Ignoring John Kulik  I'm working at Fishing Haven. I go into the store in the morning. There is a tow at 8:00am for my coworker Tom Olson and I on Eagle Lake. I look on the white sheet and there is a note that has something to do with me. I ask my boss Phoebe Mills what it is for. She points to a purple bag that is in the locker at the desk. The bag has my name on it. She tells me some books of mine are there. I look next to the back and pull out my Historical Geology book, "On Dreams" by Sigmund Freud, and a brown file folder with copies of my 1996 tax returns in it. I walk out back and into the driveway with my friend Jerry Parsons. There are red gas cans all over, like the six-gallon gas can I bought for my truck. The cans are full of gas. I go over to the towboats with two gas cans, one of which I've taken the cap off of. The customers look like they're ready to go so I put the cans down and put the cap back on the one. My boss Mike Hollow is coming over, and I feel like I shouldn't have the cap off it. There are two women getting tows. There is one woman and one canoe in each boat. One canoe is black. Tom is driving the boat on the right, with the more attractive of the two women. He warms up his motor. The woman in my boat moves back and warms up the motor. The boat drifts back towards shore, and I think the prop may hit the lake bottom so I move the boat forward a bit. Everyone is ready to go, but I need to grab a flannel shirt for the ride. Tom says he'll drive my boat out to the end of the dock so it will be ready to go. I run up and grab a shirt. I run back on the big dock, past Gene and Marie, and get into the boat. Gene and Marie know that I've quit. I think they look down on me for it, but I don't care: I know what I'm doing, and am competent. I set the boat cushion on top of the red seat that is in the boat. I can't pull-start the engine. It is in neutral, and the cord is really hard to pull! I try to start it but I can't. I find the choke and open it by flipping a switch halfway. I pull the cord and the motor doesn't start. I open the choke all the way by moving the switch to the left. The motor is square and much larger than the one I'm used to using. I get it started. My high school classmate John Kulik walks out on the dock. He knows I'm there. I pull the boat away from the dock, ignoring him. We leave. Near the opening to the bay Tom's boat slows down and stops. I see the brake lights for his boat and the cars in front of it. I can't stop in time without hitting his boat, so I pull of to the right of his boat onto the shore. I hop out of the boat with one foot. The motor is still running, but I don't think it has hit the lake bottom. I push the boat along easily with one foot. I'm in a sandy area. People are there. We get off track a bit, and will need to find the trail since we got off course.