Bodie's Surprise: Part 1

"Bodie, you should get a new boat," Tommy Meyers told his friend. "The last couple of months all you've done is work on the one that you have and instead of fishing and you've just been cussing everything about this old tub."

Bodie had to grin just a little because Tommy was exactly right in what he was saying. He hadn't fished much at all because all of a sudden anything and everything that could go wrong with a boat and an outboard motor had started going wrong with his boat. The problem was that new boats cost about as much as he paid for his house when he built it and, man oh man, to buy another would sure put a hit on his savings.

"I'm hoping that this wiring job will take care of the current problems Tommy Boy, but I'm not going to bet any money on it," Bodie said with a frown.

"The tournament is in four months Bodie and you know that you have to fish the tournament, so why don't you just call Donny and tell him to build that boat of your dreams because I ain't really sure that this is going to fix your boat."

And unfortunately, Bodie wasn't sure that his bad luck was going to improve with the complete rewiring of this boat either.

After the last cow had been loaded on the last trailer, Bodie sighed with relief and told the hands to take the rest of the week off. Gathering the herd from the 1,800 acres of thorn, cactus, rattlesnakes and ground hornets had just about worn him, the horses, and his crew completely out.

"Just be sure to check the bay side pastures and make sure that the water is running into the tanks and ya'll decide who will be dropping the hay the day after tomorrow," Bodie told his cowboys. He turned to his pasture manager Monroe and told him to take it easy but to check on things, then climbed into his truck and headed home.

He called Tommy but got no answer so he called Captain Red and told him that he was going to trailer his boat to the ramp and would Red be so kind as to meet him there so that he could take his truck and trailer to the boat stall. Red said that he would and Bodie hooked onto his trailer and set off for town. Red had gotten there before him and was kicking at a dead mullet when Bodie drove up. Red took the wheel while Bodie climbed into the boat and Red backed him down the ramp. The old outboard started right up and Bodie backed it off the trailer. With a wave to Red, Bodie idled out into the channel and headed to his boat house.

"Well the gauges are working, the motor started and the GPS turns on; maybe I got this licked after all." Bodie said to himself with a smile.

As if on cue the gauges all went blank, the GPS turned off and the motor shut down. Bodie looked under the center console and made sure that the wires were tight on the battery terminals and they were. He pulled the cowling off of the motor and checked the wiring harness there but didn't see a problem. About then one of the red Coast Guard boats came up behind him and stopped to see if they could help.

"About all you can do for me Jim is to tow me back to the docks if you wouldn't mind," Bodie said. Bodie called Red on his cell phone and told him what was going on and, grumbling, Red got back into Bodie's truck and headed back to the ramp.

Bodie cast the line off from the Coast Guard boat and steered into the slip at the ramp. Red was backing down and Bodie jumped out to guide the boat onto the trailer as Red walked the winch strap down to him. "Dang it Bodie you should get rid of this relic and buy you a new boat." Red said.

"That's what I'm hearing, Red," Bodie replied.

Bodie pulled out a ledger when he got back to the house, turned a few pages, punched some numbers into an old calculator, then cussing he tossed the ledger back into a drawer and got a beer from the refrigerator.

"Maybe I'm just too tight but I just can't see me paying that kind of price for a new boat," Bodie said out loud.

Sometime after midnight his dog started barking and Bodie slipped out the backdoor with his .45 in one hand and a flashlight in the other. He smelled the caustic smelling smoke right away and as he rounded the corner of the house he saw what was causing it. His boat was on fire and the fiberglass was literally melting off and hitting the ground. As the burning material landed on the dry grass the grass caught fire and the wind was going to blow the fire right to his shop and barn. Quickly he called the sheriff's office and they in turn called out the fire department as Bodie used a garden hose to try and keep the fire away from the structures on his property.

Seeing that he wasn't going to turn the fire with the hose, he ran into his house and grabbed his truck keys. He choked on the smoke as he made his way into the barn and backed the truck up behind his house. Then he got the tractor out and using the blade he tried to cut a small berm between the burning boat and grass and his buildings. He could see the fire lapping at the wall of his shop and he knew that it was going to go. While he was doing that the first person from the volunteer fire department pulled through his cattle guard and roared up to the house.

"Has the gas tank caught yet," the fireman yelled to Bodie.

"Hell I don't know but I don't think so," Bodie yelled back.

The loud whooshing noise and the rush of flames a few moments later confirmed that no, the tank had not, until just then.

Bodie drove the tractor over by his pickup as the first pumper truck made its way onto the scene and man did those boys have their routine down. In no time the two inch hoses were putting out the grass fire and hosing down the burning shop building.

The firemen stayed until daylight to make sure that no more fires were going to pop up and after refilling their cups with fresh coffee. Bodie thanked them again for saving his barn.

"Just part of our job Bodie and we're sure sorry about your shop and your boat." The young fireman said.

"I can scramble up some eggs and sausage and heat up some biscuits if ya'll want some," Bodie offered, but the firemen thanked him for the offer and they left to go to their day jobs.

Red, Tommy and some of Bodie's other friends stood by not really knowing what to say but Bodie just told them to come on in and have breakfast. Tommy was the first one through the door.

"Well the good thing about all of this Bodie is that now you can get you a brand new boat!" Tommy said with a smile. Red kicked Tommy in the shin and Tommy yelled and started jumping around on one foot but a look from Bodie made him take a seat at the big table and be quiet.

After breakfast everyone left but Red and while he and Bodie sat at the table drinking coffee, Red asked Bodie what he had in mind to do.

"That's the problem Red and don't you say a word to anyone else, but after I gave that chunk of money to my niece and her husband when he was hurt and not working, if I buy a new boat there sure isn't going to be much left of my savings," Bodie said with a frown.

"She's my late sister's daughter, a good girl, and her husband is a good man but they stood to lose the home place and everything they had so what could I do?" Bodie said. "He's on disability now and what with losing his left leg and arm, but the drilling company dragging this out, who knows if or when they'll be able to pay me back," he sighed.

Red just nodded his head and told Bodie that he could use his boat whenever he needed and then said goodbye and left. Bodie pulled the ledger out and once again cussed when he ran the numbers.

"Sure think you're accomplishing a lot in life, putting money away and then when you need itwell what can you do?" Bodie thought.

On Sunday afternoon Mr. Connor stopped by Bodie's place and Bodie stopped his cleanup chore to go talk to his employer.

"I heard you lost your boat but I didn't know you lost your shop too," Mr. Connor said.

"Well I lost the building but I had insurance on it so I'll rebuild that and most of the tools are okay but the power tools are just a melted mess of plastic and copper now," Bodie said.

"Well anything you need Bodie you just let me know and I'll see to it that you get it," Mr. Connor said as he climbed into his truck. Bodie thanked him then went back to the sad chore of cleaning up the huge mess.

Bodie had enough of hauling junk to his dump and decided to shower then head to Haddon's to grab some supper and a beer. Tommy was in his regular spot with Red a few stools down, so Bodie had a seat between them.

"You need any help out there Bodie?" Tommy called to him.

"I've just about got it cleaned up Tommy." Bodie replied.

"I would have come out and helped but me and Red went out after he got home from your place and got into some really nice trout over by the slough near the boat cut." Tommy said with a smile.

Red muttered something about Tommy being a half bubble off plumb but Bodie just smiled and asked "Any size to them?"

Tommy told Bodie that he had almost landed one that would have gone at least thirty but suddenly Red spit a mouthful of beer at Tommy's exaggeration and said the fish wasn't an inch over twenty-four. Bodie just smiled, ordered a bacon cheese burger, bought Red and Tommy a beer, and told them not to forget him the next time they went. 

 Part 2 coming next month!