I was saddened to hear that outdoor humor writer Pat McManus passed away last month. His wonderful stories were a great influence on my life in the outdoors. Whenever life gets to serious I grab one of his battered books off of my bookshelf and enjoy a good laugh.

Scott

I saw that.The Night the Bear Ate Goombaugh-classic.

I think I've read every article and book he penned. He once sent me a letter with a donation for the ALA when I was riding in the TransAmerica Bicycle Trek. I had told him we would be going through Sandpoint, Idaho, and he said if he was there, he would clean the pieces of his pant leg out of the sprocket of his old bike and join us for a few miles. Unfortunately, he was in New York when we went through. I did meet him at a book signing in Johnstown, Pa., back in the early 1990's. He was in a class by himself.

(Goombaw)

They are on Kindle now

Ah, yes... personal favorite during those impressionable years!

He must’ve had a good, long run, though, eh?

He had so many great stories. "The Christmas Hatchet"...I about peed my pants when I first read that. Rancid Crabtree's many capers, and of course Retch Sweeney. Real Ponies Don't Go Oink, when he had a pig named Trigger. Oh my, such a talent.

I looked forward to reading “The Last Laugh” in every months Outdoor Life as a kid. Sorry to hear that he passed.

John "Maggie" McGee came to our club banquet twice...he was great, by the way...and I asked him if he knew Pat. He said, Pat was his hero and inspiration.

Never cry “ARP”!

My favorite quote of his. “The two best times to fish are when it’s raining and when it ain’t “. My wife never understood the humor in that.

Grew up on his tales... nothing better! JW

He was a good 'un for sure. I liked him and Ed Zern the most of all the outdoor humor writers.

There will never be another Pat McManus. I have all his books. I've even done the Modified Stationary Panic a few times, that turned into the Full-Bore Linear Panic. Shot the narras a few times too.

He was one of a kind and priceless. He left us all so many great laughs and memories. TLM

I wanted to name our dog Strange,but the wife shot that down. A Fine and Pleasant Misery is my favorite, especially after buying a pile of camping stuff for the family 2 summers ago. My kids have yet to eat a scorched on the outside, perfect pea sized cooked middle, baked potato .

I read some of his stuff, but his books made appreciated gifts for my firstborn son, the reader.

Sad to hear of another world class treasure leaving us, prayers for the family.

Just last week I picked his book, The Deer on a Bicycle at a yard sale for a quarter.

My favorites were all the crazy Eddie Muldoon stories. Hilarious and pretty reminiscent of what it was like growing up as a kid in the 50's or 60's.

sorry to hear that. he made my life better...

RIP sir.

"Hey Podner," one of the guys would say to his sidekick, "I think ol' Black Bart is trying to sneak up on us — I just heard his horse oink!"

Great writer!

The first time I read "The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw" I laughed so hard my ribs actually hurt the next day.

they shoot canoes, don't they?

The Last Laugh was always where I turned to first back in those days. Loved Pat's writing and have a couple of his books. That was good humor. I can't remember if I dropped my subscription when Pat quit writing or when Outdoor Life got a little too bicycle riding, tree hugging friendly for me. Anyway, they changed, I didn't, Pat is gone, and my life was better because of him. RIP sir.

Patrick was a prof at my old school, Eastern Washington State College (now EWU) in Cheney, Wa, just a little SW of Spokane. Some of his stories were based in Spokane where I grew up. We shopped at the same war surplus stores for our hunting and fishing supplies and enjoyed the many lakes and hunting opportunities available in the Spokane area. I have enjoyed many of his books, and was deep saddened to hear of his passing. Richard

I have had a copy of "Mountain Goats Don't Say Cheese" pinned to a corkboard in my office, every office, for over 30 years (same copy). I read it every now and then as a stress reliever.

Every time I fish a new small stream I remember "The Miracle of the Fish Plate" and evetytime I manage to land a fish in tough water (and it's all tough water to me) I think "hey ma! P.F. Worthless caught a fish!"

'Plagiarism' is a harsh term, and requires proof that it was intended. I can't imagine McManus even having a need or desire to do that. And, he isn't here to defend himself.

McManus was one of my favorites. The Last Laugh column was the first I read in my formative years.

He wrote a column about his good friend Ed Zern. He coined the phrase "Zerned" To be "Zerned" you had to pack so many items, and back up items, and sometimes back up items to the back up. He claimed Zern did this to the point it was an art form and so he came to refer to the practice as "zerned.

I cannot tell you how many times that column runs through my mind as I pack for a hunting trip be it one day or one week.

I remember reading "The Great Cow Plot" and his description of "Slow Mean Cows, SMC's, and Fast Mean Cows, FMC's", hillarious if you haven't read it, google it and read it. Mr. McManus definitely had some cow experience. I smile and remember that tale when I walk through a cow pasture hunting or fishing to this day and I first read that story in 1985.

RIP Mr. McManus

I loved his work when I was a kid back in the 70s and early 80s.... wasn't he the one that coined the term FMCs? (fast, mean cows)

Who could forget his old woodsman mentor Rancid Crabtree and his childhood friends Crazy Eddie Muldoon and Retch Sweeney and his dog Strange?

remember when Pat's mom invited Rancid to Christmas dinner and everyone thought he'd taken a bath? Boy were THEY surprised!

My brother gave me a slipcase with a collection of McManus books in it. I have to read them.

Joe

Here's a link:

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/apr/13/beloved-humor-writer- patrick-mcmanus-dies-age-84/

Remember "Poof - No Eyebrows!", when Pat and Retch were kids experimenting with building black powder weapons? They weren't sure if the proprietor of Grogan's War Surplus would sell a couple scruffy kids gun powder. Grogan did however warn them of the severe bodily harm that could result from improper use of black powder. "You kids set off any of that stuff near my store and I'll peel your hides!"

And after their sewer pipe canon blew up at the golf course, the sheriff was questioning them about the incident and asked what they were doing behind the shed smoking and Pat responded "if you would have been a little earlier, you'd have seen us while we were still on fire." Good stuff!

Scott

I had a Crazy Eddie for a best friend growing up. It was a good thing.

Really hated to see that Mr McManus has passed. I have most if not all of his books. Reread them ever so often. He was one funny dude. Anyone who hasn't read his writings needs to do so, he makes me laugh every time. The one with them burning off their eye brows is one of the best. I'm sure that he has them laughing in heaven already. RIP

This saddens me. I had an Outdoor Life subscription my grandpa got me when I was 8 and Patrick's writing was the funniest thing I had ever read. I would start those mags at the end because his stories were my favorite part. That feels like the end of an era for me.RIP

Loved his stories.. Sad news..

I just had to read The Christmas Hatchet since it almost made George pee his pants. Hilarious!

George, it reminded me of when Scott bought young Erik a hawk at a shoot. And just like the story, Erik "only had possession for 48 hours until it was taken away". Seems that throwing it at the back of the garage wasn't such a smart thing to do. LOL

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