This Cider Still Tastes Funny!

Sr. John Ford

Description

John Ford Sr. returns to the outdoors of Maine with "This Cider Still Tastes Funny! Further Adventures of a Game Warden in Maine," his follow-up to the highly popular and critically acclaimed "Suddenly, the Cider Didn't Taste So Good." Ford is a retired Maine game warden, sheriff and gifted storyteller who carved out a reputation as a man of the law, but one who wasn't a by-the-book enforcer. He often came up with a good quip as he slipped the handcuffs on a violator, and he wasn't above accepting a lesson learned as sufficient penalty for breaking the law. He was also more than willing to laugh at himself. As Kate Braestrup, author of the New York Times bestseller Here if you Need Me, said, "John Ford's stories from his long career as a Maine game warden are offered with humility and good humor, and demonstrate an abiding affection for the land, creatures, and quirky characters of Maine. Ford is an appealing character, a great storyteller, and he's FUNNY."

Sujets

• Sciences et techniques
• Natural history

Informations

• Publié par: Islandport Press
• Date de parution: 09 mai 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781934031353
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 5 Mo

Extrait

This Cider Still Tastes Funny!

Further Adventures of a Maine Game Warden

Great Outdoors Books from Islandport Press

Backtrack by V. Paul Reynolds

Tales from Misery Ridge By Paul Fournier

Suddenly, the Cider Didn’t Taste So Good! By John Ford Sr.

Where Cool Waters Flow by Randy Spencer

My Life in the Maine Woods by Annette Jackson

Nine Mile Bridge by Helen Hamlin

These and other books are available at: www.islandportpress.com

Islandport Press is a dynamic, award-winning publisher dedicated to stories rooted in the essence and sensibilities of New England. We strive to capture and explore the grit, heart, beauty, and infectious spirit of the region by telling tales, real and imagined, that can be appreciated in many forms by readers, dreamers, and adventurers everywhere.

This Cider Still Tastes Funny

Further Adventures of a Maine Game Warden

John Ford Sr.

ISLANDPORT PRESS P.O. Box 10 Yarmouth, Maine 04096 www.islandportpress.com [e-mail]

Copyright © 2013 by John Ford Sr. First Islandport Press edition published May 2013

All Rights Reserved

ISBN: 978-1-934031-35-3 Library of Congress Card Number: 2012945244

Dean L. Lunt, publisher Book jacket design by Karen F. Hoots, Hoots Design Book designed by Michelle Lunt, Islandport Press Cover photo of John Ford © 2013 by Dean L. Lunt

I would like to dedicate this book to the loves of my life—my wife, Judith, and my son, John Jr. For over twenty years they were subjected to many interruptions and stresses on their own lives—from folks calling at all hours of the day and night with complaints that required my immediate presence. Their personal sacrifices over the years—putting up with a dad, who, more often than not, was never home when they needed or wanted him the most—is commendable in every way. It was their undying support and thorough understanding of my profession throughout the years that allowed my career to become the one that it was. I owe them much and I love them dearly!

Table of Contents

I Gotta Go! All Aboard Free Willy Modern-Day Robin Hood What’s in a Name? Welcome to My World Smell the Hands For Better or Worse Two Times a Loser Pretty Damn Sharp, Wasn’t He, John? The Lead-Pipe Hat Attack “Which One of You Damn Kids . . .” Halloween and the Unity Square Crapper The Flying Flashlight Taking the Plunge Lights Out Mama, Mama, They’ve Had Babies! Ralph’s Biggest Buck Confronting a Ghost The Kenduskeag River Travesty Professional Courtesy, My Foot! Aided by Informants Being Mr. Nice Guy A Little Courtroom Humor The Rolling Parachute The Secret Caught in a Lie

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9 13 17 25 33 37 43 49 55 59 67 73 79 85 91 97 103 109 115 121 127 133 139 145 155 161 167

Something Fishy Here Harvesting the Weed The Snowmobile and the Hood The Day President Reagan Was Shot Surprise, Surprise Memorial Day Memories Where Was Kate When I Needed Her? Jimmy and the Ice Chisel A Better Use of the Finger Just Another Day (Walter’s Story) Heeeere’s Johnny! A Night Out with Blinky Popcorn, Moxie, and a Wet Hat Epilogue: The Ultimate Sacrifice About the Author

viii

173 177 183 187 191 195 201 207 213 217 223 231 237 241 247

Prologue: The Way It Was

I began my career as a game warden on September 20, 1970. In doing so, I followed in the footsteps of family members who also served for years in law enforcement. My grandfather Leland Ford was a Maine state trooper, my father, Velmore Ford was a part-time deputy for the York County Sheriff’s Office, and my stepfather, Warden Vernon Walker, patrolled the Sanford-Springvale area for twenty- three years. And Mother, Ethelind Walker, spent hours upon hours helping rehabilitate wildlife for the Department of Fish and Game. As a result, as I mentioned in my first book, Suddenly, the Cider Didn’t Taste So Good,working in law enforce- ment was a childhood dream of mine as I grew up in the Sanford, Maine, area. When I finally became a game warden in 1970, it truly was a dream come true, and the following twenty years I spent as a game warden did nothing to change that feeling. However, as my career wound down in the late 1980s, the times and the job were rapidly changing. There is no question everything was much different then it is today.

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