Ice Holes

My family does a lot of fishing.  They love to fly fish, deep sea fish, float tube, ice fish, and pretty much engage in any kind of fishing they can find.  


Many summer weekends Mickey would take the five oldest kids fishing........some winter weekends too.   


When Mickey and the kids would return home from their day of fishing,  I would hear stories that were fun and entertaining most of the time but on occasion there were stories that I found horrifying.  


The following is just one of those stories....


The five oldest kids and Mickey decided to go ice fishing one winter morning.  I personally don't understand it.  Can you imagine dragging five kids out in the freezing cold to go drill a hole in some ice, put a line into that hole and stand around this 4 inch hole waiting for something to bite on your line.  After standing there for about ten minutes, you can bank on the fact that one of those 5 kids will start freezing and then  the whining will start and then someone will get hungry and eventually they will all have to go potty. 


I think Mickey has the special ability to ignore all of that.   


While they were all out there on the ice waiting to catch a fish, apparently Whitey and Rocky got bored.  Shocker!  So the boys decided to perk things up a bit and they drilled a hole into the ice, away from where Mickey was fishing. They drilled this hole just big enough for someone to step into it with one foot and fall into the water up to their hip. 

Whitey and Rocky going fishing....

They then carefully covered the hole with snow so the poor, unsuspecting victim would not see it and they would fall in.  


The boys finished their project and found their victim.  Sid and Jensine were playing nicely over on the snow when the boys decided to call Jensine (who was about 6 at the time) over to where they were standing.  


Whitey and Rocky moved a few feet from their special ice hole and hollered back at Jensine.  It went something like this:


Boys: Hey Jensine come over here for a minute
Jensine: Why?
Boys: Because we want you to
Jensine: Ok (she started walking towards them)
Boys: Walk a little bit that way (as they pointed towards their left)
Jensine: Ok
Boys: Now a little bit that way (as they point towards their right)
Jensine:Ok (I'm wondering if Jensine is at all curious as to why they have a path all laid out for her.)
Boys: Now just straight


Jensine tromped along like a nice, trusting sister as they guided her right towards their target spot on the ice.


As Jensine got closer they yelled for her to keep on coming.  The boys started to get excited about her forthcoming doom.


Jensine walked towards the boys as they guided her right into their evil ice hole.   One minute you see Jensine and the next you see her torso with one leg into the hole up to her hip and the other at right angles to her body. 


Not sure what the boys plans were after this.

They were however, in hysterics and jumping up and down, loving that they were so clever.


Jensine started to howl immediately. Sid started pulling at her arms, trying to free her from the freezing water and eventual hypothermia.  Mickey went over drug her out of the ice hole and asked the boys what they were thinking. They apparently weren't so Mickey ordered them to take off their dry pants and socks and shoes and give them to Jensine.  They then had the option of putting on Jensine's wet and too small pants and shoes or going naked.  


I have two questions that I never asked.  1) What determined which boy had to take off his pants? 2) Which boy took off his shoes and socks? 3) Did they each take off one sock and one shoe and hop around the ice? And lastly HOW MUCH LONGER DID THEY STAY LOOKING AT THAT ICE HOLE WAITING FOR A FISH TO BITE WHILE SOME OF THE KIDS STOOD AROUND HALF NAKED?


My guess is the rest of the day.


By the way Jensine still likes to go fishing.  Go figure.