This is a picture of my friend Randy Wideman and myself in the spring of 1978. We were both 18 years old. The green mobile home in the background was my wife, Cindy, and my first home. Randy and his wife, Dana, were our first next-door neighbors.
Randy and I became best friends. Both of us loved to hunt and fish, but his specialty was crappie fishing. One particular fishing trip happened the day before the picture was taken. We were both off work, so we decided to go fishing even though the weather forecast was cold and windy. We were fishing on Lake Mitchell in Chilton County. About mid-morning, the temperature started dropping and it began to sleet. If we were smart, we would have given it up for the day, but the crappie were biting.
It was a cold and miserable day, but it was also a great day. We caught our limit in spite of the cold conditions.
Our adventure fishing in the sleet, wind and rain ended up in a story in The Birmingham News. I will never forget Randy telling me that if anyone asked where we caught the fish, I was to tell them Lay Lake. He didn’t want a bunch of people to start going crappie fishing on Lake Mitchell.
My friend Randy passed away a few months ago. We had drifted apart but maintained occasional contact. I fished with him the last time a couple of years ago.
I still miss my friend, but this old picture is a lasting reminder of a great time in our lives.
