How two Ohioans remember episodes in their lives that went public in 2024 can in truth only be guessed, though divergent outcomes suggest they will differ.
How the outdoors public, on the other hand, will remember Jaylynn Parker and Christopher J. Alexander shapes up beyond any reasonable doubt.
Parker, a teenager from New Richmond in Clermont County, in April caught a fish on hook and line bigger than any previously recorded in the state.
Alexander, a twentysomething resident of Wilmington in Clinton County, got caught breaking the law after taking a buck sporting the largest antlers most people had ever seen or will see.
Parker was going for nothing more than the thrill of the catch when a 101.11-pound blue catfish latched onto bait dangling beneath a jug floating in an Ohio River inlet. She ended up with not only a state record and a public atta-girl from the Ohio legislature but widespread acclaim for the catch, and subsequent release, of the living fish.
Alexander, as the investigation leading to his guilty plea in October revealed, was seeking fame and fortune when he killed the buck and weaved a tale about its taking.