Fishing...or catching, if you're Micah.

We is back. We is late, but We is always late. The good news is that We is, in most of We's life, anyway, consistently late. This means that We is usually late by the same margin of time, or that We is always on time, just not everyone else's time. In other words, We is not late, just out of sync with the rest of society. At least, this is what We likes to tell people when We is late, but the truth is that We is not telling the truth. We is simply late. 

Anyway. 

Today We went fishing. Not all of us, but just Dad, Micah, Samuel, Benjamin and I, while Mom and Hannah watched and commented. Benjamin had been wanting to fish for a while, and had just gotten a bamboo fishing poll that he was dying to try out. So, to pacify him and Samuel, we went down to our little pond to wet some line. It's not a big pond...maybe fifty feet long and twenty wide. 3' deep or so, at the most. We didn't really think there was anything in this pond besides mud and water, and we really just went down there to satisfy the craze of  a zealous 5 year old and a little less zealous (but still enthusiastic) seven year old.

As it turns out, there are fish in We's mud hol--excuse me, pond. Lot's of fish. I went down there just to try out a new bass rod and to practice with a few new lures, but by the time I got there, Micah had already caught a fish. I proceeded with my lures, and before long he had caught at least one and maybe two more with the age-old float and worm-on-a-hook rig (this really embarrasses those people who insist you have to have expensive and man-made lures to catch fish, but I maintain my lure position by reminding you that I was only practicing for bass, of which I knew there were none in this pond).

That said, the temptation to join in the fun was just too great. I deposited my lures in my tackle box, got out one of those tacky little orange and white foam floats along with a crappie hook, and went for a worm. Meanwhile, Micah was still hauling in bream at a consistent rate, with a few bites and losses in-between each successful catch.

Benjamin and Samuel weren't catching anything and were losing interest. But that was because they weren't casting into the right spot. Micah had the spot down, which was located right beside the mostly-submerged metal pan of a long-ditched wheelbarrow, which in turn was the sunken remains of one of our many (and never successful) raft building projects.

I cast my line, and soon enough I was getting nibbles. More casting, and more nibbles. Even got a few serious bites. Then I got a real bite. A big bite. This bite was agressive. I had one.

I started reeling in, completely thrilled despite the fact that I was reducing my nice bass rod to the status of a bream catcher rigged with a method that was so archaic as to date back who-knows how many hundreds (if not thousands) of years minus the foam float.

I...didn't have a fish. When I first caught glimpse of the character in question, he appeared to be a catfish with a head the size of mine. Yes, that was scary. Then I hauled him on out. It wasn't a catfish. Nor was it a bream. But yes, it was alive. Very much so. And very large, too. Heavy also. It was a turtle  Big, nasty little guy. I hauled him out and then ran up to the barn to get a bucket. I wanted to take him to the house and take a picture for this long-abandoned blog.

We left for the house not long afterwards. Micah had reeled in five bream, by this time, but had returned all but one on account of their size. Aside from my very angry turtle (who had the nerve to make us destroy my crappie hook when we tried to do him a kind turn and remove it from his disgusting little maw) there were no other catches, and we returned to the house.

At the house dad took the time to show Micah how to clean his fish, which I believe was then donated to two of the family cats for a Sunday afternoon treat.

Here's some pictures. 

Until next time (when We hopes he will not be late, but doubts he will be on time)...

Eli for the Kings

Mr. Turtle (obvious, I know).

 For a creature with a house on his back and really small legs, this guy could move. He tried to get away by climbing under the deck rail. Guess he missed the little yellow clearance sign...

 Mr. Fish Catcher with his only keeper.

 Hehe...this scene reminds me of the French Revolution. I'll leave you to construe the rest yourself.

 Observant observers.

 Dad wears this shirt all the time. I doubt he even thought about it when he put it on today. 

The primary beneficiaries of the event.

Hello! My name is We

So we are here. We are here. But who is We? Well, obviously, this "We" refers to Us, a specific group of people. But who is "Us"? Well, one thing we know, is that whoever "Us" is, it isn't you, or them, or those people, or ya'll. No, it's definitely only Us.

So, now that we have decided officially that We is not you, we can proceed to the details of who We--and not you--are, exactly.

So who is this We that we--and not you--have been talking about?

Well, one thing we know is that We is a weird person. He's so weird that he's written everything above as a filter. We has put all that there to eliminate all those of faint heart. Those who weren't strong enough to battle through his weirdness will have left is disgust by now. Obviously you, or those people, or ya'll, are still here, however. We is now addressing you. Not the faint-hearted ones.

The first thing you need to know about We, is that We is actually more than one person, which makes sense since "we" is a plural pronoun that indicates we-ness. More than one person. So how many persons does this particular We indicate?

Well, this We indicates 10 people, actually. These ten people comprise the Biblical unit of we-ness, known as the family. This family is a close-knit unit of people dedicated to being We--and not you, him, her and that other person.

So, about this family. Who are they? Well, We are a unit of ten, as we said. First of all, We has a father. He's a very godly father who strives to lead his family in the Lord. He's really a neat guy. He enjoys reading and working around the house, and is also an expert in energy management (which is obvious, because he manages to feed We, and with with the size of We, that can be a challenge.)

Then we have a mother. The mother of this unit is an excellent, wonderful mother who leads her children everyday around the house. She's an excellent teacher and mommy, and also, if we dare say, a pretty amazing cook. Again, a major contributor to the energy excellence of the We unit in question

Then there is our dear Adam. He's brother number 1, and he's 25. Adam is older than the rest of us, and now lives on his own. He served our Nation (American, in case you were wondering) for five years as a Marine. Now he travels and is thinking about going to school. We thinks he would make a good engineer--he has a talent for the details in any project.

Then there is Me. Who is Me? Well,  Me would be the person writing this article about We--and not you. Me is brother number 2, and most people, including himself sometimes, call him Eli. He's 16, a writer and a blacksmith and and also a not-so-faithful blog poster (just ask his friends--who would be the you we have been referring to, as no one else would be enduring We's weirdness for this long).

Next, we have Isaac, who is brother number 3 and is 15. Isaac is a guitarist, and if Eli dares to say so, one of the best he knows. Isaac also love animals and guns. He's really pretty good at just about everything mechanical. He's an excellent driver, tractor operator and an avid reader. He devours good novels, when he can get them. He's also a WWII buff, and reads all about that.

After Isaac, we have brother number 4, who is called Noah, most of the time. He's 11. Noah is the only blonde of the family, and also the family comedian. He's into just about everything, now and then, and also loves a good novel. He also likes a good movie (as most of We does), and loves to do anything with his older brothers. Noah is also responsible for We's donkey and calf, and does odd jobs around the house.

Then there is Micah, brother number 5. Micah is the family little guy, and he's 10. He's much smaller than everyone else, actually, and is athletics and smart. He's good at math, and loves to dress up and play. He's great with his little brothers and loves to talk.

Following him, is the great Samodeni, who is more often called Samuel. Our dear Samuel is the family helper. He's seven, and loves to work with everyone. He's doing school now and always has a warm smile and laugh for everyone. He's growing to be a big, tall boy, and has an aggressive appetite after a hard day playing outside.

And now at last, we come to brother number 6. He goes by many names, but mostly, we call him Benjamin, and he's 5. We wouldn't be We without Benjamin. Benjamin is the mastermind of devious plan around the house. He's one of the more brilliant members of We, and has many curious skills. He's friendly and kind, and has a wonderful smile.

The last member of We is Hannah, our dear baby sister. She's just about to turn 3, and is the light of our lives day by day. She's sweet and loves to help her mommy in the kitchen, or go play guns with her brothers--either way. She also loves to talk and spend time with all her family. She's a really great addition to We.

So now you know who We is. We is the Kings, and we're happily living and learning. We live in Alabama on a small farm out in the country, and we have chickens, a donkey, a cow, cats and a couple dogs. Some people might think we also raise mice in our house, but we will neither confirm nor deny such accusations at this time.

We're excited about the new blog, and Me will try to post on it a little more often than the last one. He promises. He knows. He's sure of it. Really. Once a weak. Honest.

(It's We's opinion that Me is really trying to convince himself more than you.)

Until next time, Me for We.