Ahoy, Mate!

Two or three years ago our son Gerry brought his dad a large open boat he had been using for fishing down in Mexico on the ocean. After the vibration eventually wore and broke the ribs on the bottom of the boat, they were welded. The guides said the boat was no longer safe on the ocean, so Gerry brought it home.

Needing a plug and some other repair, the boat sat behind Gerald’s shop. This spring Gerry brought back an outboard motor for his dad, and Gerald has spent his spare time this week to get the boat ready to use with the motor.

This afternoon he made his maiden voyage, but he had to leave his project because we needed to hurry to the softball tournament at Harrisburg. After our heartbreaking loss to Pope County and their great pitcher, we tried to cheer ourselves up with dinner in Harrisburg at the best Kentucky Fried Chicken buffet in the Midwest. It was fun seeing friends from Crab Orchard and Johnston City. Then in the parking lot as we left, we enjoyed walking around and viewing the three vintage Model A’s that belonged to a group, who’d come from Indiana to eat.

Gerald was itching to get back to his boat floating. I hitched a ride with him, and together we enjoyed the lake with its evening sounds of frogs and katydids, geese, and fish flopping. In the past, when we rode on the lake, it was with Gerald peddling the paddle boat, so having a motor do the work was a new experience with a new kind of steering.

I liked going close to the island and seeing all the vegetation there that we cannot see from the house. Honeysuckle climbs high into the many trees on the lake side, and the thick green growth of wildness is pleasing. As we entered the channel Gerald created a couple of summers ago in order to make the island, Gerald had to learn new skills in steering the boat, but we had a smooth ride. That side of the island is more civilized looking with daisies on the bank mixed with the grasses there. We passed by the many ducks and geese and saw the gosling we thought had disappeared--it is already at that awkward adolescent stage.

Finally after a few rounds, Gerald threw in the anchor and fished awhile throwing back the two he caught. It was dark now, and we headed back to the house.