True Stories about the Mudshark

Even though Mudshark is about 13 years younger than I'am, the Norlund's were very good friends, Fred, Jean, John and of course Larry. My parents were close friends with their parents as they used to go to Straight 8 in Range,Wisconsin and dance and drink until early hours of the morning. I can tell numerous stories about the Shark but I really don't have the money it would take to buy the paper to write them ( as it would take a forest of trees). Larry was a hellian in his younger days as he really loved to race snowmobiles, and remembered him working at Wild Goose Yamaha (Nels Volgren & boys) shop and racing Yamaha's in the Northwestern part of Wisconsin, (can't really tell you about his trophy case, but I know he truly enjoyed sleds).
Like I said there are so many stories. Larry used to drive 18-wheelers nationwide,and at times would stop and see us. he always slept in his sleeper, (with whom I don't know). Anyway, one evening at about 1:00 O'clock in the morning. Bonnie (my wife) woke me up and said a train was coming, really it was Norlund backing up our driveway and of course he stopped right under our bedroom window. It was summertime and we had the window open and Larry did not shut the engine off on the 18-wheeler as he had the air conditioning on in his truck. Well, you know how much sleep Bon & I got the rest of the night. But in the morning we invited him and ??, (as he usually had a secretary to log miles for him) can't remember her name in for breakfast and coffee and they left us that Sunday morning, and Bon & I went back to bed to sleep after I got done doing chores. You really never knew what to expect when Norlund pulled into the yard.
As long as I'm talking 18-wheelers, there was another night he thought that he would not sleep in the sleeper, so he just walked into the house (as nobody locked their doors in them days). He had probably stopped at the Tac-Lo-Ban or Woodley's Country Dam before. Anyway, he came into the house,(again at 1:00-2:00 a.m.) and seen a apple-pie on the kitchen counter, so he thought that it looked very good, so he cut himself a piece of pie and ate it, then fell asleep on the couch. The problem came at 6:00 o'clock in the morning. Larry had stopped at Joel & Wendy Johnson's house, thinking he was at our place and knew Bonnie wouldn't care about the pie. Wendy came down from upstairs and saw a man laying on the couch, so she ran upstairs and woke Joel up and told him there was a strange man asleep on the couch. Joel got up and went down stairs and woke this man up and it was Larry. Lucky for Larry that the Johnson's were such understanding people, because if this would have happened in the year of 2006 instead of 1980, it could have been a bad situation for the Mudshark.
As long as I'm talking 18-wheelers, there was some good in this person they called Larry (Mudshark) Norlund. My wife Bonnie had a son (my step-son), Shawn that was in the United States Navy and was stationed in San Diego, California. Shawn owned a motorcycle and it was in Balsam lake, Wisconsin. Of course, he wanted that cycle in California (as any young man would). Well, Bon & I didn't have money to get it to him, so we thought and thought of how we would get this cycle to California. We remembered a guy by the name of Mudshark and he had told us that he would help us get it there. Larry called on a Sunday and he said he would be here at 8:30-9:00 that evening to pick up the cycle and haul it to San Diego. Low and be-hold, here he comes, stopped on the County Road and opened up the back end of the trailer and loaded up the cycle. Within 4 days, Shawn had his cycle at no charge. So Larry, there is a good side to you and I feel very fortunate that my parents and your parents (Happy & Albert) had got together in the 1930's ,1940's and 1950's, because that opened the door to our friendship, which no one can take away.
I, (Bonnie) did not have the opportunity to get to know Larry until the late '70's except that I had heard of him thru my niece Stevie. I knew this guy had to be a lot of fun and when I did get to know him he truly was fun. Larry, everytime I think of some of the incidents listed above I still have to chuckle. And I really would have liked to have seen the expressions when you discovered you were in the wrong house. Oh well, next time.
We love you Larry Norlund and are so happy we are friends.
Tom & Bonnie