Customer Reviews

Rubber Legs and White Tail-Hairs

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am the guy Pat talks about at the beginning of "Outdoor Burnout" At the time I wrote to him I was sick of the outdoors and nature in general, Pat put it all into perspective for me. Now when I get fed up with bad weather, balky lanterns, leaky tents, and all the other hazards of the great outdoors, I stop and think, "Pat could make a great story out of this".

If by chance you haven't read any of Pat McManus' books yet, I might suggest you start with this one to insure you get hooked for life. If you didn't think that life in the panhandle of Idaho could be funny, your in for a real treat. Here's to you Miss Deets.

I will bow to no one in my appreciation of Mcmanus, I have read his books and literally rolled onto the floor laughing so hard I was crying. Rubber Legs and White Tail-Hairs is not his funniest. I don't regret getting it but in relation to several others this book is about a C+ rather than an A+. The stories in "The Night the Bear ate Goomba" for example makes me cry; Fortunately I didn't wet my pants too. Everything by McManus is worth reading but he sets such a high standard for himself it would be impossible to reach the bar every time.

Fans of Pat, Retch Sweeney, The Troll, Al Finley and the manic Rancid Crabtree will love this collection! I especially love the chapter where Rancid helps the boys make an ice sled out of an old truck fender and a parachute. This book made me laugh several times throughout, and brought back a lot of my own memories growing up in Washington's timber country. A must-read for any McManus fan!

Although I am only 13 years old, as soon as I discovered Patrick McManus's I knew that they were a winner. The innocent style in which they are written make even those who don't enjoy outdoor sports to laugh out loud. The only problems with McManus's books are the fact that many people listening to you read these books think you are insane for laughing so much. So I would like to thank Mr. McManus, n case he ever reads this, for producing such wonderful works. I have enjoyed them, and passed them on to many people. They always enjoy them

This book contains several good yarns, but standing head and shoulders over all of them is "Claw of the Sea-Puss". No one but McManus, I think, could combine the beaches of Hawaii, James Thurber and bananas with such aplomb.

Patrick McManus has a way of writing that both brings back memories, and creates new imaginations. Each chapter is a story in itself, making it easy to pick up an read any time. He makes ordinary characters larger than life: Makes you wonder what his childhood and younger years were REALLY like. Could they have been that off the wall?

McManus is a great writer. He really is, but this book fails to live up to some of his earlier work. It just is not as funny as previous works. The stories are either just plain boring, or are just too far out there to really make the story funny. Good writing, but not very great content. I do not mean to scare you away from this book, but rather to just make you aware that the book is not quite of the same quality as the other books. Thats all, get and judge for yourself.

Patrick McManus is at his best. I use this book to show my students how
comic timing should be!

McManus is an excellent storyteller and his stories on this tape are those that start with a simple problem and expand out into a lengthy tale. My favorite was the story that begins with him trying to tie a fishing fly and how he always seems to be lacking a key component. In this case, it is white hairs from the tail of a calf. As he is venting his frustration, his friend comes in for another purpose and tells him that he saw some calves in a pen that had white tails. At least they are white under the barnyard gunk stuck to them. They get in the car and drive to the farm, and when they arrive they see an entire pen full of calves. He goes to the door to request permission to remove some hair but there is no answer. Three dollars are placed in an envelope for payment along with an explanation of the reason.

He then goes into the pen and the calves are extremely friendly, they begin chewing and licking him to the point where he cannot clip any hairs. His friend is then coaxed into assisting and while he holds the ears, his friend holds the tail. The calf is then spooked and takes off across the barnyard with his friend holding onto the tail. His feet raise furrows of barnyard gunk that remind him of a water skier. His friend ends up against the fence, being cautiously approached by the farmer and a hired hand. Since his friend is articulate, he leaves the friend to fend for himself, but not before he stops back at the door to the house to retrieve his three dollars.

These stories are of the type where I did not laugh out loud, and only occasionally emitted a small chuckle. However, my funny bone was constantly stimulated as I imagined the surfer. Another farm type story is when three men purchase some young pigs and try to haul them home in gunnysacks in the back of a station wagon. The pigs get loose and the erratic driving arouses the suspicions of a police officer. If you have ever chased young pigs, you know exactly what was going on inside that car.