There once was a fine lad named Tom Bedell
Who treated his friends and loved ones quite swell.
His trip was done in verse.
Leaving Gary Vos to curse.
"How the hell do I do that if I can't spell."
- Dwayne Anderson 10-25-08

If you need to replenish your Aura
and maybe fancy a bit of a soar,
A flight that gives thrills,
without any frills,
is the chopper flight round Bora Bora.
- Martin & Hazel Murray 10-26-08

As we lay down to sleep
We pray the Lord our souls to keep
We have a dream that is too good to be true
We've received an email on May 22
It's from Tom and Molly Bless their hearts
They want a reunion of some Pure Fishing old farts

We are to meet them
Where could that be?
Little did we know
It would be at sea

The southern hemisphere
In the South Pacific
Tonga to be
Even more specific

We got on the internet
To see where that could be
When we finally found it
We yelled, “Yipee"

It's a remote little place
Way down under
How they found it
It's no small wonder

The neatest part
Of the whole darn trip
Was not the voyage
But the partnership

Den and Peg Stulc
Are scheduled to go
We hope they can make it
With the market so low

Brian and Marlene
Are joinng the trip
This could be interesting
With Brian’s new hip

Tom and Nancy McClernon
Are coming as well
It couldn’t be better
All is swell

There's much to do
The least of which is
To read Blue Latitudes
By Tony Horwitz

We pack and we plan
For our great escape
We'll need to get
Our livers in shape

We arrive in LA
All ready to shine
And fly to Fiji
To adjust to the time


Then on to Tonga
A matter of sort
With Tom to meet us
At the airport

Then on to the boat
Or yacht or ship
It certainly costs more
Than Mac’s new hip

The yacht is a wonder
Beyond comprehension
It's humbling for all of us
Devine intervention

The best part about it
Is not the surroundings
But the crew on board
They are just astounding

They work very hard
They aim to please
They are the best
On any of the seas

Each crew member
In their own special way
Has one true goal
To make our day

Tom and Molly are super
As our hosts
We start out at dinner
With a champagne toast

We fish and we snorkel
We boat and we eat
But stay out of trouble
Which is no small feat

Nancy takes a fall
And Tom hurts his knee
We hope to survive
Beyond day three

The market is crashing
It's taking a dive
The Lehman Brothers are nervous
And breaking out in hives

Words can’t describe
What we are feeling right now
It's beyond belief
HOLY COW!

The planning is perfect
As it can be
And it’s all because
Of Tom and Molly

They are the best
As we would expect
They truly do
Command our respect

They are in love
You know all the rest
We are happy for them
They deserve all the best

And if we die
Before we wake
We pray the Lord
Our souls to take

We have no regrets
We've seen it all
We've spent a week
With Tom, Molly and you all.

- Jan Brenny 10-27-08

We've all discovered, as did Captain Cooke
A life different to one that we took
We could've lived at our ease
From the land, sea, and trees
If only we'd studied the book.
- Martin & Hazel Murray 10-30-08

I've found that my life here is boring
My schedule at work's been abhorring
Soon winter with snow
But I certainly know
That cash for more trips I'll be storing.
- Jim Russell 11-01-08