inyati13
Well-known member
Mel King, I am surprised you ask me to tell this story but in your words, you ask for it:
Tell them about the time you and me went to Alaska to find gold. I think they all would enjoy it.
I found Mel at the bar in the Fisherman’s Inn. True to form, Mel had a lady on one hand and a whiskey in the other. I pulled out the chair at the table and sat down. Mel has a trademark smile. His upper lip curls up and he shows his upper teeth. Mel raised his arm and called for the waitress. The girl came over and I ordered a Gin Martini, dry with an olive, dirty. Mel frowned. Mel only drank whiskey. It was early June 1974. We were staying at the Fisherman’s Inn on the waterfront in Anchorage.
I had met Mel two years earlier at an airport bar in Atlanta. I was flying back to Kentucky from a Herpetology convention in Austin. I was finishing my Maser’s degree when I got his letter that demanded that I meet him at the Fisherman’s Inn in Anchorage on June 3, 1974. Mel had acquired a gold mining claim on the Russian River.
Mel was the ultimate playboy. His two passions were women and whiskey. If there was a third, it was money. We both had a similar philosophy. When you die, you are a long time dead so for both of us, there was nothing to lose. We lived life like there was no tomorrow. His primary rule was this: you cull cows but you never cull women.
We checked out and loaded the jeep Mel had rented. Our destination was his gold mining claim on the Russian River. We left Anchorage on the Seward Highway. Later that afternoon we made it to Cooper Landing where we would stay for the night before going into the mining claim. We got checked into our rooms and had dinner. I told Mel I was going to get some sleep. I was sure Mel was going to spend most of the evening at the bar. Cooper Landing is small so I figured Mel was not going to find much recreation.
The next morning, Mel said he met a lady who was going to go with us. I said, “Mel, forget the lady, we need to focus on the gold.” He said, “Ron, I only got to talk to her briefly, but she knows this country well. She might be a valuable asset.” With those words, he curled up his upper lip in his trademark smile.
We checked out, got loaded and the girl comes walking down a steep hill above the motel. She must be six foot six. The rawest boned girl I ever saw. I glance at Mel and he is already looking at me to catch my reaction. Before she is close enough to hear, I ask in a low voice, “Are you sure there is never an occasion for you to cull?" Mel grins.
We only drove a short distance from Cooper Landing before we turned left off the main road. Mel checked his map and verified we were headed to the right claim. We drove about 3 miles off the road until we came to the sluice box and cabins. We spent the day getting set up. The big raw boned girl went by the name, Belle. She was a good worker. Mel wanted to go to bed early so he and Belle went to their cabin and I went to mine. About two hours later, there is a knock on my door. I get up and let Mel in. I turn on the propane lantern. Mel sits on the extra bed and looks down at his hands. I look over and Mel says, “Ron, we need to take Belle back to Cooper Landing.” I say, “Tonight?” He said yes. "Why?" He said, “Ron, I have been with every color, size, shape of woman on earth but there is something different about this one.” I could see how sincere he was. His eyes watered as if he was about to cry. I said, “Ok, Mel. Let’s take her home.”
In the middle of the night we are on our way back to Cooper Landing, when a Kodiak Bear steps out into the road in front of us. The bear will not move. I ask Mel to step out and yell at it. When he does, the bear stands on its back legs. Mel jumps back in. We set there a minute both shaken by this bear’s determination. About that time, Belle steps out of the back seat. She walks out into the high beam lights in front of the jeep. The lights create a vivid silhouette of her form. I turn to Mel and he looks at me. I say, “Mel, take a close look. What is that?” He said, “I already have, up close and personal.” We knew Belle was big and raw boned, but the lights revealed the masculinity of her form. I did not want to ask what was going through my mind but Mel is a savvy guy. He looks at me and says, “She is a female. The Lord has just not blessed her.” About that time, Belle reaches down and picks up a rock the shape and size of a baseball. With a windup like a professional baseball pitcher, she hits that bear right smack above the eyes. The bear runs down the bank, swims to the other side of the Russian River and is gone. Belle gets back in.
Mel and I decided to turn around and go back to the cabins. Mel ask me if she can sleep in my cabin. I said yes, she can use the spare bed. The next morning, I was awaken by the smell of coffee and breakfast. Belle had fried eggs and ham, made gravy and flapjacks. Mel came over and we had a great breakfast to start the day. That day, Belle showed she knew more about sluice mining than Mel and I put together. She could work like a horse. By the end of the day, we had several ounces of gold. Belle became the core of our operation. In a couple of weeks, Mel ask if he could have her back. I said sure. So Belle started sleeping with Mel.
By the end of the summer, we had over $60,000 in gold. We gave Belle $10,000 for her efforts. On the flight back to Seattle at the end of the summer, Mel turns to me and says, “Ron, I learned a good lesson.” I say, “Yeah, what is that?” “Beauty is only skin deep.”
It wasn’t the women that killed ole Mel, or the whiskey he drank that took his breath. It was a little fly that crawled up his but and tickled ole Mel to death.
Tell them about the time you and me went to Alaska to find gold. I think they all would enjoy it.
I found Mel at the bar in the Fisherman’s Inn. True to form, Mel had a lady on one hand and a whiskey in the other. I pulled out the chair at the table and sat down. Mel has a trademark smile. His upper lip curls up and he shows his upper teeth. Mel raised his arm and called for the waitress. The girl came over and I ordered a Gin Martini, dry with an olive, dirty. Mel frowned. Mel only drank whiskey. It was early June 1974. We were staying at the Fisherman’s Inn on the waterfront in Anchorage.
I had met Mel two years earlier at an airport bar in Atlanta. I was flying back to Kentucky from a Herpetology convention in Austin. I was finishing my Maser’s degree when I got his letter that demanded that I meet him at the Fisherman’s Inn in Anchorage on June 3, 1974. Mel had acquired a gold mining claim on the Russian River.
Mel was the ultimate playboy. His two passions were women and whiskey. If there was a third, it was money. We both had a similar philosophy. When you die, you are a long time dead so for both of us, there was nothing to lose. We lived life like there was no tomorrow. His primary rule was this: you cull cows but you never cull women.
We checked out and loaded the jeep Mel had rented. Our destination was his gold mining claim on the Russian River. We left Anchorage on the Seward Highway. Later that afternoon we made it to Cooper Landing where we would stay for the night before going into the mining claim. We got checked into our rooms and had dinner. I told Mel I was going to get some sleep. I was sure Mel was going to spend most of the evening at the bar. Cooper Landing is small so I figured Mel was not going to find much recreation.
The next morning, Mel said he met a lady who was going to go with us. I said, “Mel, forget the lady, we need to focus on the gold.” He said, “Ron, I only got to talk to her briefly, but she knows this country well. She might be a valuable asset.” With those words, he curled up his upper lip in his trademark smile.
We checked out, got loaded and the girl comes walking down a steep hill above the motel. She must be six foot six. The rawest boned girl I ever saw. I glance at Mel and he is already looking at me to catch my reaction. Before she is close enough to hear, I ask in a low voice, “Are you sure there is never an occasion for you to cull?" Mel grins.
We only drove a short distance from Cooper Landing before we turned left off the main road. Mel checked his map and verified we were headed to the right claim. We drove about 3 miles off the road until we came to the sluice box and cabins. We spent the day getting set up. The big raw boned girl went by the name, Belle. She was a good worker. Mel wanted to go to bed early so he and Belle went to their cabin and I went to mine. About two hours later, there is a knock on my door. I get up and let Mel in. I turn on the propane lantern. Mel sits on the extra bed and looks down at his hands. I look over and Mel says, “Ron, we need to take Belle back to Cooper Landing.” I say, “Tonight?” He said yes. "Why?" He said, “Ron, I have been with every color, size, shape of woman on earth but there is something different about this one.” I could see how sincere he was. His eyes watered as if he was about to cry. I said, “Ok, Mel. Let’s take her home.”
In the middle of the night we are on our way back to Cooper Landing, when a Kodiak Bear steps out into the road in front of us. The bear will not move. I ask Mel to step out and yell at it. When he does, the bear stands on its back legs. Mel jumps back in. We set there a minute both shaken by this bear’s determination. About that time, Belle steps out of the back seat. She walks out into the high beam lights in front of the jeep. The lights create a vivid silhouette of her form. I turn to Mel and he looks at me. I say, “Mel, take a close look. What is that?” He said, “I already have, up close and personal.” We knew Belle was big and raw boned, but the lights revealed the masculinity of her form. I did not want to ask what was going through my mind but Mel is a savvy guy. He looks at me and says, “She is a female. The Lord has just not blessed her.” About that time, Belle reaches down and picks up a rock the shape and size of a baseball. With a windup like a professional baseball pitcher, she hits that bear right smack above the eyes. The bear runs down the bank, swims to the other side of the Russian River and is gone. Belle gets back in.
Mel and I decided to turn around and go back to the cabins. Mel ask me if she can sleep in my cabin. I said yes, she can use the spare bed. The next morning, I was awaken by the smell of coffee and breakfast. Belle had fried eggs and ham, made gravy and flapjacks. Mel came over and we had a great breakfast to start the day. That day, Belle showed she knew more about sluice mining than Mel and I put together. She could work like a horse. By the end of the day, we had several ounces of gold. Belle became the core of our operation. In a couple of weeks, Mel ask if he could have her back. I said sure. So Belle started sleeping with Mel.
By the end of the summer, we had over $60,000 in gold. We gave Belle $10,000 for her efforts. On the flight back to Seattle at the end of the summer, Mel turns to me and says, “Ron, I learned a good lesson.” I say, “Yeah, what is that?” “Beauty is only skin deep.”
It wasn’t the women that killed ole Mel, or the whiskey he drank that took his breath. It was a little fly that crawled up his but and tickled ole Mel to death.
