Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 While driving to Washington last week I got a call from my old pard, Palouse, with the news that Pat McManus had passed. Many of us have read Pat’s books and stories, beginning with the yarns that had appeared for years in Field & Stream and Outdoor Life magazines. Oh, how often I’d get a new magazine in the mail and read Pat’s latest to the future ex- Missus Hardpan. I recall one morning when she returned from working the night shift in the local ER. (Odd how they don’t like the term “graveyard shift” in hospitals!) “Gotta tell you something,” she said. “Last night ol’ Sally Ann and I happened to yawn at the same time. ‘Whatsa matter,’ she asked me. ‘Not getting enough sleep?’ “So I told her ‘Aww… My husband got a new magazine in the mail and insisted I miss my pre-work nap so he could read me a funny story. He does that every month!’ “And she said ‘Ha! My husband does the same thing! Some guy named Pat McManus! And they are SO funny!’ “And just then another nurse walked in, stifling a yawn. She saw us laughing, and said ‘Wait. Don’t tell me. Your husbands were reading you Pat McManus stories earlier too…?’” True story! Rest in peace, Pat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 That's a shame. I have always enjoyed his writing. Rest In Peace, Mr. McManus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172 Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 R.I.P. Sir. Great story teller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocWard Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 Sad news. I have a couple of his books around, and I believe Mrs. Doc has worried about my sanity more than once for laughing out reading them. Rest in peace, Sir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michigan Slim Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 The end of an ERA. They shoot canoes don't they? Great talent. Retch Sweeny, Rancid Crabtree, etc. I'm pulling out the set and reading them again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tequila Jim #14501 Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 Real ponnys don't go oink. I wonder how old he was when he passed? Too bad. old jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wapaloosie73 Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 RIP Pat! I loved yer stories! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted April 19, 2018 Author Share Posted April 19, 2018 Oh, the looks people would give me during my commuting days! Here would be this guy in a suit, briefcase perched on knees, book in hand, red-faced and making all sorts of snerkling, strangling sounds, trying to hold back outright guffaws while riding a packed ferry or BART train… Mr McManus got me through some really trying times. So back in, lessee… ’91, I think it was… one Friday night Palouse gave me a call: “Hey, Hardpan! Wanna go to the Sportsman’s Show tomorrow?” “Oh, I dunno… maybe! Where’s it gonna be?” “At the San Mateo Fairgrounds!” Well, the San Mateo event center was about sixty miles and at least an hour and a half drive from my home in Vallejo, so… I pondered for a moment, then said “Naw, man… that’s just too much driving after a week of commuting.” “Well, McManus is gonna be there -” “I’ll pick you up early – can you be ready by 0600??” I was out the door well before sunup the next morning, swung by Palouse’s place (he lived in San Mateo at the time) and we were at the fairgrounds very early – so early the place was nowhere near open, and we parked for free in the exhibitor’s area. Weren't supposed to, but we did... We walked in to the exhibit hall, each carrying a backpack full of books, and darn! There they were! McManus and Jim Zumbo! The two of ‘em, just starting to set up the Outdoor Life display booth! So, with grins, Palouse and I walked over, dropped our backpacks, and to their surpise said “Good Morning, Guys! Here ~ let us give you a hand!” and started right in, helping with the booth assembly and placing display items. After their initial astonishment the two gentlemen turned out to be really affable, and we stayed and visited for quite a while after the work was finished… and Pat was more than happy to autograph all the books we’d brought along. Surprisingly, both were much more quiet and even a bit reserved than we’d expected. Especially Pat… he was very soft-spoken and almost seemed to be somewhat withdrawn, although very warm and friendly. As I recall, he told us he was going be staying in the area for a while to visit a daughter who lived in San Francisco. Palouse and I told him that we both worked there, and naturally shared a number of stories about some of the weirdness we’d observed in the city of “Baghdad-by-the-Bay.” When we parted, Pat invited us to come back later for a presentation he had scheduled in the early afternoon in the lecture hall. We did, and thoroughly enjoyed his talk – especially when he smiled at us and incorporated references to our tales into his delivery. A good day, absolutely worth the drive, and a good memory. And yeah, I think I’ll be digging out the books and reading ‘em again, for the umpteenth time. And I’ll still be laughing at ‘em. (I think my two favorites are The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw and The Grasshopper Trap. But wait... then there's The Deer on the Bicycle... and the story about Rancid Crabtree and Whomper, the slingshot... ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex M Rugers #6621 Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 I think that I have all of his books except the cookbook he did with his sister. Also enjoyed the Bo Tully series. He will be missed. He had actually been retired for a while now , but just knowing he is gone leaves an empty spot. RIP , from a fan, Rex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hashknife Cowboy Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 I took Pat's line of "A fine and pleasant misery" to describe my own antics over the years. I remember reading his books in deer blinds and laughing uncontrollably, you guessed it, no deer. God Bless Pat for all the laughter and outdoor truths..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 Rest in peace, sir. Thank you for the many wonderful hours of entertainment you gave me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Plasters, SASS#60943 Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 What a loss! My wife would get angry with me for shaking with laughter as I read his books in bed. The first few were given to me by a co-worker and I passed them along to my parents who loved them and then put them in the library at their retirement village. One of my sons likes to read so we gave him a set of the books a while back which he powered through. Saw him and his family last week and noticed the books on his shelf. The older son , 5 yrs old, got the books out cause he liked the covers. My son did inform us that the humor was lost on 5 and 3 year olds - or maybe they couldn't understand what he was reading cause he was laughing so hard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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