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Archive for October, 2007

Fish For The Fun Of It

by Amber on Oct.26, 2007, under Amber Bingle

Every year, three Saturdays in a row, Orange County Parks and Recreation hosts Fish For The Fun Of It. Fish For The Fun Of It is held at three different parks with lakes. The tournament is only for kids (12 and under). Poles and bait are provided. The kids fish for 2 hours, and then trophies are given to the kids in each age group (4 and under, 5 and 6, 7 and 8, 9 and 10, and 11 and 12) for largest and most fish, first, second and third places. The fish that are caught are returned to the lake and are wiser fish (or not and they get caught again). They also give out raffle prizes, like fishing poles, bait boxes, and more. When the kids sign in they get a free Fish For The Fun Of It t-shirt. Going three times every year for four years we now have a lot of those shirts.

For the last few years, I was the only one of the three of us that caught any fish, and I did not win any trophies. Ashley is now too old to be in it. This year, at the first park we decided to walk across a bridge to cut a corner and get to where the birds were. The only thing was the bridge went to an island. We decided to stay there though because it was shady. Two men from the Fishers of Men group that was helping out came over and helped us. It was a good thing too, because we caught a lot of fish and wouldn’t have known how to get the hooks out by ourselves.
That day I caught 6 fish (4 catfish, and 2 others) and Alyssa caught 5 (4 catfish, and 1 other). I got the first place trophy for most fish and the second place for largest. Alyssa got a second place trophy for most fish. Alyssa also got a bait bag in the raffle.

A cool part of the day for me was that I got to learn how to correctly hold a catfish. I carried one to the weighing table myself. I also learned that you can carry the other fish I caught by their mouths.

There is one girl who is one year younger than me and in the 9 and 10 age group this year that always gets first for most fish and somtimes first and second for largest. That time she caught 19 fish.

The next Saturday it was at a park with a big, big lake with a spillway. That day Alyssa caught 3 fish and I caught 2. One of the weighing people fed one of my fish to a bird that was standing there, looking at my fish. I would have gotten third place for most fish and Alyssa would have gotten second place for most fish, but my fish got counted as her fish (or something like that) and so we got first place for most fish in Alyssa’s age group. In the raffle, Alyssa got a fishing t-shirt. That time, the other girl got 28 fish.

The last Saturday was at our home park, Bear Creek. That time Dad came. Though we didn’t catch anything or win anything in the raffle, it was still fun. That time the other girl caught 86 fish. Dad saw how she did it, (in my mind cheating) with four poles (not borrowed from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Organization).

Even though next time the other girl will be in my group, and we might not catch anything, I think we will still have fun at Fish For The Fun Of It.

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Don Sells Second Novel

by Don and Linda Bingle on Oct.22, 2007, under Donald Bingle

Five Star, the imprint that published Don’s first novel, Forced Conversion, several years ago, has agreed to publish his second novel, GREENSWORD, in January 2009.

In the book, Zeke, Milo, and Brandon are struggling to keep their environmental protest group, GreensWord, alive.  It impresses chicks and sure beats getting jobs as corporate serfs in the real world.  But their chief benefactor, movie star Matthew Barrington, threatens to cut off funding unless they stop global warming before his Malibu beach house slides into the storm-tossed ocean.  In their desperate effort to save the beach house and their organization, the GreensWord trio is willing to try almost anything:  drop sugar cubes into the gas tanks of thousands of cars, embark on a high-speed chase to advertise the reflective properties of white car roofs, even engage in a dangerous game of blackmail.  But nothing is fast enough to stop global warming in time. . .until they think of the unthinkable solution …

Now they’re about to save the world; they just don’t want to get caught doing it.

GREENSWORD is a dark comedy about the environment, extremism, stupid criminals, and the lengths to which people will go to avoid getting a real job.

Says Hugo and Nebula Award Winner Robert J. Sawyer:  “Science fiction has always been a great vehicle for biting satire and social commentary — from H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine right on up to Donald Bingle’s engrossing GREENSWORD.   Bingle is a terrific writer.”

For more information on Don’s writing, go to www.orphyte.com/donaldjbingle.

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Jim Bingle – Friday 10/19 11:00 p.m. Update

by Bingle on Oct.19, 2007, under Jim Bingle

He’s home!

That’s right, we brought Dad home from the rehab hospital today! And boy, was he ready to leave. When we arrived at the rehab hospital today, he had his cpap machine packed up, his blanket folded, his papers stacked, and was waiting in a wheelchair at the door to his room peaking down the hall every few seconds.

We thought that the cat, Velvet, would be happy to see him, but she was very “cat like” and just acted aloof. We did catch her later sleeping with her head somewhat in one of his shoes, though. So I guess she was happy to have him home after all.

He’s currently on oxygen and a bunch of prescriptions, but hopefully neither situation is long term, but we’ll have to see.

– Rich

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