Homer, Part II: Sweet Cheeks and Big Butts

Homer is a very interesting town. Its views are absolutely breathtaking and the weather is fairly mild, but as we drive through town we see all these peculiar signs for businesses. I have to laugh because if you don’t know where the slang terms in these signs come from, you may be thoroughly confused.

Homer is known as the Halibut Capitol of the World. A halibut is a strange looking flat fish with its eyes on top of its head. They are really funny looking. In Alaska, a halibut is also called a “butt” for short.

Halibut meat is really tasty, but the best cut of meat off a halibut is their cheek. A halibut cheek is a small piece of tender meet that is a delicacy. So, when you’re driving into Homer and you see a sign that reads “Sweet Cheeks and Big Butts,” you’ll know that they are talking about the tasty bottom-dwelling fish known as the halibut.

Homer is home to a swath of land protruding into the bay known as the “Spit.” It’s a small tinker town of shops and tourist traps, restaurants, boat docks, and the final resting spot for many boats in one of the Spit’s many boat graveyards. One of my favorite shops on the spit is the “Buttwhackers.” Here you can bring your halibut (or “Butt” for short) and they will, as their saying goes, pack ‘em, rack ‘em, whack ‘em, and sack ‘em. It’s more or less a fish processing shop, but one with a sense of humor. My other favorite place on the Homer spit is the shop called “Spit Licks.” Spit Licks is an ice cream shop, and a pretty good one at that.

Homer is the only place in the world that I’d ever fished for halibut. I was about 12 years old at the time and that’s the only other time that I’ve been to Alaska. Back then, I had a halibut experience that I hope not to repeat. My dad, my two sisters and I paid a charter for a half-day of halibut fishing. Now, when you’re like my dad and you have three young teenagers, you can’t afford the big nice cushy charters. So we got a great deal with one and were psyched.

The next morning we show up at the docks at 6 a.m. and find a boat just larger than a tin can. My sisters and I glance at each other and think, “are we going out on the ocean in that?” The thing was tiny, a small step up from a rowboat with no cabin and no bathroom. I think the name of the boat was something like, “She’s Got the House” or something along those lines.

The light drizzle and choppy seas are a little rough on the way out, but once I get my line in the water I’m a happy camper. I wish I could say the same for my sister and my dad, who’ve decided that since the fish aren’t biting, they’ll do a little chumming. The boat is rolling up and down these gigantic waves and my poor dad and sister are sea sick. There’s no escaping it either. The guide, who is a crusty old fellow, is determined to get us a fish, so we stay out for two tides! He keeps looking at us girls and saying with a throaty laugh, “What’s the matter, you have to use the bathroom? Why don’t you just use the tin can? Ha ha ha.” We didn’t find him quite so funny.

In fact, we were more scared the guy was gonna keel over and leave us stranded in the middle of the ocean. He was older than dirt, with a long gray beard and a ball cap that had seen better days maybe 20 years ago. He kept telling us how he had recently recovered from a heart attack, and then proceeded to tell us that he had pain in his arm. So, he rubbed his sore arm and we watch the end of our lines for hours without a bite. When we finally did get back to the shore it was a race to the Porta-Potty. We’d been out there for close to 10 hours and we’d long since had to pee.

This old sea-dog of a guide felt awful that we didn’t get anything, so he offered to take us out the next day. My older sister had had enough puking over the side of the boat, so she opted out. But my dad, Lanny and I agreed to give it another go. The next day the water was flat, the sun was out and it was beautiful. We caught our limit and were in within five hours – a big step up from the previous day.

Thirteen years later, we are back in Homer and hoping to catch some more halibut. My dad has a buddy named Charlie who’s offered to take us out on his boat. My parents’ neighbor Manfred would be going along as well. Manfred is German-American. He’s 78 years old and incredibly funny. He has a thick German accent that you don’t find on too many German transplants, but it resembles the stereotypical accent used when describing how a German speaks English. I love it. I could spend hours just listening to him talk. He, my dad and Charlie are pretty good friends, so they sit there and give each other a hard time all day. It’s funny listening to them banter.

On the way to the boat, Manfred is driving really slowly. We are early and he doesn’t want to be. Manfred is usually always late and Charlie is always early and Charlie hates when Manfred is late, hence the slow driving.

We finally get to the docks and head out on the water. It’s a gorgeous day and the water is calm. We head our quite a ways, stop the engines and get to fishing. As soon as we get our lines in the water we start getting bites. Halibut fishing is fun. Every halibut, even the small ones, bite big. Halibut do not nibble your line like some fish do they really bite on it. They are almost bending your pole in the water when they sink their teeth into your bait. It’s a blast.

Several hours later we had all caught our limit of two fish and were headed back to shore. The constant bantering between Manfred, Charlie and my dad hasn’t let up and it’s only getting more intense. As we are heading back into the no wake zone a speedboat goes whipping by Charlie’s boat. Manfred immediately booms, “Vhat awe you doing Chawlie?” Yowr letting that boat pass you Chawlie? Don’t let that boat pass you!”

Manfred is clearly upset that Charlie has given in to the smaller boat. Manfred then explains that on the previous trip, Charlie sped past a boat that had cut them off. Clearly Manfred’s competitiveness was getting the best of him, but he had this big old grin on his face and was having fun.
Manfred has an interesting history. He grew up in a region of former Germany known as Prussia. His family owned the biggest sheep farm in all of Germany. They had a huge farm with thousands of acres and several houses equipped with maids. During the war, when Russia invaded this region of Prussia, Manfred’s family fled its farm to escaoe the Russians. They left everything behind. He tells stories of his family and brothers on the verge of starving. To this day he will still eat an apple core down to the stem. And when his wife throws out food that is old or beginning to rot, Manfred protests that the food is still good.

He was in high school when his family made it over to the United States. And upon graduating high school, he and his brothers all joined the army. They said that they were so grateful to the United States for taking them in and giving them citizenship that they wanted to repay the U.S. by serving their newfound country. It reminds me why I’m so proud to represent my country.

Editors Note:  Tracy & Lanny Barnes are part of the US Olympic Biathlon team. Their WOMA blog, “Road to Russia” gives wonderful insight into what these talented athletes are going through to take a medal in February 2014 at the Winter Olympics held in Russia. It will be their third Olympics, along with recently winning the Biathon World Team Challenge Shoot Out to add to their successful biathlon careers. We encourage all the members of the WOMA, along with companies you may know, to help these twin sisters with donations and sponsorships. For more information, or to make a donation, visit their website atwww.twinbiathletes.com.

FREEDOM IS NOT FREE

Our simple freedoms have been violated. Many are now worried about their companies, their business, their customers and clients. The status of our daily lives, both personally and professionally has been changed forever. The one element we control is our personal freedom. Freedom begins with you and by taking personal responsibility for everything — including your success.
The first step to renew freedom is to develop a free agent mind set. Be willing to accept and grow with the talents your have. See yourself as a winner. And remember that no one owes you anything. Ever.
The road to freedom is the following seven laws. What will you be willing to focus on and change? Do you have the passion to be really free – because freedom is not free.

Law 1: Independence is the best hedge against a downturn.

In fact, free agents are safer in an economic storm than their job-holding counterparts. The reason: They’re diversified and they leverage their talents.  If you are working for someone else, become a diversified intra-free agent. Learn everything you can to protect your future! Either way, take control of your future and your freedom.

Law 2: When times get tougher, quality counts.

NRA Women’s Leadership Luncheon

 

Journey to Mt. Saint Helens

This was my first experience with Mt. Saint Helens in the Spring.  Snow still covered the mountain in early June.  There were no wild flowers to speak of and we saw very few animals except for a lone coyote climbing in the hills.  The wind was blowing but the sun was shining and the mountain, or what was left of it, was completely visible.   It still looks like a moonscape here.  The trees have not yet come back.  The explosion was 31 years ago and it still looks like it happened yesterday.

In our journey to the mountain, there were several places to stop in and view different films of that fateful day in May 1980.  There are geological exhibits that you can walk through, and the forests leading up to the mountain are all labeled with when they were replanted.  Some date back to 1980 while others are more recent.  It takes about an hour to get to the first Vistor’s Center driving north on I-5 from Portland, Oregon and makes a great day trip.  As long as the weather is clear, it will be well worth your journey.

Elizabeth Carmichael – Industry Member

Elizabeth Carmichael is an attorney by trade, and currently serves as Ranch Manager at Bear Mountain Ranch. She enjoys combining her legal career with newly developed entrepreneurial skills. At Bear Mountain Ranch, she is fully responsible for Risk Management, Continuous Quality Improvement, Marketing & Sales, Personnel and Budget. Since joining Bear Mountain Ranch, Elizabeth feels there has been a significant improvement in all of the areas in her life.

Elizabeth is married and has two sons. She enjoys shooting sports, hunting and fishing, and is also active with numerous church, community and civic organizations. Read more

I didn’t catch a king – I caught a prince!

While in Homer, Alaska last week, we did some king salmon fishing on the Anchor River.

The Anchor River is just 15 miles north of Homer and there is about a mile of river open to salmon fishing. The river is open up to a bridge that goes through Anchor, Alaska. Beyond that bridge fishing is off limits for salmon to allow the salmon to spawn. King fishing is open to fishermen Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday from midnight to midnight.

When the tide comes in, the salmon swim upstream and hundreds of fishermen and women huck and heave every shape, color and size of lure at the salmon to get them to bite. When the tide isn’t up, the salmon hole up in deep pools waiting for the three hours of darkness to swim upstream and avoid eagles, bears, and the species known as homo sapiens. There are many similar rivers to which this spawning phenomena happens in Alaska. The Anchor River is popular to people residing in Homer because it’s close to town. The river is small, maybe 20 yards across.

The first day at the Anchor was Wednesday afternoon and evening. There were relatively few people and we found a spot with a long straightaway and a little bit of deep holding water. We fished and fished and finally Lanny hooked a really nice King. She fought it for a while and then beached it and hid it under her rain jacket so the bald eagles wouldn’t take off with it.

Now it was turn for my dad and me to catch something. A little while later I feel a nibble at the end of my line, and I set the hooks and hold on, expecting the line to be drug from my reel. Nothing happened so I started to reel in. There was definitely something on the end of my line, but it wasn’t a king. I could tell it was little and it was fighting as hard as it could.

I brought it up near shore and my dad took one look at it and said, “You didn’t catch a king – you caught a prince!” I look down to see a tiny little fish on the end of my line. He looked the same as Lanny’s, only 35 pounds smaller. He probably weighed in at a whopping 1.5 pounds! So, now I’m thinking to myself that I’ve managed to catch THE smallest fish in Alaska.

The next morning we arrived at the Anchor and got an “early start.” Our neighbor Manfred suggested we be there by 5 a.m. to secure a spot. NowManfred, for reasons I’ll get to later, doesn’t fish the Anchor. So, we show up early and drive down the road that parallels the river. We can already see silhouettes in the half light of the early morning dotted along the river. We get out of the car and start heading toward the river and it becomes apparent to us very quickly that we are late. All the good spots have been taken and it’s elbow to elbow all along the river. I ease into a spot with a little breathing room and I get right to it, hucking my fly upstream. After a few casts I hear splashing and turn my head to see Lanny fighting a king just downriver from me. After only a few cast she’s hooked one. And now the whole river is watching her. Most people are shooting darts out of their eyes at her because she’s only just shown up and hooked one.

While Lanny fights the fish, I settle into a nice rhythm and I am beginning to enjoy the day. Then out of nowhere I hear something loud, and it’s getting closer. A booming voice is echoing over the trees and down the water. Then this guy appears from behind the bend and he’s on his cell phone. Now everyone in the Kenai Peninsula can hear his conversation. He stops on the edge of the water, confers a bit longer with his colleague on the phone, clicks off and then surveys the river and sees a fisherman looking back towards him. This poor guy, like most of us, was looking at this guy out of curiosity, but this was clearly a signal to the cell phone guy to come join his fishing hole. So the guy stuffs his cell phone in his waders and gingerly wades out to within a couple of feet of this fisherman. Then, for the next hour, the guy who was on his cell phone proceded to talk this fisherman’s ear off. I’m thinking to myself if I wanted this much noise or conversation, I’d have gone to the local coffee shop, not the river.

A little while later, though, the cell phone guy gets tired and heads back to town to “get some grub at the diner.” Everyone breaths a collective sigh of relief and goes back to huckin’ flies. As it gets a little later in the morning everyone can hear a collective rolling of tires along the asphalt road. It’s nearing 8 a.m. and the tourists in the RVs start to show up. Now it’s combat fishing. People pour in from everywhere and you aggressively stand your ground for your 2-foot-by-2-foot swath of river. I keep thinking to myself that I haven’t been this close to anyone since I was in the womb with Lanny, and even then I didn’t have a choice. This is what Alaskans describe as “combat fishing,” and this is why the neighbor Manfred doesn’t fish here. You’ll have six guys fishing a tiny little hole and then you’ll have one guy show up and cast his line over everyone else’s and everything gets all tangled up.

After a little while the fish stop biting and we call it a day. Lanny released the king she had caught earlier in hopes of a bigger one the following day.

The next day, we show up even earlier, determined to beat the crowd. At 3 a.m., we are the only car in the parking lot and I’m psyched. I wasn’t too keen on fishing up someone else’s armpit again. We get to the good “grass hole,” as it’s known, and start to cast our flies. A few hours later as everyone is starting to show up, my dad, Lanny and I have all caught a king and are heading home to get a mid-morning nap. Then it’s off for a run through the woods.

Next week: Halibut fishing!

Editors Note:  Tracy & Lanny Barnes are part of the US Olympic Biathlon team. Their WOMA blog, “Road to Russia” gives wonderful insight into what these talented athletes are going through to take a medal in February 2014 at the Winter Olympics held in Russia. It will be their third Olympics, along with recently winning the Biathon World Team Challenge Shoot Out to add to their successful biathlon careers. We encourage all the members of the WOMA, along with companies you may know, to help these twin sisters with donations and sponsorships. For more information, or to make a donation, visit their website atwww.twinbiathletes.com.

DO THE RIGHT THING: It’s all about customer service

By Marsha Petrie Sue, MBA

The Wallow Fire in Arizona has been devastating. Many people have lost their homes that were surrounded by towering pines and crystal blue skies. One month before the fire, my husband changed all of our cabin insurance to Allstate because of a recommendation from a dear friend.

The policies were activated with one condition concerning the Alpine retreat because the risk managers wanted a few small trees trimmed. Receiving the notice right before we left on an eight-day celebration of my birthday still gave us plenty of time to get to the property, trim the vegetation and take pictures of the completed work when we returned June 8th.

Watching television the evening of May 29 in our Maui condo to catch up on the news was numbing. The Wallow Fire had started very close to our mountain community and the very next day the residents were told there was a mandatory evacuation and everyone must leave by 7PM because of the impending forest fire. We were stunned.

We contacted our agent, Ana Escobedo, and told her what had happened. She informed us that the pictures of the trimmed trees needed to be received by the previously set date of June 15th or the policy would be cancelled. The company has rules and the Arizona Department of Insurance said Allstate was within the law. Our opinion? They weren’t doing the right thing! Still under evacuation orders from the Sherriff’s department, there was no way we would meet their deadline.

Al, my husband, and his attention to detail, caught Ana’s company’s eye as she had passed on the correspondence. Al had sent numerous emails detailing every component of why we couldn’t access the property and included the metal roof we installed along with treating the wood logs a week before our departure to Maui. He included an explanation of how we annually clear the grounds of pine needles and deadfall after the winters snow.

Ana was focused on getting a positive outcome for us and spent sleepless nights trying to solve our dilemma. She couldn’t get anything done by email or phone, so decided to drive to the Allstate Regional headquarters and speak to someone who could extend our deadline. In route, she received a call explaining that Allstate had reinstated our cabin insurance and we should get the pictures to them as soon as we could! They lived up to their company slogan, “You’re in good hands with Allstate!”

Within minutes, we were on our way to meet Ana. She told us that the reason she chose this insurance company to work with was because they instilled in their people to always “do the right thing.” And they certainly did!

 

When you think of your business and as a consumer in today’s environment, ask yourself these questions:

As a Business leader:

1. Do you hire people that have the moral compass to do the right thing?

2. Do you give them the authority to make decisions?

3. Does the company have the right resources and people in place to answer any question and solve any problem?

4. Do you make yourself available?

5. Are employees rewarded when they do “Do the right thing?”

 

As a Consumer:

1. Do you give correct information to a customer service rep that is trying to help you?

2. Do you stay calm and understand the outcomes you can create if your angst shows?

3. Are you a good listener?

4. Do you ask good questions and dig deep to see what are the possibilities?

5. Do you keep notes about your conversation with names, detail and dates?

 

Now go do the right thing! (And contact Ana anae@allstate.com if you want excellence in client care for all your insurance needs!)

Marsha’s gift to you and your team: Download Customer Service and Client Care audio program at http://marshapetriesue.com/customerservicegift/

 

Judy Rhodes Top Lady at Hollywood Celebrity Shoot

Team DIVA Women Outdoors Worldwide Founder and WOMA member, Judy Rhodes took top honors at last weekend’s Hollywood Celebrity Shoot in Los Angeles, California.  Judy and her fellow team members finished 1st , 2nd, and 3rd at the event.

With over 89 Teams of 5…we are proud to brag!  Judy Rhodes was Ladies High Over All,  Angela Schwedeman was runner-up and Annie Taylor placed 3rd.

Morgan Craft Earns Position on Junior World Team for Team USA

Photos and article courtesy of The Sullivan Review

Morgan Craft, a senior at Sullivan County High School, in Pennsylvania, earned a position on the Junior World Team for Team USA in international skeet and will travel to Belgrade, Serbia in September 2011 to compete at the ISSF World Championships!  Morgan placed second for the junior women based on a combined score from the national Shotgun Championships held in July in Colorado Springs, CO and the Fall Selection match held in September in Kerrville, TX.  Craft also competed at the NSSA World Skeet Championship in Tulsa, OK in October where she finished first in the ladies division.

She has received a four-year Shooting Sport Scholarship to Lindenwood University in Missouri  where she is planning to study Exercise Science and afterwards pursue her doctorate in Physical Therapy.  Besides her many high school activities she is President of the National Honor Society, Co-Captain of the Shooting Sports Club, Vice Chairperson of the PA Governors Youth Council on Fishing, Hunting, and Conservation.  She received the PIAA Female Sportsmanship Award.  Morgan also volunteers for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, NWTF, Women in the Outdoors and the North Mountain Sportsmen’s Association.  She served as chairperson for the Tiadaghton Chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation committee for three years and was named the youngest chairperson for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation in the nation.

I had the chance to speak with Morgan this morning and congratulate her on her outstanding achievements.  Her grandparents started her in shooting around 10-11 years old through the 4H programs.  From there she had attended several NRA Camps and about her second year she really got involved in competitive shooting.

In addition to her shotgun competion shooting sports she is also an avid hunter.  Archery season is her favorite.

Morgan is very excited to travel to Serbia in September for the ISSF World Championships!  Her shooting has taken her nationwide so far, but this will be her first international travel for competition.  What an accomplished young lady so far…and so much more for her to experience and enjoy!  We are very excited for Morgan and look forward to following her career!

“They Support Us”

For the past 2011 Spring Turkey Season I was very fortunate to be on assignment for Game & Fish Magazine and on set for the production for the new season of Benelli on Assignment beginning July 1 on Outdoor Channel.  Although I am excited about every opportunity for a spring turkey hunt, this event will be one of my favorites and will always give me that warm and fuzzy feeling. Joe Coogan (Benelli Brand Marketing Manager and Host of BOA) and Cristie Gates, (Benelli Media & Exhibit Mgr) worked hard to bring several women from across the nation together for a hunt on the beautiful privately owned Sarco Creek Ranch, Goliad Texas. I don’t use that word lightly, the ranch was gorgeous and the people were just as beautiful. Milton Greeson was our gracious host, and John Welder was his right hand man and were very successful at making all the girls feel like a Princess!

I was pumped about being able to shoot the new semi automatic, Stoeger M3500 with the new Federal Premium Mag-Shok #7. I believe that all our guns were new on the market, and to us, which is sometimes a little intimidating, but with no delay, we were off to the gun range.  Ergo with expert instruction from Joe and Cristie, we patterned our guns and gained confidence! As with all hunts, the times between the hunts are where lots of memories are made. Bunking with the girls, talking til the wee hours of the morning, and then RISING in the wee hours of the morning, we all kept up the pace and it was somewhat exhilarating to be exhausted!

Joe, our gracious host for the show, had scheduled and organized for months to ensure the timely execution of the production and the turkey! It all worked out great, (although not always on cue, the turkey‘s did not realize they were the “stars“ of the show). The patience and perseverance of the girls, the guides, Joe, and the camera crew are all to be commended, and proved that with the right camo clothing and gear, you can hide up to 6 people from several turkey only a short 25-30 yards away!

I could go on about the hunt, and you can be sure I will another time, but I would really like to take this opportunity to praise the sponsors. It is very promising to see the industry support and encourage women to hunt. With Benelli taking the initiative, there were several companies that stood with them to make this hunt possible, and that is what truly gives me that warm and fuzzy feeling.

As Glen Beck might say, “They support us”, so I say, lets support them.   Please check out their websites and please remember them when you, or someone you love needs gear for the field:

www.BenelliUSA.com for the guns, the hunt, and the new found friends. Only the best for us! Thanx Joe & Cristie for all of your efforts. A job extremely well done!

www.HuntersSpecialties.com for supplying turkey gear for the hunt, with various calls, seats, vests, you name it they sent it.

www.FederalPremium.com for all the ammunition and also for Jason Nash who called in my Tom & Melissa Juneske who gets the “Roommate of the Year” award!

www.SHESafari.com for all the great camo clothing! We were Invisible and Cute! (As I always say, “Camo can be Classy”TM )

www.BurrisOptics.com for the awesome FastFire scopes attached to our shotguns! It is an amazingly helpful tool when aiming at that turkey’s small head down that big barrel!

www.HazelCreekTaxidermyInc.com for the realistic decoys that brought them in close, and also the expert calling lesson!

www.RealTree.com and http://www.underarmour.com for providing camo for the men and guides who led us to victory! (I will have to add, they were also Invisible and cute!)

“Thanx for the Memories……”

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