And You Think You Had A Rough Day

Today, Chuck lost his mistress. She sank in the lake by our home. Chuck was off today because he was away on business on his normal day off. He picked up Patrick from school and they went fishing. This was the first time since early June, we have been able to take the boat out because all of the boat ramps have been under water in our area. I opted to stay home with Nicholas as he was napping. This turned out to be a really wise decision. They were going to meet us at church. I called them on my way to church to see where they were at and Chuck said, "Well, we have had a little problem. The tramten(sp?) that holds the motor on to the boat has broken and the motor is barely hanging on. We are puttering back to shore." I was ready to call in a tow, but he thought they could make it. He said that he would need help getting it on the trailer and could I round up some guys to come help him. I called Edie's dad, Bart and went next door and got our neighbor, Ed. We headed down there and when we arrived, the boat's back end was sticking up straight out of the water at the dock! I wish I had brought the video camera. Luckily this nice couple who were coming in just as the boat sank stayed and helped tie up the boat. Then the three men got the boat tied up with rope from all of their collective trucks and the nice man used his truck to pull the boat to the ramp. The three men in the water had to guide the boat while holding up the engine and then hoist it onto the trailer. What a crazy afternoon! We were sad that we lost our digital camera and Chuck's car keys, but, wow, it could have been so much worse! The boat didn't sink until Chuck cut the engine at the dock. If he had turned it off while in the middle of the lake, he and Patrick would have been floating in their life jackets hoping someone would come by. I wish I could have seen the mad dash to get everything off the boat as it was going down. Patrick couldn't stop saying that he had the best time ever and he couldn't wait to tell everyone at school tomorrow. Chuck is still outside now, hoping to nurse his mistress back to life. It is a special boat. It was his dad's boat. Chuck, Sr. died of cancer 3 years ago. I bet he got a kick out of what he saw today.