The subject, TV reality shows. They fill every channel. The Biggest Loser, Dancing with the Stars, American Idol, America’s Got Talent, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, The Hogans, scores of others, and the first big hit, Survivor, are all the rage.
I don’t even get Survivor. It ends up being a popularity contest. Put 20 people on a island without any food, water or shelter. Let them fend completely for themselves for a year or so and your true survivor will emerge.
Speaking of surviving in the great outdoors, I want to tell you about a little excursion I went on the other day. For 35 years now, I have been canoeing Little River. I still remember the morning of my 16th birthday, April 15th, 1976. I walked outside my house and saw my birthday present – a 17-foot aluminum canoe. Over the years, that canoe has been on every inch of Little River, most of the ponds of Trigg County and several bays in Lake Barkley. I have fished out of it and squirrel hunted out of it.
The ever-athletic Mike McGill and I have raced it. Strongman Neal Cummings and I have flipped it in 38-degree weather. Former Cadiz Baptist youth minister Eddie Russell and I have night-fished out of it. Last but not least, countless numbers of Trigg County residents have borrowed it. It has been dropped, banged up, beat up and it has fallen out of a truck or two. Despite the wear and tear, my canoe (Old Silver) is as good as ever.
A couple of days ago, I welcomed a first-time guest between the gunnels of Old Silver. That guest was none other than Mr. John Gray. John is a former Trigg County football player, graduating in 1971. It was 3:30 in the afternoon when John and I loaded my late father’s old Dodge truck and headed toward the river.
Tune in next week and I will tell you about the trip, including the following items: Wild Little River, Grizzly Bear Spotted on the River Bank, Catching Striped Bass, Major Portage and Nice Man Turns Trash Talker. See you in a week!
OT: This could be the first in a series of outdoor articles.
OTT: Watching Scotty Grow still in the works.
Enthusiasm Makes the Difference Mike Wright is the head coach of boys basketball and cross country at Trigg County High School. Emails concerning Coach’s Corner can be sent to jmcgill@cadizrecord.com.
