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Topic: Gone Fishing (02/01/07)
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TITLE: Dad's Lake | Previous Challenge Entry
By Duwana Brennen
02/06/07 -
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Mom was the true camper though—she began getting ready for the lake the moment we were headway home at summer’s end. I remember cramming everything we possibly could have had (and should not have had) on the boat just so everything we needed would be at our disposal. It was a sight to see our boat crawling across miles of lake in search of the most isolated campsite. People couldn’t help but laugh to see our boat chugging along with no visible passengers, as if the boat were driving itself, with gear stacked precariously from stem to stern. This journey went on for years; it was a love affair that my parents shared.
Sadly, my parents’ love affair ended when mom died at the age of forty-two in 1987. Somewhere between my teen years and adulthood, I hadn’t seen eye-to-eye with my dad because I misunderstood what manhood was all about, which completely got in the way of our relationship. After my mom died, I realized that my dad had lost his best earthly friend; it took him years to recover from her death. In the years that followed, my dad and I grew closer and closer, and it wasn’t until years later that I realized dad continued to make that journey back to the lake each year, sometimes alone, other times with my younger brother.
I made the miscalculation of describing the lake to my wife who, like my mom, loved camping too; so needless to say we happily found ourselves one summer, kids in tow, heading across the lake with dad leading the way. That day, I saw a happiness in his eyes that I hadn’t witnessed in a long time as he helped us set up camp, taught his grandchildren how to catch sunfish and sat around the campfire—telling us the stories that we genuinely couldn’t get enough of. Later that night, my wife and I lay awake listening to the loons call to their mates, and we came to the conclusion that the love affair between my dad and mom was still in affect each time he journeyed back to his lake. My dad’s yearly trek gave new meaning to the phrase “Gone Fishing”, and we’ve gone fishing ever since.
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How blessed you are, to have such a loving family.