and I pointed at a pretty blond girl walking around in the kitchen. She was wearing a soft green shirt with white polka dots and blue jeans. Her hair was long and was pulled back and fastened with a banana clip. The front of her hair curled and puffed up with hair spray. She was beautiful.

Seth still wasn't buying it. "Whatever dude, you're crazy." He said.

I didn't hear much else. I just watched the pretty girl in the polka dots.

After we left, Seth told Jenny and Sarah what I had said. They laughed and thought I was silly. "Her name is Trina." Jenny told me.

Trina. I love that name, I thought to myself.

Later that evening we all met at the bowling alley for Tony's birthday party. Jenny's roommates came too, and they brought Trina with them. Watching her, I could tell she was athletic. She had a beautiful smile and I loved watching her smile and laugh with everyone. After bowling we went to JB's for some dessert. I sat at a table with Seth and conveniently were at the same table as Trina. I finally had the opportunity to speak to her. We had a great time and we all laughed a lot. I decided to try a bold move. I bet her a quarter that I could kiss her on the mouth without touching her lips. The plan was to go in for a kiss and lose the quarter. She accepted the bet but when I made my move to kiss her, she turned her head right before and I planted one on her cheek. That was good enough for me though.

After we left JB's we all went our separate ways. Seth and I went over to Tony's place. Jenny called and said that she heard that Trina liked me. I asked her if she thought we could see her again that night. She said probably if we wanted to go by her apartment. So Seth and I got in the Rabbit and headed that direction. I told Seth that we couldn't go without taking some flowers. So we drove up to the Student Union building. Out in front of the building was a big circle that was landscaped with lots of flowers. I parked and told Seth to run up and pick some of the prettiest flowers. We looked around to make sure that nobody would see us.

When all was clear, Seth bolted out of the car and ran over to the flowers. He picked a whole bunch of them and then sprinted back to the car. He jumped in and we quickly drove away. Then we both were caught up by an awful smell. We realized soon that it was the flowers. They were very pretty, but they smelled horrible. What should we do? We decided that stinky flowers were better than no flowers and we drove on to Trina's apartment.

The girls in the apartment were obviously waiting for us to arrive. Jenny and Sarah must have spilled the beans. I asked Trina if she wanted to go for a walk and she agreed. She put her shoes on and we ventured out into the dark night. We walked and talked for a couple of hours. Just the two of us. We talked about our families, school, sports, my mission and lots of other things. It was very comfortable. I loved everything about this girl. Her voice was peaceful, her eyes were sparkling, her hair was gorgeous, her laugh was infectious. I was totally twitterpated. I wanted to know everything about her.

It was very late when I finally walked her back to her apartment and said good-night. I felt a little bad because she had told me that she was running the mile run on the track in the morning and would be timed. But she didn't seem too worried about it.

The next morning I went to the track and watched her run. It was clear to me that she had run this way before. She had a long stride and was quite elegant as she set her pace. Her legs were shapely and athletic and I was mesmerized as I watched. She was easily outpacing the other racers. I was impressed.

I talked with her for a bit after her run then she had to "run" to her next class. We made arrangements to meet up in the afternoon before I headed out of town. When we did meet I had a hard time ending the time together. I had never felt this way before. I stretched out my stay to the very last possible moment then said my goodbyes to Tony and then Trina. I drove off watching her in my rear view mirror. Would I ever see her again? I had to. I would have to figure out a way.

Jenny, Seth and Sarah had decided to go to Provo before they headed back to Washington. They wanted to stop and see Kirsten Ballentine, another friend of ours from Alaska who was attending BYU.  They invited me along and I said sure, I would meet them in Pocatello the following morning. We would drive together to Provo and I'd leave my car in Pocatello and then pick it up on our way back.

I got to Pocatello and checked into the Super 8 Motel. I had about an hour to prepare for my date with Diana Almohanna. For some strange reason, I was no longer nervous about that date. I had been waiting for that night for about 15 years. I had played it out in my mind a thousand times. I had always been nervous even when I was just dreaming about it. But now I stood in front of the mirror just minutes away from living that dream and I was as calm as I'd ever been.

I drove up to Diana's apartment and rang the bell. I took a deep breath as I waited for her to answer. The door opened and Diana smiled at me and then gave me a big hug. She was still as sweet as ever. I walked her to the car and we drove to dinner. We talked about a lot of things. It was a very enjoyable evening. I finally told her about the crush I had on her since first grade. I was caught off guard by her response to this revelation. She asked why I hadn't said anything before. She then told me that she had thought I was cute growing up and kinda had a crush on my too. I had to stop her there. I didn't like knowing that I might have had the slightest chance back then.

Our discussion was nice. It was good to reminisce. We talked about current dating prospects. She said she wasn't currently dating anyone. I told her I had recently fallen in love. Yes, I actually told her that. And from there it all came flowing out. I told her everything about meeting Trina. Diana was so sweet. She sat and listened and seemed genuinely happy for my new found joy. She told me that Trina sounded like a great girl and that she was excited for me. I told her thanks, but that though I was in love with Trina, I didn't know when I would see her again. Diana said that everything would work out if it was meant to be.

It never got awkward but we did decide that our long dinner and conversation was enough for our date and we called it a night and skipped the movie. I took her home and walked her to her door. She gave me a hug and I told her thanks for the date and also for the many years of being my friend. She told me that she hoped everything worked out with Trina. And with that we said good-night.

I drove home contemplating all that had happened. Had all this really happened? What would happen next? I tossed and turned that night.

The next morning I woke up late and hurried to get ready so I could meet Jenny, Seth and Sarah on time. I walked out to my car and waited just a few minutes when they pulled up in Jenny's car. They all got out and to my surprise they had an extra passenger. A pretty blonde exited the vehicle and looked at me with a big beautiful smile. "Surprise!" She said.

I couldn't believe my eyes. Trina had decided to skip a couple of days of classes so that she could spend another couple of days with me.

That's how it all began. A couple of days extended to a week. I finally did return home. The day I came home I drove to Trina's parents house in Boise and introduced myself. Then I would drive every weekend to Rexburg to spend every minute possible with my girl. We talked on the phone in the evenings and I wrote her letters and poems everyday. It took a while but my love for her finally became contagious and she returned her love for me.

I know this is a long story. A very long story. A story that is still being written today, more than 25 years later. A story that will be written for the next eternity. A story with a beautiful beginning, chalk full of plots, but never an ending!


To always be continued..........

Not Much of a Fish Story

During my time in Alaska I was able to enjoy many of the wonderful outdoor experiences. I loved the beautiful scenery that was everywhere I looked. I loved the wildlife that I would see each day like moose, bear, porcupine, bald eagles, moose, golden eagles, dolphins, killer whales, moose, sea lions, beluga whales, humpback whales, and of course moose. As you can now tell, there are a lot of moose in Alaska. The McDonald's where I lived actually had one place an order in the drive-thru!

 I loved everything about this country. My dad and I spent extensive time fishing and hunting and enjoying as much time outdoors as we could get away with. When we weren't playing in nature's wonderland, we were working, going to school or involved in something for church. Living in Anchor Point meant we spent a lot of time in our car traveling back and forth from Homer, which was the main town where everyone worked, shopped, etc. It was about a half-hour drive from our little home into town. I absolutely loved this drive everyday. So many things to see along the way. My favorite was right as we came over the last hill and into the turn that drops the highway into Homer. One of the most beautiful views I have ever seen.
As you looked south and east across the Kachemak Bay you would see the majestic mountains and glaciers of the Kenai Mountain Range. Everyone who has ever seen that view has come away with the same opinion, that it is breathtaking!

My best friend Tony Darling and I loved it so much that we would even volunteer to go with our dads when they had to cross the bay to do some church service in Seldovia. Tony's dad, Jim, had a nice 23ft boat that we often fished in together. One afternoon on one of these excursions, Tony and I decided to stay back in the boat and fish while they went to visit some of the church members around the little town.

We docked the boat and let Dad and Jim out. Then we took the boat away from the dock a bit and dropped the anchor. The water wasn't too deep so we would fish for some flounder or very small halibut. First we had to catch some bait. Flounder and Halibut are not to picky but we had found that there was a specific fish that they seemed to love, the Irish Lord.

The Irish Lord is one of the ugliest fish in the ocean. They don't hardly fight at all when you catch them. It's almost as though they know you wouldn't dare put them in your mouth so they are confident in their being released. When you hook one and begin to reel it in it is quite a site. As the fish slowly is dragged to the surface, all you see is this huge ugly head. I remember the first time I caught one of these and thought, wow! It was huge! But I was so wrong. Yes, the head was huge, but once I lifted the entire fish up over the side of the boat I realized that the fish was nearly the same length as the entire width of the head! It had spiny fins that were somewhat like a rockfish.

So Tony and I took a small hook and a little worm and dropped it over the side. In no time at all, Tony had a bite and reeled in a small Irish Lord. We quickly gutted the fish and filleted it on one side. We took the pieces we had cut from the fish and hooked it onto our larger hooks used for catching halibut. We cast our lines out a little ways and allowed the hooks to descend all the way to the bottom of the bay. We then began to wait.

We made ourselves comfortable as we sat there enjoying the slight up and down movement of the boat. We opened up our little lunches and ate as we talked about life, school, the Beach Boys and of course girls. It was very relaxing. Just two friends talking and fishing. What more could I ask for?

Our relaxing moment ended quite abruptly however. We had thought nothing of the Irish Lord that we had left mutilated on the side of the boat where we had cut it up for bait. All of a sudden we heard a slapping noise and we both turned to where the noise was coming from. What we saw was.....Let me just say that I am very happy that Tony was there with me. For one, I almost fainted at what I saw and Tony could have saved me had I injured myself falling in the boat, and two, because it is always good to have a witness when things like this happen!

What we saw was the most impossible thing ever. The Irish Lord, gutless and partially filleted to the point that you could see the bones, was flapping around on the side of the boat. Tony and I watched as it flapped itself over the edge and into the water. We both ran to the side of the boat and watched in awe as the fish floated for a second and then righted itself and swam away as though nothing were wrong.

Slowly I turned to Tony who was still looking overboard with his mouth agape. He turned towards me and we stared at each other. I don't know how long we were standing there just staring at each other before I asked Tony, "Did that just happen?"

"If you were not here right now, I would never tell anyone what I just saw." Tony replied.

"I don't know if we should tell anyone anyways" I said. "We might both be put away somewhere".

Tony nodded and we had decided that it would stay between us. And it did. Right up until our dads returned to the boat and we unloaded on them our amazing story. We could tell that they were trying to believe the story because we were two trustworthy boys, but I could also see in their eyes that they thought we were telling them a fantastic "Fish Story".

I've told this story to a lot of people over the years. Amazingly some believe. Most of them look at me the same way our dads did 28 years ago.

A short time ago I was able to reunite with my good friend Tony who now lives in Utah. His brother, Steve and their families and I had a nice dinner and were able to reminisce our childhood years in Alaska. I told lots of stories of Tony and I and his family loved hearing about him when he was a young man. When I told the story of the Irish Lord, I could see that Tony hadn't shared that one with his family. Once again, Tony and I were receiving the look our dads gave us the day that it happened.