Remember That Day at the Lake — Stuck Having Fun?

Back in the early ‘60s, our family (well, actually my dad) had a water-skiing boat on Lake Almanor, over in Plumas County.

We would make an all-day affair of it. Mom made a picnic lunch and my brother and I and our friends took turns falling off the water skis and almost drowning while Dad drove the boat and yelled at us to watch out for the snags in the lake.

That is, most of the time we spent the day waterskiing. Our old Chevy truck was great for towing Dad’s homemade boat trailer, but on the rare occasion, it got stuck in the sand at the water’s edge. Not Dad’s fault, I’m sure. That darned sand!

He then spent the day locked in mortal combat with the sand, stopping only occasionally to invent new words that we weren’t allowed to repeat. Some days he was at it so long that the tide would have gotten him, except we were at a lake.

Us kids sat watching him dig out the truck like it was a live performance. We offered moral support, expert commentary and absolutely no physical assistance. Every so often, one of us would call out, “Almost got it, Dad!” despite having no idea if he almost had it or not. I’m sure he appreciated the encouragement.

Mom served us a fine lunch, often baloney sandwiches on rainbow bread, just a little mustard — you know the ones. Those were my favorite. Kool-Aid made with water right out of the lake topped off the feast.

We ate like kings while Dad waged his pitched battle with that one stubborn wheel.

The boat sat patiently in the water waiting for us, I’m sure not understanding why we weren’t motoring around on the water. That’s what boats are supposed to do.

Usually, by the time Dad got the truck out, it was time to leave. That was okay with us — we were fully entertained, feeling that the day had been well spent.

He must have found a more sure-footed spot to back to the water’s edge again to load the boat back up. I don’t remember for sure, but it seems likely. Even Dad never got stuck twice on the same day.

John Meyers, 77, doesn’t water ski anymore. He hardly ever did.