With the Boys: Field Notes on Being a Guy

by Jake Macdonald

In this thoughtful collection of events and gatherings from his own life, Jake MacDonald chronicles the outdoor adventures of guys he’s known. They fish, they hunt, they take off on foreign jaunts. Typical guy stuff, maybe, but MacDonald writes about these adventures with the sensitivity of a man who was taught ethics by his father, who cherishes nature and who loves the company of women. Love and loss figure in these true stories, as do other pains of being mortal, but there’s also much joy in Macdonald’s genial recounting of his fifty-plus years of male pursuits. Whether it’s crack-of-dawn motel breakfasts, starlit stakeouts in the bulrushes, out-of-control helicopter rides to the barrenlands, or day trips on the blue, blue sea with the sharks circling, let Jake take you along for the ride.

Genres: Nonfiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published May 9, 2005

About the author

Jake grew up in River Heights in Winnipeg, one of seven talented siblings raised by Peggy, a homemaker and university student and Donald, who was Chief Commissioner of the City Of Winnipeg. Jake attended St. Paul's Catholic High School and studied literature at the University of Manitoba.

The celebrated Manitoba author took pleasure in the world's memorable landscapes - Canada's west coast, the Bahamian out islands, and the Pacific coast of Mexico, Northwestern Ontario rivers, lakes, granite, boreal forest, the muskies, bears, eagles, domesticated animals.

One of Jake's best stories, "Norris", was about a pig raised on an island like the one where Jake had his first houseboat in the Winnipeg River during the 1970s. "Becoming" was about a man morphing into a pickerel.

Jake's success was a genius for storytelling. "I like the idea of sitting on top of the water because it's like sitting on the subconscious and the fish below are stories and dreams. You go down there and try to bring them to the surface."

Jake will be lovingly remembered by his partner Petra Kaufmann and her children, Rory, Lily, Theo and Julia; his daughter Caitlin MacDonald and her husband Alex Nisbet. Also Wendy MacDonald, Dawne McCance, Sally & Bert Longstaffe, Danny & Deb MacDonald, Peter & Sherry MacDonald, Mary-Kate & John Harvie, and their children to whom he was very close.

Reviews

[Pooker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tweeted today that I was a wee bit in love with Jake MacDonald. It's true, although I've never met the man.

I was also trying to fit into 140 characters, the following poem (author/poet unknown to me, and reciting from memory, so I may be messing with it a bit):

Behold the Fisherman

He riseth early in the morning,
And disturbeth the whole household.
He maketh mighty preparations,
And fareth forth full of hope.
He returneth late
Smelling of strong drink, and
...the truth is not in him.

I'm sure this little ditty was written with guys like Jake and his cronies in mind. When I was a kid, I really thought it was written for my father and his cronies.

I grew up on the lake. In fact, my grandparents owned a tourist camp when I was young. The above poem and an accompanying cartoon was written on a little plaque that hung in every one of the cabins. So, I know when a fisherman tells you the one that got away was yay big, you've got to move his hands in about a foot.

When you read Jake MacDonald's collection of vignettes about he and his cronies on their manly adventures involving guns and fishing rods, boats and helicopters, sharks and dogs, and plenty of booze, the inclination might be to move his hands in about a foot. But don't. I'm sure it's the gospel truth. In fact, while I don't know Jake personally, I do know many of his cronies and I'm here to vouch for the fact that his sister's husband would never have passed "the test" in his blazer and watch fob, but that M K was wise to let him rewrite. Also, there are those like Caitlin who do have "the touch" (or otherwise known as having the fish gods on their side).

I know these stories are true because not only do they smell of booze and sweat and vomit and offal, they smell of love and loss, and loyalty and friendship, and respect. Respect for each other, for the women in their lives, for nature and for life.

Oh and Jake, if you still haven't caught that muskie, get yourself a Believer. ~~~~~>O

[K]

Whether he's duck-hunting as a kid with his father, eking out a living as an outdoor guide, tracking bonefish in the Bahamas with various eccentric companions, doing a little urban fishing with a close pal, eating fresh-cooked caribou, or meeting up with guys he's known since boyhood for their annual hunting trip, Jake MacDonald shines a light on what happens when men get together in groups of two, three, or 20. Love and loss figure in these true stories, as do other pains of being mortal, but there's also much joy in MacDonald's recounting of his 50-plus years of male pursuits. The congeniality and color of MacDonald's prose brings these adventures vividly to life, whether he's trying to survive a dicey helicopter ride to the barren lands, a bleary-eye crack-of-dawn breakfast of bacon and eggs, or a day trip to an ocean full of circling sharks.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

More about being a hunter and fisherman than about being a guy, but many of the stories were charming.