Through An 'Old Timer's' Eyes
By Howard 'Mac' McDonald

Last Sunday as I left church, I was handed a palm branch. I never really knew the significance, so I checked the Bible. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on an ass and the people spread palm branches in his path. Even an old-timer can learn something new.

Remember the song, "Bridge Over Troubled Waters?" I was reminded of it as I stood on the bridge over Sinnemahoning Portage Creek on Rt. 120. How long will Mother Nature take to restore this once pristine trout stream?

She won't get much help out of the Fish and Boat Commission. This is another state agency that has a hefty payroll. The more dollars they can get from Norfolk Southern, the more people they can hire.

I suspect that very little of the money they get from the railroad will be used to restore this stream. After all, this area has the lowest number of registered voters in the state.

It will be a long time before the engineer of the train will get to blow another train whistle. There have been several accidents caused by people whose judgment was impaired by prescription drugs. Most elderly people take some pretty strong medication and

should think twice

before they get behind the wheel.

Everyone has his fingers crossed for the Cameron County Canoe and Kayak Classic. The wilder the flow in the main stream, the better these racers like it.

April 10 is nearing and that is a date I will always remember. I was set up to fly at 6:00 a.m. that day in 1954. My wife woke me at about 3:30 with the news that our second son was on the way. We needed transportation, and fast, but our car was out of commission.

I woke up the woman next door who had agreed to drive us the 20 miles from our apartment in Anchorage to the Army Hospital at Fort Richardson. We barely made it. Later, I borrowed the car to go see my new son and my wife. About ten miles down the road, the drive shaft dropped right on the ground.

This story gets even better. Just before liftoff, my aircraft lost its No. 1 engine, made a hard left turn, left the runway and hit the G.C.A. trailer. The load was 15 drums of aviation gas and it caught fire. The pilot, a young first lieutenant was pinned in the wreckage and couldn't get out. The co-pilot was injured, but rescue personnel got him, the engineer and the radio operator out.

Each year on the anniversary of that crash I say a prayer for Lt. Redman. Sir, you will never be forgotten as long as I am on this earth.

Four years later in April, I was stationed just outside of Nancy, France. My wife, my two sons and I lived about 17 miles from the base.

My good friend Dave Crusenberry and I had to go to the American Consulate at Strasburg to get our passports renewed, a 200-mile round trip. We didn't get back until after 5:00 p.m., for -- you guessed it -- another mad dash to the base hospital for the birth of son No. 3. That trip was too close for comfort.

Fishing season will be opening soon, so it's time to get your gear ready. Good luck on the streams and don't fall in.