Alex Danchanko Jr Print ISBN: ebook ISBN:

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3 Alex Danchanko Jr 2017 Print ISBN: ebook ISBN: All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

4 This book is dedicated to my wife Marilyn Danchanko and my niece Susan Danchanko for their help in completing this book

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6 MURPHY S LAW AND THE OUTDOORSMAN INTRODUCTION T his book is a series of short stories about true events that happened to me while participating in outdoor activities in various counties of Pennsylvania. I am seventy years old, a graduate of Saint Francis University, retired Management Accountant, and an avid fisherman. I have resided in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, my entire life. I went on my first fishing trip when I was ten years old and was hooked for life. I have two brothers who are also sportsmen; Daniel, a year younger than me, and Bill, four years younger than me. My father wasn t interested in fishing so my brothers and I relied on neighbors and relatives to take us fishing until we were old enough to drive and go out on our own. After four years of service in the Navy, I really got into fishing. I took a fly tying course and began to tie my own flies. Then after reading countless books and magazines about fly fishing, I became a self-taught fly fisherman. A good friend taught me how to make spinners, and this became another hobby. I even had an illustrated article published on how to make them. When I took up the sport of hunting, I quickly became an avid hunter. I am still an avid fisherman, but now only hunt occasionally. During my working years I had most weekends and holidays off and this afforded me the opportunity to plan many weekend outdoor activities. 1

7 ALEX DANCHANKO JR My uncle Bernie, who resides in Wooster, Ohio, became a lifelong fishing buddy. We planned vacations together for many years and fly fished trout streams all over Pennsylvania. We went on several trips to Quebec, Canada, and fished for Walleyes and Northern Pike. We also made a few trips to Lake Erie for Walleyes and the Lake Erie tributary streams for Salmon and Steelhead. While spending time in the outdoors, I ve encountered some dangerous situations as well as some amusing events. The stories are about incidents that occurred while fishing, hunting, and participating in other outdoor activities. The stories are in order, according to my age at the time of the experience. The first story begins when I was a young boy. If you spend a lot of time in the outdoors, it s inevitable that you will have some encounters with snakes. I did have some chance encounters with Timber rattlers and Northern Copperheads, both venomous snakes, but I believe these experiences were relatively rare when considering the amount of time I spent fishing and was in the forests of Pennsylvania. When I met my wife Marilyn and we started dating, she asked if I would take her fishing. Marilyn was a school teacher, now a retired college professor, and also had the weekends and holidays off, as well as the summers. I taught her how to fish for trout and Marilyn became a frequent fishing companion. 2

8 MURPHY S LAW AND THE OUTDOORSMAN We have been married for thirty-four years and have two sons, Alex III and Aaron. I introduced them into the outdoors as soon as they were able to hold a fishing rod and walk in the woods. I would like to thank my wife Marilyn, who encouraged me to write about my experiences, and my sons Alex III and Aaron for all the special memories. I also want to thank my nephews Matt Danchanko and Warren Whitmyre. Matt shared many camping and fishing trips with me and my two sons. Both Matt and Warren accompanied me on numerous fishing and hunting trips throughout the years and remain as my outdoor companions. I can t forget to thank Marilyn s uncle Al Gyorke, a frequent fishing companion. I also want to thank the rest of my family who either shared outdoor experiences with me or patiently listened to my stories probably more than once. I want to give a very special thanks to my niece Susan Danchanko. On numerous occasions she encouraged me to write a book about my outdoor adventures. This idea stayed with me and resulted in a book of short stories. Susan, a college graduate in journalism, was a tremendous help by using her journalism skills to edit the stories and offer suggestions. The final polished book wouldn t have been possible without Susan. 3

9 ALEX DANCHANKO JR BLACKBERRIES I was about eight years old when our good neighbors Mr. and Mrs. Kinsey asked if my brother Daniel and I would like to go blackberry picking. Our answer was an unequivocally and enthusiastic yes! Our parents had already okayed the trip so we gathered our pails and headed out to a blackberry patch in Bedford County. After about an hour drive, we veered off the main road and onto a dirt path, which took us to a huge blackberry patch. To say that we were excited was an understatement. Immediately, Daniel and I ran to the patch and hurriedly started picking berries. It was great. As we were filling our pails, we began working deeper into the patch. Suddenly, as I reached for a blackberry overhead, I spotted a large snake. (Little did I know this would be just the first of my many encounters with 4

10 MURPHY S LAW AND THE OUTDOORSMAN snakes.) It was wrapped around the bush above me and was literally inches away from my hand. It scared me to the point of being petrified. I slowly, slowly, backed my hand away and moved slowly, slowly, backward. From a safe distance I observed this funny looking snake with its big head and odd looking tail. During this entire time, it never moved or made any noise. I warned my brother to stay away from it and then ran to tell Mr. Kinsey what I had discovered or, rather, what had discovered me. I m not sure which happened first. He asked me to show him where it was, so I took him to the bush. While observing the snake, he became alarmed and proceeded to grab me by the arm and started walking rather quickly. He then yelled to my brother and Mrs. Kinsey to hurry and get in the car. Even though the snake was rather funny looking and a bit scary, I can t say that Daniel and I were aware of any danger. And now we were angrier than anything at it because it ruined our day of blackberry picking. After we were in the car, I had asked Mr. Kinsey if he knew what kind of snake it was. He told me it was a poisonous rattle snake. I didn t realize at the time how lucky I was that it didn t bite me! 5

11 ALEX DANCHANKO JR Upon arriving home, the Kinseys talked to our parents and told them the whole story of what happened and why we were back. Even he couldn t explain why that snake didn t bite me. And, to no surprise, he told us we would never be going back there again. Needless to say, my blackberry picking trip with Daniel and the Kinseys would be one I would never forget. In fact, I reflect on this situation often. At the time, I didn t understand why the rattlesnake didn t bite me, no one did, and I still don t to this day. Since that time, I have learned the rattlesnake s identity to be a Timber Rattlesnake. I m sure that my instincts saved my life. I surmise that it probably didn t feel threatened because of my instinctive, slow moving reaction and calmness during the situation. I have also learned that they are known to be found in blackberry bushes where they wait for birds to fly in and eat the berries, or the hands of a small, overly-excited eight-year-old. 6