Dr. Todd sent the book to print a few weeks ago. The physical copies should be ready around December 10. In light of that I wrote down the story about how the book came about:
If you read the last blog entry, blog entry number 2, then you will remember that I made reference to Mira Kirshenbaum’s book, Everything Happens for a Reason. In it she provides “10 meanings of the events that occur in our lives.” The list includes some things you would expect such as: “To help you totally accept yourself, To show you can let go of fear, To help you uncover your true hidden talent.” But the one that struck me the most was: “To show you how to live with a sense of mission.” Since that time, my mission to tell Dad’s story and the history of freshwater pro-fishing in the U.S. seemed all the more important. Kirshenbaum definitely helped me to feel more grounded about why things turned out the way they did for Dad… and for myself.
On a hot summer day in August 2003, I remember lying in bed in my one room cabin that Dad and I built just outside of Lead Hill, Arkansas when I watched Michael Iaconelli reel in the winning fish of the Bassmaster Classic, and shout, “Never Give Up!” That fish made him a whole lot of money, and as he reeled in the fish, I couldn’t help thinking how much different our lives would be if Dad had reeled in a net full of money along with his winning fish in the ’65 and ’66 World Series of Sport Fishing tournaments.
I moved to Lead Hill in early 2001 when the corporation I was working for collapsed under my feet. I was living in my Dad’s hunting trailer with only a few possessions and less pride. Having had a similar experience with fishing, Dad knew what I was going through. As we built my cabin together, he told me stories of his past successes and failures that I’d heard as a child, and they began to have more meaning. Only after experiencing life myself did I begin to understand the heights to which my Dad had climbed and the depths to which he had fallen. I began to find striking parallels between his story and mine. I began to truly understand him and look to him and Mom to understand more of life’s lessons.
Watching Iaconelli reel in that fish, I became convinced that Dad’s bassin’ legacy should get similar recognition. The world had to know who he was, how he shaped present day pro-fishing, and the part he played in the history of pro-fishing.
At the time I didn’t know how I was going to do it. It never occurred to me to start writing it myself until my author friend, Jon Sheppard, encouraged me to. I must have felt a little like Ray Scott when he concocted the idea of having the first paying bass tournament. Determination was his only resource and he understood that he needed the help of others to blaze a path toward success. As it happened for Ray, it too, happened for me by putting one foot in front of the other and realizing that some things had to be accomplished with other people’s help.
Several years of research and traveling all over the Midwest had revealed even more than Dad’s stories disclosed. Not just that he became the only two-time World Series champ, but also of all the amazing people who helped him and whom he helped along the way – both famous and forgotten. Dad’s story was monumental. He was the hub of a wheel that had many spokes and history is amiss without the addition of his name.
Months turned into years, and many hours of boat sitting and deer camp fires reaped many stories of Dad’s humorous hunting trips and fishing adventures. Eventually, I began to invite other friends to camp just to listen to Dad’s tales of yore. It was then and there that I finally conceded to start writing. A couple of years later I asked Jeremy Miller, whom I met while we were both waiting tables at the Olive Garden in Branson, MO, to co-author with me. He just happened to also be an English teacher and his writing skills were very good. He developed the story into a real piece of writing.
Thus, An Impossible Cast was born.
Stay tuned to the next blog entry and find out what the great Bill Dance and two-time Bassmaster Classic champ Bobby Murray said about Glen Andrews.
An Impossible Cast 
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