August 5th is National Mustard Day and

National Waffle Day - combine the two

August 24th is Strange Music Day

August 26th is Women’s Equality Day

next year they might add a day

August 30th is National Toasted Marshmallow Day

MEMORABLE QUOTES

If you wonder where your child left his roller skates, try walking around the house in the dark.
~Leopold Fechtner

I have never met anyone who wanted to save the world without my financial support.
~Robert Brault

Nothing is as frustrating as arguing with someone who knows what he’s talking about.
~Sam Ewing

People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.
~Dave Barry

Natives who beat drums to drive off evil spirits are objects of scorn to smart Americans who blow horns to break up traffic jams.
~Mary Ellen Kelly

Oh, for the good old days when people would stop Christmas shopping when they ran out of money. ~Author Unknown

”If opera is entertainment, then falling off a roof is transportation!”
~Alfred E. Neuman

THESE BUSINESSES SUPPORT US. SO RETURN THE FAVOR

STEVE CLARK- CRUSH CO , MCKENDREE TRUCKING INC., CASPER WELL PRODUCTS, HILLTOP NATIONAL BANK , BANK OF AMERICA HOME LOANS , WILSON SUPPLY COMPANY, MC ENTERPRISES , OVERHEAD DOOR COMPANY OF CASPER , SPORTSMAN’S WAREHOUSE , SCENIC CONSTRUCTION, USA TRUCKING, RON LESCO, CASPER ORTHOPEDICS , PRECISION PROTHSTETICS, OVERMAN REALTY, STENCO INC., ARMOR’S SILVERFOX RESTAURANT & LOUNGE, WYOMING AUTO GROUP

First things first.  Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s plans to look into gathering gizzard shad from Glendo Reservoir or Gray Rocks reservoir for introduction into other Wyoming lakes has been put on the back burner for now because of all the personnel needed for the Aquatic Invasive Species inspections and related activities.  The efforts to find a source for Sauger to be reintroduced into the North Platte River is ongoing.  This might be an effort our organization may be able to help finance. 

At each month’s club meeting we have a drawing of the entire club membership.  If that member is present they win a $100 gift certificate from Sportsman’s Warehouse.  Each month we add $10 until we get a winner. Last month’s lucky loser was Derek Welch.  This months drawing is worth $180. 

We have received and paid the invoice for the road base gravel for the two Wyoming Game and Fish boat inspection areas on the way to Alcova and Pathfinder Reservoirs.  It came to just over $4800.  We delivered $500 worth of life jackets to the Casper Fire/EMS Department. In addition to being available at all fire departments, life jackets are also available at the North Platte White Water Park next to the Pump House.  I don’t know the hours of operation at the little kiosk on the down river side.  

At our family outing at Pathfinder Reservoir last month, Larry Rue was the winner of the big fish plaque.  We didn’t get a very big turn out for our little get together, and we should discuss how to attract a larger attendance at our next meeting. 

The Wyoming Hunting and Fishing Heritage Expo is approaching fast, this year it is on September  9th, 10th, and 11th.  This is our biggest event for giving out the kids fishing pole kits.  We will  have over 1000 kits available and over 350 of the bigger tackle boxes for those kids who chose those over a fishing pole kit.  We will be giving out the fishing pole kits only on Saturday, the 11th. 

Because North Platte Walleyes Unlimited club is a Silver Sponsor of the Expo we get a free booth inside the event center.  The last two years we didn’t take advantage of it. This year we need someone to step up and create an unmanned display that we can put in this booth for the 3 days of the event.  This display should explain who we are, what we do, and the like.  We can have pictures of our events, big fish, or ??. The club will pay for all expenses involved.  We have two banners that can be incorporated.  All ideas are welcome.  We can find someone to put up the display and take it down, we just need someone to create it.  If interested call one of the members in the box on the right and we can get started on this.  Our booth will be right next to the “Trout Unlimited” booth.  An empty “Walleye” booth can’t be justified and would be an embarrassment. 

Also falling on Sept. 11th is the Platte River Revival where area volunteers help clean up the North Platte River.  We have had members of NPWU volunteer for the past two years and recommend we do this again.  For info do a Internet search for “Platte River Revival”.  Sign up as a member of NPWU. I would be there but I will at the Expo giving out fishing poles.

Funny True Story of the Strange a Smithsonian Exhibit

The story behind the letter below is that there is this nutball in Newport, Rhode Island named Scott Williams. What he does is dig things out of his backyard and then send them to the Smithsonian Institute. Scot labels his exhibits with scientific names, insisting that they are actual archaeological finds.

This man really exists and does this in his spare time!

Anyway... here’s the actual response from the Smithsonian Institution. Bear this letter in mind next time you think you are challenged in your job to respond to a difficult situation in writing.

Smithsonian Institute, 207 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 20078

Dear Mr. Williams,

Thank you for your latest submission to the Institute, labelled ’93211-D, layer seven, next to the clothesline post... Hominid skull.’  
 
We have given this specimen a careful and detailed examination, and regret to inform you that we disagree with your theory that it represents conclusive proof of the presence of Early Man in Charleston County two million years ago. Rather, it appears that what you have found is the head of a Barbie doll, of the variety that one of our staff, who has small children, believes to be ’Malibu Barbie.’

It is evident that you have given a great deal of thought to the analysis of this specimen, and you may be quite certain that those of us who are familiar with your prior work in the field were loathe to come to contradict your findings. However, we do feel that there are a number of physical attributes of the specimen which might have tipped you off to its modern origin:

1. The material is moulded plastic. Ancient hominid remains are typically fossilised bone.

2. The cranial capacity of the specimen is approximately 9 cubic centimetres, well below the threshold of even the earliest identified proto-hominids.

3. The dentition pattern evident on the skull is more consistent with the common domesticated dog than it is with the ravenous man-eating Pliocene clams you speculate roamed the wetlands during that time.

This latter finding is certainly one of the most intriguing hypotheses you have submitted in your history with this institution, but the evidence seems to weigh rather heavily against it. Without going into too much detail, let us say that:

1. The specimen looks like the head of a Barbie doll that a dog has chewed on.

2. Clams don’t have teeth.

It is with feelings tinged with melancholy that we must deny your request to have the specimen carbon-dated. This is partially due to the heavy load our lab must bear in its normal operation, and partly due to carbon-datings notorious inaccuracy in fossils of recent geologic record.

To the best of our knowledge, no Barbie dolls were produced prior to 1956 AD, and carbon-dating is likely to produce wildly inaccurate results.

Sadly, we must also deny your request that we approach the National Science Foundation Phylogeny Department with the concept of assigning your specimen the scientific name Australopithecus spiff-arino. Speaking personally, I, for one, fought tenaciously for the acceptance of your proposed taxonomy, but was ultimately voted down because the species name you selected was hyphenated, and didn’t really sound like it might be Latin.

However, we gladly accept your generous donation of this fascinating specimen to the museum. While it is undoubtedly not a Hominid fossil, it is, nonetheless, yet another riveting example of the great body of work you seem to accumulate here so effortlessly. You should know that our Director has reserved a special shelf in his own office for the display of the specimens you have previously submitted to the Institution, and the entire staff speculates daily on what you will happen upon next in your digs at the site you have discovered in your Newport back yard.

We eagerly anticipate your trip to our nation’s capital that you proposed in your last letter, and several of us are pressing the Director to pay for it. We are particularly interested in hearing you expand on your theories surrounding the trans-positating fillifitation of ferrous ions in a structural matrix that makes the excellent juvenile Tyrannosaurus Rex femur you recently discovered take on the deceptive appearance of a rusty 9-mm Sears Craftsman automotive crescent wrench.

Yours in Science, Harvey Rowe Chief Curator-Antiquities 
OK, truth be known, the preceding was a hoax, an urban myth.  But funny enough to be put here.

About the Wyoming Hunting and Fishing Expo...from their website.

Held each September, the Wyoming Hunting and Fishing Heritage Expo is FREE and open to the public! Everyone is invited to be a part of the celebration of Wyoming’s wildlife and wildlands by attending the Expo! There are hands-on activities and other educational opportunities for everyone regardless of age, physical ability or experience.

The Expo is hosted by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department with exhibitors from over 150 businesses, agencies, and organizations.

Wyoming’s wildlife wildlife-related recreational opportunities are so valuable and important that the Wyoming Game and Fish Department initiated the Wyoming Hunting & Fishing Heritage Expo in 1998, which has become an annual event. The Expo is just one way the Wyoming Game and Fish Department is helping to insure the future of Wyoming’s hunting, fishing and wildlife viewing heritage for generations to come. 

We could use some volunteers to  help give away these poles on Saturday  Sept. 11th. It runs from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.  It is pretty hectic all day long.  Lunch will be provided as will be soft drinks all day long.

And now the more serious items........the SPACE FILLER........ 

These examples are taken from letters written to various government agencies in the USA:

Dear Sirs,

Please stop my assistance since I got a job begging in October

I am writing the Welfare Department to say that my baby was born 2 years old. When do I get my money?

Mrs Jones has not had any clothing for a year and has been visited regularly by the clergy.

I cannot get sick pay. I have had 6 children. Can you tell me why?

I am glad to report that my husband, who was reported missing, is dead.

This is my eighth child. What are you going to do about it?

Please find for certain if my husband is dead, as the man I am living with can’t do a thing until he knows.

I am very much annoyed to find you have branded my boy as illiterate. This is a dirty lie. I was married to his father a week before he was born.

In answer to your letter, I have given birth to a boy weighing 10 pounds. I hope this is satisfactory.

I am forwarding my marriage certificate and my 3 children, one of which was a mistake as you can see.

Unless I get my husband’s money pretty soon, I will be forced to lead an immortal life.

My husband got laid off from his job 2 weeks ago, and I haven’t had any relief since.

You have changed my little boy to a girl. Will this make any difference?

I have no children yet as my husband is a bus driver and works night and day.

In accordance with your instructions, I have given birth to twins in the enclosed envelope.

I want my money as quick as I can get it. I have been in bed with a doctor for 2 weeks and he hasn’t done me any good. If things don’t improve I will have to send for another doctor.

The Story of George and Sheila

There were two elderly people, George and Sheila, living in a North Carolina mobile home park in the suburbs of Concord. He was a widower and she a widow and they had known one another for a number of years.

One evening a supper was held in the communal refectory and the two found themselves at the same table, seated across from one another. As the meal progressed, George made several admiring glances at Sheila and he finally gathered his courage to ask her, ’Sheila, will you marry me?’

After about five seconds of ”careful consideration”, Sheila answered. ’Yes. Yes, I will.’

The meal ended and, with a few more pleasant exchanges, then they went to their respective caravans. Next morning, George was troubled: ’Did she say ”yes” or did she say ”no”?’ He couldn’t remember. Try as he would, he just could not recall. Not even a faint memory. So it was with some trepidation that he went to the telephone and called Sheila. Firstly, he explained that he didn’t remember as well as he used to. Then he reviewed the lovely evening past. As he gained a little more courage, George inquired gingerly, ’Sheila, when I asked if you would marry me, did you say ”Yes” or did you say ”No”?’

George was delighted to hear her Sheila say, ’Why, I said, ”Yes, yes I will” and I meant it with all my heart.’ Then she continued, ’I am so glad that you called, because I couldn’t remember for the life of me who had asked.’