Thursday February 19, 2004
	Round Lake is off highway 20 just outside Big Rapids Michigan and only a few miles from Ferris State University.
	"There's Budweiser in the cooler and a spear, some bait, a few rigged poles and it's all warmed up," says the man I'm renting the ice fishing shanty from.  "Thanks," I say shaking his hand then giving him $150. "It's cute," says my date from inside the shanty.  She is new to me.  "I'd like to think so," says the man I'm renting the shanty from then spitting tobacco from his mouth and onto the ice.  "When you leave shut down the heater by turning this knob." The knob is located outside the shanty and is on top of the propane tank and he is pointing to it using his index finger.  "Thanks again," I say. "Nice meeting you, Miss," he says then walking to a pickup truck parked on the ice. "Get in here and close the door baby," says my date.  She is removing a smoked turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread with Brie when she says: "Here you go honey." "No thanks." "One for you and one for me," she says.  "I made them." "I'll just have a beer." The hole cut into the ice is about a foot in diameter and laying alongside the hole is a handled strainer used to remove icy slush from building up and blocking the hole. "Could you scoop out that ice?" I say, smiling.    When I first met her she was afraid of me and now she isn't but that's always been the way women have initially reacted towards me. "I'll scoop it out, sugar," she says.  She regularly uses words like honey and baby and sugar.  The ice rods are rigged with small hooks and we are using 4-inch shiner minnows and spikes (maggots) for bait.  I have baited our rods and we have lowered our lines past the hole cut into the ice and into the clear water of Round Lake. "My line is moving," says my date. "Your minnow is moving," I say.  "It's live bait." "That's sad," she says then biting into the Claussen dill pickle she packed along with our sandwiches. "Not to a northern pike," I say then putting the Budweiser to my lips. The shanty has a Plexiglas roof allowing sunlight to enter the shack but the clouds are moving and sometimes they block the light coming from the sun and when that happens the inside of the shanty dims and when it dims my date and I look at one another and smile. "I hope you catch a fish, honey," she says.  It's hard not to like her. PREVIOUS   HOME   NEXT