Many things allow a happily married couple to stick together in the sometimes-challenging circumstances of life. For Gerald Swindle, the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches his wife, Le Ann, makes for him certainly add to the cohesiveness.
Gerald and LeAnn met at the local bank in rural Alabama. She was a manager; he was the red-hot tournament pro who was frequently lugging big paychecks in for deposit. During their banking relationship, the always fun-loving Swindle nicknamed her "Lulu." They began dating, fell in love, and were married in 2004 - the same year that Swindle won the BASS Angler of the Year title.
As people in love often do, the gorgeous and giving Le Ann found simple gestures to let Gerald know she loved him. Rising at 4:30 am to make him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich as sustenance for a day of fishing became one such gesture - and it stuck.
"Lulu isn't really a morning person, but she always rises to the occasion," said Swindle. "We've been married five good years, and she never lets me down, although one morning when she was super sleepy and forgot to put jelly on the sandwiches, that made for a sticky situation," he added.
For the G-Man, dependability is a common trait of both "Lulu" and P.B. & J. "Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches offer lots of protein, calories, and monounsaturated fat to keep you energized during a tournament day or a 12-hour practice day. So I eat one at 9:00 am, Noon, and 3:00 pm religiously," said the Toyota Tundra pro.
"Speaking of dependability, I once saw Byron Velvick make ten P.B. & J sandwiches on a Sunday, munched on them all week, and finally finished the tenth one on Thursday. True story. I've learned you can set a jar of jelly atop a hotel air-conditioner for a week, and it won't spoil," explained Swindle.
Lulu explained that it was low maintenance and dependable indeed, but not without great thought. "He likes extra crunchy peanut butter, and I use jelly from the squeeze bottle, then we place the sandwiches in freezer bags because they seem to hold freshness better than regular plastic sandwich bags," she detailed.
"And another thing - and a crucial thing," interrupted Gerald. "P.B. & J won't tear your belly up and send you running for the shore like pickled eggs, or that 3-day-old tuna sandwich down there at Big Jim's One Stop will," warned Swindle, who's on track to fish his 10th Bassmaster Classic.
