Charlie Swan’s 18th in a row

Tuesday with …

Mending my lines:

If his isn’t a national record, you’re invited to my house for baked beans and brown bread. Charlie Swan of Flye Point, Brooklin, nailed his 18th consecutive, bow and arrow whitetailed deer, running the string to 18 in 18 seasons. If 18-for-18 isn’t some kind of a record, I’ll also dress up the beans with ketchup and relish. Charlie’s clean kill was made at 15 yards.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the only sports outfit listed in the book of “100 Best Companies To Work For.” What? No newspapers?

Before me a clipping in the wake of the Red Sox 4-for-4 whitewash by the Oakland A’s: “Joe Morgan obviously doesn’t know the Heimlich Maneuver.” Ouch. That stung.

If underdog Pat McGowan fails to unseat Rep. Olympia Snowe in today’s tournament and Joe Brennan takes the State House key away from John R. McKernan Jr., worry not about Patrick’s future. The rewards will send Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Commissioner William “Bill” Vail packing and, for his classy pre-election performance, Pat is a lock on becoming boss of the fish and fowling department.

A signed letter from a well-intended woman suggests that the hunter’s bullet be taken off the market. Her idea is to curb accidental deaths in the hunting fields. Why not pick on a bigger target, say, aquatic activities, 9,700 deaths nationally each year, or go for a really significant score and outlaw automobiles? Or the cigarette? She should push, I wrote her, for outlawing the criminal by taking him out of circulation. She should aim to eliminate the overabundance of plea-bargained, reduced-sentence, violence-prone repeaters who prey on society day in and day out and never mind the gun-owning sportsman.

Warden Michael Ayer wasn’t very cordial when he was awakened to the kitchen door in the dark hours of early morning. You wouldn’t have been,door in the dark hours of early morning. You wouldn’t have been, either. Wearing his silk pajamas, Mike came face to face with a large bear who at the time was visiting Orrington and feeding out of Ayer’s bird-feeder.

The nation’s No. 1 fisherman, President George Bush, has not ruled out attending the 25th anniversary dinner, North Eastern Council, Federation of Fly Fishers, a May 11-12, 1991, gathering in Bangor. The president responded to an invitation thusly: “I’ve given your letter to my Scheduling Office, and they will get back to you. As you can imagine, such events cannot often be considered until the official calendar is set.” Martin Redcay will report on further details Nov. 18 when he meets here with a local steering committee.

The Old Town Canoe Company’s premier edition, Canews, is a good read. Complimentary copies are available from your nearest Old Town dealer.

The American Kennel Club has slated a hunting test and seminar Dec. 1-2 at Marlborough, Mass., pointing breeds, Dec. 1, retrievers and spaniels , Dec. 2. The $25 registration fee should be mailed to Robert H. McKowen, AKC Offices, 51 Madison Ave., N.Y. 10010. It includes lunch.

Russia may be ready for this, but I doubt it. Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight and baseball’s Ted Williams are talking about visiting Soviet Atlantic salmon rivers in 1991. Those two on one river could lead to the start of another major war.

Any All-Maine college football team minus the name of Maine Maritime Academy’s Kirk Matthieu doesn’t deserve a spot in the rubbish barrel. In 30-plus years of reporting on Maine college football, I dare claim he has the quickest feet since Johnny Daggett, the Colby Comet, dazzled defenders. I saw Matthieu play a game recently and this young man with the quick feet and blazing speed can eat up more real estate than the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Until I recently wrote about a long desire to own a bulldog, I’d not known since 1978 the breed has had a supporting fraternity of bulldoggers. The membership includes bulldoggers from Brewer, Bangor, Monson, and a number of well-advertised addresses. How’d I miss that part of dogdom lore?

Do you know that the state of New York’s fisheries and wildlife resources provide recreational and economic benefits to 2.1 million freshwater anglers, 9 million hunters, and 21,000 trappers?

A few days ago in Presque Isle, I chatted with no fewer than a dozen bird hunters and to a person, on a scale of 1 to 10, the vote on this fall’s success was a lean 4.

How’s this one for a bumper sticker: “Have arthritis? Try WD-40!” And in Ellsworth the other morning, a state of Washington licensed vehicle with this one: “I love the spotted owl….FRIED!”

Yes, since all my relatives have asked, Woods ‘n’ Waters begins its 12th season at 8 p.m. Thursday night.

However, today the word is VOTE!