The Mighty Lizardfish...it's not a Halloween prank..it's real...it happened...the story.

Two people, who love one another, quietly fishing off a floating dock on an Inlet waterway...a calm is in the air...until it surfaced....what was it, what is it, where did it come from and what did it want.....????My son and future daughter-in-law were just enjoying a quiet time of fishing...they were catching some little fish and throwing them back to catch another day...then it happened.

When she caught it she just thought it was just another fish...just a quiet little fish...little did she know what she had caught...what was hanging off her fishing pole...

After wrestling it to the dock...I held so we all could see it up close..little did I know what I was holding...what it could do to me in a moments notice....

As I wrestled it to keep it from taking us all...I managed to put a massive hold on it and held on tight.

It was a Inshore Lizardfish...a bottom feeder..who is part of the Synodontidae family of fish. A large mouth snake headed fish that bottom feeds on other fish, shrimp and fishermen..well at least the first two for sure. It fought like a barracuda and a shark combined.

Lizardfish are elongated with round bodies and scaly heads and mouths full of little teeth.
These carnivorous snake headed fish grow up to 50 centimetres long in length...

That's almost 20 inches of mean fish ....look at him....now you know the fight I had on that dock...the battle to save my family at any expense...even if I lost a finger...I had to keep that Lizardfish from hurting anyone.
So I wrestled that fish for over a hour...well maybe more like a minute...but it seemed longer I know it did....but after the battle was over I let it go...to go back to the bottom of the inlet and stay away where he belonged.

Waiting to pounce on its prey..and rule the bottom of the Inlets floor...and maybe he will remember how close he came to being mounted on our wall at the beach house...a trophy for the battle my daughter-in-law won while fishing for her first time in the wild waters of the Atlantic.

Look out fish...she caught the fishing fever...she will be coming for you again...and she will win.

Happy Birthday Matt...wow...22 years old and a new father too.

Wow...Matt's turning 22 years old this weekend...where did that little boy go....where did the time go too. He has had a great year so far..he's gotten engaged to Jordan, who we all love so much.And he was blessed, as we were too, with the birth of his daughter...Madelyn Audrey Harrington. She came into our lives on August 24th and has changed all of us too.Matt made me a Pawpaw to my first granddaughter...and she will have her Pawpaw wrapped around her pinkie all her life...I just know it.

I see my mom in Maddy's eyes and on her face...I know this is really special to Matt, who loved his Meemaw with all his heart. Maddy is a gift from God that Matt will have all his life, something that no one else could give him.
Matt and Jordan have had a very good 2009 so far and have nothing but great things ahead. God will provide for them, love them and guide them through life's path.

This is one of my favorite pictures...3 generations of our family...I know my mom and dad are looking down from heaven and smiling, so proud of Matt and how he has grown this past year.

This weekend he is going to a concert that God has led him to. With the Lords help Matt will continue to grow and be the father that Maddy needs and the husband that Jordan needs too.

He's going to the Casting Crowns concert at a nearby arena. He has grown into the man that I knew he could be, and would be. I am so proud of him.

Lifesong by Casting Crowns is a fitting song, Matt has a whole life ahead of him still. One that only he and God can make happen, one that I know will be full of good times, happy times and full of love. You are taking great steps into becoming the dad that Maddy needs and the husband that Jordan deserves.
Elsie and I love you son, keep stepping into the footsteps of the Lord and you won't ever falldown again. Enjoy your birthday, your weekend and remember that with the Lord watching over you and your family around you, you can be, do and conquer anything. Happy Birthday Matt...I love you with all my heart...now go change Maddy, and hug Jordan for me...Dad..aka Pawpaw.

Is The Economy Still Bad or What?

The economy must still be bad, let me tell you what happened over the past weekend. Nana and I were out doing errands, and decided to grab us a bite of food. We were near a favorite place called "Shake and Steak" and decided to stop there. We had gone there before with our kids and grandson, and really enjoyed it.Nana is a lover of breakfast food, she'll make it for our dinner sometimes. We had wondered how their breakfast meals were, so she ordered herself one.
Now Pawpaw is a burger man, the bigger the better, so I ordered a nice size one with all the trimmings...and fries on the side.
We enjoyed our meals and went to go pay for them. A great place to eat and reasonable on the wallet too. I never carry change, I put it all in my piggy bank each day...I think I'm saving for my trip to Hawaii, but with the economy, more like saving for our next meal.
I got my change and looked at the penny the manager had given me...it looked strange in color and appearance. To my surprise it was a 1900 Indian Head penny, in very good condition considering it is over a hundred years old and had been handled as change.
I looked it up online and it is worth $10,000 .......no just kidding...it's worth about $6.00. Had you going for a minute didn't I? You know someone dug down deep into a drawer or emptied that old jar to get this coin back into circulation. Or did a grandpa somewhere have to cash in his old coin collection to pay a bill, get a meal or go to the doctor...hard to say, sad to think about it.

All I know is that I am sure glad Nana didn't get my treasure find and buy a gumball with it on the way out...good thing my grandkids weren't with me too. I'm sure I would have just given it to them and not even looked at it.I'm not rich, but it is a cool story to tell people and a sign that the ecomony still needs a little more fine tuning to get back to where we were.

So my wisdom to you today is...check your change...see if you too can find a diamond in the rough. I did, and with the $6.00 value on a penny investment, I made better money then the stock market, the real lottery and Las Vegas...rich....no...not really. But I do have a great story to tell. So go out and spend a little money this weekend.. to help the economy and to see if you strike it gold in the penny lottery. And if you do...tell me about it...ok?