Did I mention I LOVED our boat. So wish we had a way to get Mr. B. on a boat again. But - on to the tales.
Charley Jr. and the knee board
We got a knee board for the kids to ride while we towed them behind the boat. A knee board is almost impossible to get on by yourself while you are bobbing up and down in the water. So our chosen method was for mom (aka me) to jump over the side (yes, I had a life jacket on), and help the kids get on. Charley Jr. was the first one. He was so excited. So being the good mom I was, I got him on the board, strapped his knees down good and tight, and yelled at Big C. to go! I just stayed there floating around the lake while Charley Jr. was being pulled. They were WAY down at the end of the lake part, when I could see the boat stop. I heard a blood curdling scream and I see this figure fly over the side of the boat. I am nearly hysterical floating there, not knowing what was wrong - not a good feeling, trust me. Finally I could barely make out my sister yelling that "everything is all right." Still didn't know what happened. When they finally got back to pick me up, the saga was explained. The boat ran out of gas, of course stopping the knee board going, and it flipped upside down. I had been such a diligent mom, that I had strapped Charley Jr. in so tight, he couldn't get out of the straps. Upside down, pinned onto the board, ....... he managed to get his head above water for a second and scream. His dad went flying overboard, forgetting he was wearing his life jacket. If you have ever swam with a life jacket on, it is like swimming with an anchor on you! Reached son, got his knees out of the straps, and loaded back up. I felt SO BAD! I almost drowned my child. :Needless to say, the knee board went bye bye!
The Gremlin
April and Charley always took friends with them to the lake. One time, it was Holly Chambers - now Holly Lusby. I offered to help her get on the skis by getting into the water with her. She said she'd be all right. Verbal instruction ya know! She did get upon the skis, and here we went flying around the lake. Only problem, she would/couldn't straighten up. She crouched over those skis like a little gremlin. We laughed so hard I had tears going down my cheeks. We picked her up and congratulated her for learning to ski - even in a gremlin position. Love you Holly!
The eyeglasses:
Dustin was another friend who frequently went with us to the lake. He was a wonderful young man and we just sort of sucked him into our family unit. As was our habit, we found a quiet cove, and stopped the boat. Big C. volunteered to stay in the boat and keep it from drifting. So the kids all dove over the side. I watched them all pop to the surface, counted heads to be sure, and then settled down to soak up sun and relax. (I usually went overboard with them, but for some reason, this time I stayed in the boat). I saw Dustin pop up above the water with this really weird look on his face. He said, "Marty, was I wearing my glasses when I jumped in." My heart almost stopped - there were no glasses on his face. He was upset, we were upset but there was nothing we could do. We were in 50 feet of water. We wound up getting him new glasses because he worked on his own to buy those glasses. I have a faint memory of maybe the insurance we had on the boat paying for them. Sorry Dustin - but love you!
Baby DJ:
We took a quick few days vacation two weeks after DJ was born - last hurrah before school/college started. We needed a safe place for DJ to sleep, so we padded the bathtub with blankets, shut the water switch completely off on the electrical board, and she was just adorable in her little bed. We - being grandparents for the first time - were smitten with our new girl. We volunteered to babysit while Dustin, Charley, Danny, and April went out in the boat. They were gone a couple of hours. When they came back into the motor home, all 4 of them looked as guilty as they could be. Immediately I said - April - did you go skiing? All 4 of them looked at each other - like saying Oh good grief, how do we get out of this!! She HAD gone skiing 2 weeks after her baby was born. I just stood there shaking my head!!!
So folks, episode 2 is complete. I'm sure my kids and their friends can add to this and I hope they will.
Peace, love and boat rides to all.
