THE EG
07-26-99, 06:56 PM
I would have kept quiet but here it is.
Let me preface this by saying that Owl has a bug problem. I don't mean he has bugs but that he has a genuine neurosis about being stung by something. Two minutes out of the car and he was dodging everytime any insect flew near him.
Owl and KB invited me up to the mountains to do some fishing. We stopped at a small stream on our way to the Chatooga river area. After fishing about a quarter mile upstream I volunteered to see if the road paralleling the stream was about 50 feet up the hill next to the stream as we thought. After climbing the hill about 200 feet with no end in sight I yelled back to them "No road, follow the stream, I'll meet you". All they heard was "ROAD" and started up the hill. Five minutes later I'm back at the stream when I hear the two of them up on the mountain. Shouting back up at them I was waiting about two minutes when I heard Owl let out a howl. Then another. And another. And another. I thought it was his bug yell because I had heard it already that morning. But he kept howling as he came down the mountain.
I couldn't see him because of the trees so I didn't know what to think. My thoughts ran from such visions of the big baby panicing fron a bee to visions of maybe a bear or unplatonic advances by some mountain man ala Ned Beatty. I didn't know whether to go shew the bee away or run for my life.
It seems that when Owl and KB went up the mountain one of them kicked a yellow jacket nest in the ground. When they heard me below they turned around and came back the same way. Owl walked right into his own version of heIl, a swarm of angry yellow jackets. KB followed right behind. After realizing what was happening, Owl simply fell the rest of the way down the mountain. Screaming all the way. KB dropped his fly rod as he initially ran from the attack but being a true fly fisherman showing more determination than sense, he went back and got the rod.
Back at the stream Owl showed up with eight or nine stings throughout his body and KB followed behind rubbing five or six stings. Well it seemed pretty hilarious for a second until Owl looked like he was going into adrenaline shock and KB said he might be allergic. So we dashed back down the river to the car.
Back at the car we put a local anesthetic on the "bites". KB looked alright but Owl seemed to be getting worse. He felt faint and went and laid down in the back of the car. His lips showed a tinge of blue. He looked like he was in a slight shock. (During this whole ordeal he never shut up. Can you believe that! Just an aside)
After about ten minutes he started to calm down and his color came back. I'd like to report that he was a trooper the rest of the day but he did have his moments of whining.
Those guys got chewed up pretty badly but the way it happened was pretty hilarious after the first fear wore off (which was alot sooner for me since I wasn't a stingee). Owl tumbled all the way down that mountain with his flyrod in his hand and did nothing more than scratch the reel seat. We headed to the west branch of the Chatooga after that. Thanks KB and Owl for making my first trip trout fishing away from the Hooch a memorable one. By the way, I caught a fish.
Let me preface this by saying that Owl has a bug problem. I don't mean he has bugs but that he has a genuine neurosis about being stung by something. Two minutes out of the car and he was dodging everytime any insect flew near him.
Owl and KB invited me up to the mountains to do some fishing. We stopped at a small stream on our way to the Chatooga river area. After fishing about a quarter mile upstream I volunteered to see if the road paralleling the stream was about 50 feet up the hill next to the stream as we thought. After climbing the hill about 200 feet with no end in sight I yelled back to them "No road, follow the stream, I'll meet you". All they heard was "ROAD" and started up the hill. Five minutes later I'm back at the stream when I hear the two of them up on the mountain. Shouting back up at them I was waiting about two minutes when I heard Owl let out a howl. Then another. And another. And another. I thought it was his bug yell because I had heard it already that morning. But he kept howling as he came down the mountain.
I couldn't see him because of the trees so I didn't know what to think. My thoughts ran from such visions of the big baby panicing fron a bee to visions of maybe a bear or unplatonic advances by some mountain man ala Ned Beatty. I didn't know whether to go shew the bee away or run for my life.
It seems that when Owl and KB went up the mountain one of them kicked a yellow jacket nest in the ground. When they heard me below they turned around and came back the same way. Owl walked right into his own version of heIl, a swarm of angry yellow jackets. KB followed right behind. After realizing what was happening, Owl simply fell the rest of the way down the mountain. Screaming all the way. KB dropped his fly rod as he initially ran from the attack but being a true fly fisherman showing more determination than sense, he went back and got the rod.
Back at the stream Owl showed up with eight or nine stings throughout his body and KB followed behind rubbing five or six stings. Well it seemed pretty hilarious for a second until Owl looked like he was going into adrenaline shock and KB said he might be allergic. So we dashed back down the river to the car.
Back at the car we put a local anesthetic on the "bites". KB looked alright but Owl seemed to be getting worse. He felt faint and went and laid down in the back of the car. His lips showed a tinge of blue. He looked like he was in a slight shock. (During this whole ordeal he never shut up. Can you believe that! Just an aside)
After about ten minutes he started to calm down and his color came back. I'd like to report that he was a trooper the rest of the day but he did have his moments of whining.
Those guys got chewed up pretty badly but the way it happened was pretty hilarious after the first fear wore off (which was alot sooner for me since I wasn't a stingee). Owl tumbled all the way down that mountain with his flyrod in his hand and did nothing more than scratch the reel seat. We headed to the west branch of the Chatooga after that. Thanks KB and Owl for making my first trip trout fishing away from the Hooch a memorable one. By the way, I caught a fish.