vernon

Yeah glasses have always drove me nuts too. Was fitted with them in 8th grade but hardly ever wore them. Finally sprung for contacts when I was around 22-23 and that changed my life for the better. Was lucky in that regard too as the eye doc said that I'd never be able to wear them due to the astigmatism. I talked him into letting me try them for 24 hours and kept wearing them for the next 25 years until I had the Lasik. My cataracts actually met the insurance requirement which kind of amazed me because my vision really wasn't bad at all. I just noticed sitting in the family room there were some details that just weren't as clear as they had been and wanted to get it checked out to make sure it wasn't something serious. Heck I could still see a golf ball from 275 yards with no problem. Just couldn't read script on the DVR from across the room anymore so I don't really know how I qualified for the insurance but I did and it paid for everything but the lens upgrade. They told me that my distance vision wouldn't be affected and that if I went with the trifocal lens I wouldn't need readers anymore so I was sold. Turns out it wasn't all entirely accurate but then I probably only heard the parts that I wanted to hear. If I had gone with the monofocal lens insurance would have covered the whole shootin' match but I wanted rid of the darn readers. And since these were the last eyes I was ever gonna have I jumped. I tend to agree with you on the short days deal. When it doesn't get dark before 4:00 I'll probably be just fine. Guys my age ain't got no business being out after dark anyways. I do find myself wondering though about how I coulda spent that 6K on these fancy pancy new forward facing electronics but then I haven't caught a fish in so long I don't know if I coulda stood being able to actually see what I wasn't catchin' too.🙄

Barrel racer?🤔

Had you had Lasik prior? Seems the people I know that had Lasik prior to cataract surgery take longer to adapt or at least achieve an "acceptable" outcome and the halos tend to be a bigger issue. Are you OK to drive at night? I know a couple of guys that had terrible vision their entire lives and neither were candidates for Lasik nor could they wear contacts due to either extreme astigmatism or too thin of a cornea. Both thought they died and went to heaven immediately after cataract surgery. One had Panoptix and the other Symfony. Both tested 20/20 or better, have no need for readers and can see just fine at night. I hate 'em both! 🙄 On the other hand I know several that have had Lasik and all seem to take up to a year or more and often multiple "tweaks" before they're anywhere near satisfied. My eye doc also said that prior Lasik patients tend to have less predictable outcomes but in the end almost always are very satisfied. He also said that oftentimes it takes longer for the brain to adapt and that once both eyes have the new lens improvement can come quickly. Unfortunately I've never had a great deal of luck regarding any endeavor that required my brain to perform at a reasonable level so I guess we'll see. Pun intended. Probably worth mentioning also that those that get the basic (cheaper) single vision lens also seem to have better immediate outcomes although they will almost certainly require readers from that point on. Most of those folks that I know though had such poor vision prior to surgery that they're beyond thrilled just to have quality intermediate and distance vision without glasses and the readers are inconsequential to them. Like most everything in life I guess it's mostly a matter of perspective. My dad developed macular degeneration and had compromised vision for twenty years and was blind the last seven years of his life. I try to think back on that whenever I get frustrated that my sight isn't quite what I think it should be as he woulda given an arm to have just one of my eyes at their worst. Nonetheless, at 3K per eye I need to live a little longer than I had initially planned if I'm gonna achieve an acceptable ROI!

Thanks! I'm sure it will be fine. Just kinda tuff to return to mere mortal status after being the virtual Greek god of sight for so long! It really is pretty amazing what they can do and how they do it although sometimes it takes a tweak or two. They had to do two followup laser procedures before they finally got mine right. Apparently I developed some astigmatism after the initial surgery that had to be corrected. Then they overcorrected the correction and had to laser it again to correct the incorrect correction! Or something like that.....🙄

I have a pair of Maui's that are at least ten years old and are as good as new. I wear them for driving and outdoor stuff like baseball games, backyard get togethers, etc. Really good shades. I also have a pair of Oakley Shallow Water Blue wraparound vented lenses that are seven or eight years old that I love for fishing and boating in general but the coating y'all described is beginning to crack and wear. I have a pair of Oakley Prism golf specific that I wear, well, for golf that are five or six years old and they are starting to show signs of wear too but then they get worn far and away the most of the bunch. I tried last year replacing the Shallow Water Blue lens with the Deep Water Blue that came with the frames as they were brand new and unused but they're just too dark for me. Since having Lasik surgery twenty some years ago my distance vision was 20/10 and 20/15 but my dim light vision went totally to crap and the dark lenses just don't work for me as a result. I've also always needed reading glasses but man I could see like a hawk otherwise. All the old guys always wanted to be in my group on the golf course cause nobody ever lost a ball! Compounding that issue, I had cataract surgery on my right eye last February and the dim light vision is even worse. I'm scheduled to have the left eye done next month and hopefully it turns out better than the right cause if not my days of night driving are over. The good news is that with the PanOptix multifocal lens I no longer need forty pair of read cheaters laying all over the place so I guess everything has a tradeoff.

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Oooooh. Now you've got my attention!🤫👑👌

I didn't have a pair of pliers within six inches of the Ultrex GPS puck but I DID have a pair of pliers in the recessed foot control tray that got wedged under the pedal. For some weird crazy reason the spot lock didn't like that AT ALL. While I was very proud of myself for being able to troubleshoot and correct this most challenging problem all by myself I had no idea that I had saved $120! Think I'll treat myself to something nice today with that extra dinero! Heck, now that I think about if I had taken it to Blue Springs Marine it probably would have cost at least a grand so now I'm really gonna do something nice for myself!

With all due respect I do NOT identify as a "queen". I might have a little princess in me but definitely not a queen.🧚‍♀️

Again with the punching down? Now you want to attack and denigrate our public education system? Of which I be a prowd almost graduate?🤓

Pivot, deny and deflect all you want my friend! We'll let the courts of public opinion decide! And I think the proof is in YOUR pudding! And I wasn't calling you a pig but rather just happened to be thinking of one as I think they're SO danged cute and I even posted the emoji hoping to avoid any confusion but I guess hater's gonna hate.......🦥

Pee Wee was unlucky only in the sense that he was many years before his time! And name calling haters like yourself might have been able to get away with such flagrant and uncalled for shaming and finger pointing back then but not today mister! Pee Wee was and is a comic genius and entertainment icon that was simply misidentified. NOW he is a protected species and YOU are the guilty party who should be ostracized and branded for what you are! You just wait till the ACLU catches wind of your misguided attempt at tyranny and oppression Bucko! We'll see who's laughing then........ PIG!!🐷

You're the luckiest boy in the world! Oh wait, that was Pee Wee Herman but you're still pretty dang lucky!

It's rapidly approaching the point where "locals" won't have to worry about the high price of golf - at least not at Big Cedar. The goal is to restrict play to resort guests only and they hope to achieve that by next year. We've been playing Buffalo Ridge since they only had nine holes open during the construction phase but it's just about impossible to get on now even at $185 a pop. As recently as about three years ago we could just show up over there without a tee time, pay seventy five or eighty bucks and have the place to ourselves. Last year we were able to get twilight deals at Buffalo Ridge, Ozark National and Payne's Valley a couple of times which brought the cost down to just fifty or sixty bucks more than we typically pay to play in Palm Springs during high season. They're great golf courses to be sure but dang...... And to your point Branson Hills (the original Payne Stewart tribute course) has gone from around seventy bucks to a hundred twenty five. I'm not a Johnny hater but I do hate what he's done to the price of golf in the area. However I'm also a free market guy and can't really blame him. People are coming in from all over the country if not the world and lining up to pay what I think is crazy money for golf. And it don't matter if it's 45 degrees and the rain is coming down sideways they're still packed and I've seen it numerous time with my own eyes. Heck that's where we go every once in a while to grab lunch and have a beer when we think it's too nasty to fish and usually have to wait for a table and there's guys on every hole on every course.

A guy posted this on the Table Rock Fishing page on Facebook Friday at 8:03. Said it was taken at Cedar Wood resort in Kimberling.

For what it's worth on Mr. Babler's recommendation I purchased two of the Squirrel Tails several years ago and they are my all time favorite spinning rods. I use them primarily for Ned fishing but they work great for lightweight jigs and worms and even for drop shotting although I don't do a lot of that. I've found them to be really good for smaller jerk baits too. Regardless, in my opinion it'd be way more better than a cordless drill for pretty much any kind of fishing! Either way Merry Christmas!

Like Tug McGraw said, "I'd spend most of it on wine, women and song. The rest I'd just blow."

How do you like me now? A kinder, gentler Vernon for sure but I can still conjure up a flash flood warning with a click of my heels!

Well, then there’s that……🤷‍♂️

Apparently the rain God’s have lost track of my whereabouts. Back home got over an inch last night and it’s still raining with more on the way. By the looks of the forecast it might take ‘em a couple of days to catch up to me. Kinda unusual but unprecedented times being what they are and all…..

Little bro' and me are heading y'all's way in a couple of hours. For a WEEK. Just sayin'..........⛈️☔🌪️

Happy Birthday! I've had a few of those my own self .......😬

Not to mention all those dad blamed hooks and thin skin!😬

Was thinking that myself but then considered the source.....🙃

Guilty as charged - wish I woulda known to ask you first! Actually I checked with Wrench and he didn't see any reason for me to make the drive all the way to his place for such a basic service. Now we both know better! Of course if Johnny hadn't torn up his Evinrude contract and gone exclusive Mercury a year after I bought the boat I coulda had it serviced at Cabela's where I bought it in the first place. Ten minutes from my driveway.