See You Later Penny

Today I read on BassFan that Penny Berryman died. Right then I dropped into that shocked-sad state, happens when you hear about someone passing and you’re not ready for it…you know what I mean.

Fact that I didn’t know Penny was that sick tells you I didn’t know her well. We’d crossed paths in the small bassin’ world here and there, and I’m glad it happened. She was one of those good people this crazy bass universe is plum full of.

Her smiles tell it. Google pics of her and you see the smile everywhere – in her eyes. She loved bassin’. You can feel that love for our shared fish and our shared world just by looking at the joy in her eyes.

Which is why I’m sure it was even tougher for those who knew and loved her that the cancer that took her life started around one of her eyes.

I’ll never understand, and don’t believe we’re supposed to understand, why stuff like that happens to good folks, but the feeling from that kind of smile never goes away no matter what happens.

Bass-wise Penny was a pioneer, if you didn’t know it, and it ain’t easy bein’ a bassin’ gal in a bassin’ man’s world. But she made it look easy, if you know what I mean. A heck of an angler, charismatic, enthusiastic, beautiful.

How do you lose someone like that?

How do WE lose someone like that?

Guess we just do, but it hurts.

If you want to know more about what kind of bass-lover and person Penny was, I’ll put you in the more-able hands of don barone, who wrote a moving piece (the only kind he writes) about her 4 years ago this month. I can’t recommend strongly enough that you read it, today especially.

Couple things from it, Penny talking:

“We got married almost 30 years ago on Lake Dardanelle. After the ceremony, my husband and I escaped out onto the lake in a bass boat, and under a full moon, we just kind of drifted around and he pulled out a bottle of champagne and we toasted each other with the champagne. It was something I’ll never forget.”

“It hurts not to be out there with them, but I’m going to be making a big sign to hang on my fence out by the lake and in big letters it will say, ‘Good Luck WBT Anglers.’ Hopefully they’ll see it when they go by.”

Don’t know, man. I’m choked up today.

Penny’s up there, I’m sure smiling even more radiantly…out of both eyes. Hope we all get to see that smile one day.