MURPHY'S LAW X 2 - Adding Insult to Injury -:(

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Some days it truly DOESN'T PAY to get out on the water - - Nice day and first call comes in mid-afternoon, flat calm, sunny - a simple routine Jump Start -  No wind, no rock and roll, NO EXCUSES other than a terminal case of the DA's - At first, all goes great, customer is re-started and I pat myself on the back, step to the port side to get more info from the operator when - - -OVER THE SIDE GOES HIS CREDIT CARD! - The first card I have let slip to the (not so) briny depths in ten (10) years - - -  due to arthritis, I was unable to give myself a swift kick in the tail, so I threw the clipboard down and shook the understanding customers hand and told him to have a "nice day".  I know how much of a pain in the tail I caused him by losing his card - I wasn't about to charge him for my carelessness - - We parted on a very good up note and he was signing up for a membership as soon as he got home - - I headed for port.  Shortly after dark, while I was assisting the water patrol on a case, around 2200 hrs, they dispatched me to a grounded 39 ft cruiser on a gravel bar across from my home dock.  The lake water level is down and I am slowly making my approach to assist him, when O M G! -  OOOOPS!  One of those pesky "DANGER" buoys marking the outermost point of the shoal - - - was suddenly directly off my PORT side - - and the #2 shoal buoy and the "strand" lay smartly off my STARBOARD side  - - -  and my "jet" suddenly becomes a gravel "dredge" - - - - so here we sit in flat calm water - no other boats and no wakes or wind waves - - just deafening silence and the "flash" of camera's from the resort on shore - documenting the ever growing "graveyard" of ships, piling up in front of them while they sit back and enjoy the show - -.  I was not heavily grounded - but I just couldn't quite make it off - - I contacted Captain Jones and had him head for the Osage Beach boat - - figured what the hell - - might as well join the party - lets park a few more boats up here!  The operator of the strand and I had a nice chat and we could hear the voices of the growing spectator crowd on shore - - the tinkling of the glasses and the rustling sound of cash changing hands as they toasted our misfortune and placed outrageous bets as to how long we might be there  or which "boater" was the most stupid - - "the one between the first and second buoy from shore or the one (with the pretty flashing light) between the 2nd and third DANGER buoy  (by the way, those danger buoys have been known to move off and on station by their own free will)  Bt this time, both myself and operator of the stranded boat (a firefighter from Kansas)  had all of the humiliation we could stand - it would be a while before Capt Jones could reach us - (plus I knew he would "blind" me with flashes from his camera) so the firefighter wades the 100 ft gap of knee deep water over to my boat, to give me a "push" (he pushes my bow around and I dredge a channel and finally work my way off - - obnoxious cheers from the onshore peanut gallery could be heard - - I pull up to the bow of his boat, (which was in about 3ft of water)  hook up a bridle, run out about 100 ft, give him a small tug and WALLLA - off he comes, accompanied by deafening cheers from shore - - and a few disgruntled boos - probably from some boys who lost some serious "jack" - - we check him out for damage and vibration - none - I empty a small dump truck load of rock from my cooling water strainer and we part ways  - -  with a handshake and Thanks - - I departed the scene once again "empty handed", but I had accomplished my mission, two more boaters had learned some good lessons that day and night and once again I have been humbled and re-learned a few lessons myself - - - :)  "Always look left and right, when crossing a shoal"  -  :-0

SO THATS WHAT THAT MEANS??