Jon Yenulonis
Well-known member
I must confess. Unlike my “Better Half”, I am not much for reading books. I’m not sure why, really. I actually have quite a collection of autographed military flyer books, most from WWII pilots, or Crewman. One of my most prized possessions is “Enola Gay” written by Col. Paul Tibbets and personally autographed to me when I had the pleasure of spending some time with him a few years ago. Well, like twenty years ago to be exact. I have another by former Russian “Top Gun” flyer Alec Suyev. I had the occasion to spend a little time exchanging stories with him also many years ago. One of which was a story he told me about plain ‘ole toothpaste. He lamented about how after stealing his Mig 29 High-Tec fighter, flying it to Italy, getting shot in the arm in the process, and claiming diplomatic immunity, he wound up in the care of US Air Force Personnel. After several days of interrogation and questioning, he was given a small amount of cash and taken to the local grocery store. He hadn’t brushed his teeth in quite a while, so toothpaste was high on his list of items to procure. When he asked about the paste, he was taken to an aisle where the selections stretched for many feet. He became emotional and broke down to his knees, purely overwhelmed. In Russia, IF you’re lucky, you may get a tube of the toothpaste on the shelf, IF there was any left. Here there was so much to choose from he just lost control of his emotions. My biggest regret about our visit was the denial, made by me to exchange our outfits. At the time I had on a prized “silky”, off-white, long sleeved shirt chock full of P-51 fighters sporting various types of nose and tail art. He genuinely offered to trade me his official flight suite for the shirt. I declined. I LOVED that shirt! But looking back, I wished I would’ve made the trade, for he was serious.
But now, back to my original case for rambling. Finally, after about thirty years of procrastinating, I did it. I just finished “Four months in a Sneak Box” by Nathaniel H. Bishop. I found it a most enjoyable and entertaining read. I liked the stories of the trip, but was especially intrigued by the study of social and economic changes over the years. The writings about the former slaves, the “shanties” his resourcefulness and reading about some of the interesting characters he met along the way. Most of all, however, I found myself totally amazed by the fact that he spent all of this time, IN THE DEAD OF WINTER, in a tiny twelve foot long, four foot wide, all cedar Sneak Box, VERY similar in size and shape to the one I have on a parked on a trailer out in my shop. Immediately after I finished reading, I found myself standing next to mine, realizing how small and trivial this little thing is. While I find mine quite comfortable for a mornings hunt, I could hardly imagine what it would have been like to travel 2600 miles and spend four long months in that little thing! He wrote about, on several occasions due to inclement weather, being stuck tucked down inside of it, under the hatch, for the better part of several days at a time. And what he relied on for sustenance. WOW!
While not a particularly large book, I found it a good read and well worth the time spent doing so. I’ve often thought about spending a “night before” out on the marsh in mine. I’m not so intimidated now. Maybe someday…
Jon
