Tournament Results, and Kid Stuff

I fished a tournament last Saturday at Lake Brownwood. As predicted, it was cold, and the fishing was tough. I ended up catching a 5 pound drum, but also a 3.58 pound bass and one short bass. Three bites in 8 hours, now that's some fast action. My fish was enough to put me in probably 5th or 6th place. 12 or 15 guys out of 39 had a fish, and 1o pounds won. There were three fish over 6 pounds, but most guys just weighed in one fish at 2 pounds or so.

Jonathan's been on a "probably" kick. The other day he brought home a picture from school that looked like he had gone around and around in circles with a purple marker. I asked him what his picture was, and he said, "Probably just purple circles."

A couple of days later, Shana was at home with the boys and realized she hadn't seen or heard Jonathan in a while. When she found him, he looked like this:

When she asked him what he was doing, his reply was, "Probably just shaving."

What a mess :)

At least we're all well.

Another Walmart Post

Someone once accused me of never having anything positive to say. I got them this time!

A few weeks ago I posted about the oxymoron known as "Walmart customer service." Some of my management training included a statistic that 90% of customers will never complain, but that 10% that does complain tells their story to an average of 9 people. I figure I had better tell a postitive story this time.

I have not had good luck with Walmart batteries. I have been through four starting batteries in the three years that I have owned my boat. All but this last one have been replaced free, as they crapped out within the one year warranty period. As I prepared to go fishing this afternoon, I was working on the boat and discovered that the starting battery, again, was stone cold dead. My charger also quit working. Fortunately, I had an Academy gift card from Christmas. I had planned on a new reel, but it's hard to use a new reel if your boat doesn't work. I went to Academy, found a charger on clearance for 24.88 and got a new battery. But now, what to do with the old one? It was in its fourteenth month, two months past the free replacement period, but within the three year pro-rated period. I called Walmart to see if I could get credit instead of exchanging, since I had lost confidence in their batteries. The lady on the phone was not an all-star. She said I had to come in to the store, which I knew, and wouldn't tell me what kind of refund I was looking at, or if I could even get one.

I went to the Walmart on this side of town, not the same one I had called. The lady at the automotive counter was one who had been helpful before, and she appears to know her stuff. I got out my receipt from the side of the battery, told my story, and handed the receipt to her. She gave me cash back and I was out the door. The whole trip, home to automotive to home took less than fifteen minutes. What a deal!

So, I think I have the boat working again. I also re-organized my tackle to accommodate some recent acquisitions. It's cold and high pressure, but at least the wind's not blowing, so I'm still planning on heading out this afternoon. If it turns out well, I'll let you know.