How I Got This Way

 

By Patrick F. McManus

Another collection of the author's funny short stories, including hilarious stories of his childhood, stories of his adult outdoor experiences (not as funny but still very enjoyable) and even some more serious and touching stories, including a rather melancholy one about a kingfisher. All in all a wonderful, funny and touching collection that I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

The stories:

• How I Got This Way, Part I
• Ethics, and What to Do About Them
• Bambo
• Get Ready
• Toe
• The Bandage
• The Big Woods
• Elk Magic
• There She Blows
• Brimstone
• The Blue Dress
• Warped Camshaft
• The 400-Pound Pumpkin
• Tenner-Shoe Blight
• Letter from a Kingfisher
• The Ultimate Bull
• My Greatest Triumph
• Another Boring Day
• The Complete Curmudgeon
• The Liars Club
• A Couple Pickles Shy of a Full Barrel
• Excuse Me, While I Get Out of the Way
• The Two Masked Raiders
• Mosquito Bay
• My Hike with, ahem, the President
• Ed in Camp
• How I Got This Way, Part II

Here is a review from Publishers Weekly.

A Fine and Pleasant Misery

 

By Patrick F. McManus

A collection of the author's humorous stories dating from the 1960s to 1970s. Quite enjoyable, even for those who are not outdoorsy. These are the stories:

• A Fine and Pleasant Misery
• A Dog for All Seasons
• The Modified Stationary Panic
• Grogan's War Surplus
• -The Big Trip
• The Theory and Application of Old Men
• The Two-Wheeled ATV
• The Backyard Safari
• Shooting the Chick-a-nout Narrows
• The Miracle of the Fish Plate
• The Backpacker
• Great Outdoor Gadgets Nobody Ever Invented
• The Purist
• The Outfit
• Kid Camping
• How to Fish a Crick
• Further Teachings of Rancid Crabtree
• The Great Cow Plot
• The Mountain Man
• The Rescue
• "I'll Never Forget Old 5789-A"
• The Ba'r
• The Rendezvous
• Cigars, Logging Trucks, and Know-It-Alls
• But Where's the Park, Papa?
• A Yup of a Different Color
• Mountain Goats Never Say "Cheese!"

They Shoot Canoes, Don't They?

 

By Patrick F. McManus

A collection of funny hunting, camping, fishing and childhood antics stories. I don't know much about McManus, but I would guess that he was passionate about outdoor life. But he enjoyed looking at the funny side of it. 

In my opinion, his best stories are the ones he tells about his childhood. These are what I would call tall tales though I suppose they have some foundation in reality. His stories based on his adult adventures are still quite funny but I love the kid ones best.

This collection includes:

• All You Ever Wanted to Know About Live Bait but Were Afraid to Ask
• The Green Box
• Skunk Dog
• Cold Fish
• The Rifle
• They Shoot Canoes, Don't They?
• My First Deer, and Welcome to It
• The Crouch Hop and Other Useful Outdoor Steps
• Meanwhile, Back at the B Western
• The Education of a Sportsman
• The Gift
• The Sensuous Angler
• And Now Stay Turned for "The Camp Chef"
• The Heartbreak of Astigmatism
• Sneed
• The Hunter's Dictionary
• Tenner Shoes
• Reading Sign
• Tying My Own
• Psychic Powers for Outdoorsmen
• The Fishing Lesson
• The Hunting Camp
• If You Don't Mind, I'll Do It Myself!
• Useful Outdoor Comments
• Journal of an Expedition

So far, every McManus collection I have read has been a real joy. All the stories are funny and some are plain hilarious. And you really don't need to be someone who hunts, camps, hikes, fishes to enjoy them. They are just such an enjoyable read!

Never Cry "Arp!" and Other Great Adventures

 

By Patrick F. McManus

A collection of humorous stories about childhood, camping, friendship and hunting and fishing. The title story, Never Cry "Arp!" concerns two grade school boy, the author and his dear friend, Crazy Eddie Muldoon, who, "at the age of eight, was a sort of magnet to injuries. It was almost as though Eddie scheduled his injuries for the day when he got up in the morning.

8:00 Stub big toe of left foot.

8:35 Step on rusty nail with right foot.

9:05 Get stung over left eye by bee.

10:30 Run sliver in hand while whittling.

10:35 Cut finger while whittling.

11:00 Twist ankle jumping off pigpen fence.

11:22 Get tick embedded behind left ear.

12:00 Lunch.

1:15 Get stung by nettles.

2:00 Get bitten by the Petersons' dog."

 But the last incident recounted in the story that resulted in Eddie getting injured was when he and Pat were biking down a steep hill and Eddie's pant leg got caught in his bike's chain. He got so banged up that when Pat asked him if he was OK, all Eddie could say was, 'Arp arp arp.'

The other stories in the collection are

• Skunk Dog
• The Mountain
• Reading Sign
• Kid Brothers and Their Practical Application
• Real Ponies Don't Go Oink!
• Secret Places
• A Really Nice Blizzard
• Cubs
• Muldoon in Love
• Not Long for This Whirl
• The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw

The stories in this collection are some of Pat's best, and all deal with his younger days, which are my personal favorite. Someone should publish a collection of all his tall tales from his childhood and teen years. They are always hilarious!

Never Sniff a Gift Fish

 

By Patrick F. McManus

McManus was a humor writer for outdoor life, hunting and fishing magazines. His stories featured improbable predicaments and childhood tales and strange characters, including himself. Often hilarious and always amusing, reading his stories is trip, in more ways than one. 

The title story, Never Sniff a Gift Fish, features Pat's neighbor, Al Finley. While on a fishing trip with Pat and Pat's long time friend, Retch Sweeney, Finley tries to think up short epithets that feature sporting themes, among which is, of course, "Never sniff a gift fish." A few more are, "What the tourist terms a plague of insects, the fisherman calls a fine hatch."  "I have never met a fish I didn't like." "Even a fish stick once knew the glories of the deep."

List of the stories included:

• Blowing Smoke
• Poof—No Eyebrows!
• I Fish; Therefore, I Am
• Running on Empty
• The Cat and the Cat Burglar
• Salami on Rye and Hold the Wild Gobo
• Two-Man-Tent Fever
• Fish Poles, and Other Useful Terminology
• The Man Who Notices Things
• The Elk Trappers
• The Short Happy Life of Francis Cucumber
• The Arkansas Prank Hound
• Well, Excuuuuse Me!
• The Mountain Car
• The Christmas Hatchet
• The Night Grandma Shot Shorty
• The Kindest Cut of All
• The Bush Pilots
• Share and Share Alike
• Never Sniff a Gift Fish
• Backseats I Have Known
• Edgy Rider
• Strange Scenes and Eerie Events
• The Hunters' Workout Guide
• Temporary Measures
• The Fibricators
• The Family Camper's Dictionary
• The Big Match 

The Grasshopper Trap

 

By Patrick F. McManus

McManus was a humor writer for outdoor life, hunting and fishing magazines. His stories featured improbable predicaments and childhood tales and strange characters, including himself. Often hilarious and always amusing, reading his stories is trip, in more ways than one. 

The title story, The Grasshopper Trap, features one of his most iconic characters, Rancid Crabtree, grizzled old woodsman and idler. Desiring to acquire more bait for fishing, school age Pat and his friend Crazy Eddie Muldoon are on a fruitless hunt to catch grasshoppers. Eddie, who has an inventive mind, dreams up the grasshopper trap and Rancid, who also wants to do some trout fishing, thinks the idea just might work. And it might have, if Rancid had known his left hand from his right. 

List of the stories in The Grasshopper Trap:

• The Skunk Ladder
• How to Go Splat! 
• The Human Fuel Pump
• 'Twas a Dark and Dreary Night
• Trailer Trials
• The Grasshopper Trap
• Get Lost!
• Never Cry Snake!
• Metamorphosis and Other Outdoor Phenomena Wives Don't Understand
• The Swamp
• A Hunker Is Not a Squat
• Why Wives on Christmas Mourn
• The Hunting Lesson
• First Knife
• Nincompoopery and Other Group Terms
• Bad Company
• The Case of the Missed Deer
• Character Flaws
• Mean Tents
• Crick Ritual
• Hunting Camp Etiquette
• Stone Soup
• Gunrunning
• The Wager
• Letters From Camp
• Sweet Sweet Sixteen
• Down and Way Out in Brazil
• Strange Encounters of the Bird Kind
• The Outing
• I, the Hunted

The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw

 

By Patrick F. McManus

A short story collection, the title comes from one of his most famous stories of himself as a child, probably mostly not true, but very funny nonetheless. 

McManus's best stories are based (loosely, I am guessing) on his childhood. This collection also features stories based on his adult life as a writer and outdoorsman and they are amusing, to be sure, but not as outrageous and silly as stories he tells about his boyhood days of camping and fishing and having grand adventures. 

I enjoyed the stories but this collection is short on the kid-life stories which are the ones I enjoy the most of his stories.

Here is a review by Publishers Weekly.

Real Ponies Don't Go Oink!

 

By Patrick F. McManus

A collection of McManus' humorous short stories about his life as a sportsman, spouse and stories from his childhood. 

McManus is at his best when he recounts stories of his childhood. This book does have a few of these but mostly the settings are those of his adult life. They are also amusing but just not as funny as his tales of life as a youngster. 

Publishers Weekly has a review of Real Ponies Don't Go Oink! 

The Good Samaritan Strikes Again

By Patrick F. McManus

A collection of stories by humor and outdoors writer Pat McManus which includes, of course, the title story where Pat tries to help at the scene of a crash, only to be mistaken for the victim and hauled off to the hospital despite his protests. In the last paragraph, the actual victim is finally discovered:

Fortunately, the folks at the wrecking yard found the true victim under the dashboard and rushed him off to the hospital. He was released the next day, hardly the worse for wear. I heard he kept asking the identity of the Good Samaritan who covered him with a blanket, but no one knew. Once again the helpful stranger vanished without so much as leaving his name. I think it's better that way, I really do.

This book does contain a few tall tales of his childhood days, which are the most fun to read, still the other stories in this collection are amusing and enjoyable too.