Michael L. "Mike" Harris

This is the time of the year I miss my quail hunting friend. I can picture him landing on the dirt crop dusting runway with all his dogs in the plane with him. He loved his quail hunting

Even after all of these years, seldom does a day go by that I don't have thoughts of my good friends Mike and Misky. I truly hope that Misky and all others surrounding Mike are doing well, and still look forward to stopping by Victory Lake sometime in the future when I am traveling.

After over ten years, hardly a day goes by without my having thoughts of Mike and Misky. I thoroughly enjoyed stopping by Victory Lake for a quick visit when traveling through the area. Mike's congeniality and knowledge about things that I also was interested in was amazing and a welcome break in the day-to-day life. He would have enjoyed hearing that now that I am no longer heavily involved the water skiing world, I have taken up the target shooting sports as a hobby. I have been retired...

I have known Mike for 23 years, and instantly took a liking to both he and his wife, Misky. They are both wonderful people. Upon arrival in Jacksonville for my annual 3 week stay at Victory Lake, Mike was always there to help me out when my ski boat didn't start. He always went into the garage and picked out the proper tool to fix my boat after 6 months of being out of the water. You could sense that Mike was knowledgable about everything that he encountered. Mike was gracious enough to...

I did not know Mike well but liked him the first time we had a conversation. I met him with Misky and Ann when we went trail riding on their beautiful trail. It was a hot morning on Monday July 6, I think (shortly before his fateful tragedy), and we had to water the horses more than once. There are pictures from that day -- the last taken of Mike.

I don't know what to say here, but if you listen to a song entitled "SKY" I think we get the idea of how we can spiritually imagine how...

Our family is humbled by the gracious words you have all shared. You have honored Mike and his accomplishments. He would want all of you to share his love of family, life's adventures, quest for knowledge, and to live life to your dreams. Victory Lake welcomes you to visit her anytime. Thank you. Misky

September 4, 2009

I met Mike during the summer of 1996 when I first began riding with Misky at Victory Lake. I remember speaking with him as he was coming in and I was leaving - I thanked him for letting me play with his wife and the smile on his face at the mention of Misky is what every woman wants - pride and devotion.

And that's how he lived his life, proudly and with absolute devotion to his current project (of which there were many).

I was fortunate...

Mike and Misky have been good friends of ours for twenty years and this tragedy came as quite a shock to us, to say the least. We came to know Mike and Misky at Victory Lake when Cliff moved to Jacksonville in 1988. Cliff thought he’d died and gone to heaven. Mike "found" the lake many years ago while flying in the Navy. It was a borrow pit for the I-295 and I-10 intersection. Mike recognized its skiing potential, and he and a friend bought the lake and surrounding land from the State. ...

It will never be the same going to Victory Lake and not having Mike come out to greet you with a big smile. His generousity and sharing of his property and wonderful unique house that he built was huge. This is a good example of how unfair and unpredictable life's twists and turns and endings can be. We will all suffer his loss for a long, long time, but he left a lasting legacy and we will never forget him.