Grace Moments by Dolores Martin

GONE FISHING

I have sorely neglected our home on Cape Cod this summer. My kayak and golf clubs were in the mini van and so I set out for the Cape on August 10. I arrived late due to the weather and also a number of cell calls that came in while driving. Each time, I pulled over to a scenic area to chat. When one is retired, one need not rush to a destination.

Bright and early the next morning on August 11, the door bell rang and rang and rang. I put on a robe and answered the door. There was eight year old Johnny.

"Hi, Dolores, welcome back". He was excited to fill me in on what transpired since I had been gone. He noticed that I had not planted a vegetable garden this year. I hugged him and he said that he would see me later.

Ten minutes later, while still in my robe and drinking coffee, the doorbell rang. "Hi Dolores, here are some fresh vegetables from our garden". Once again, I hugged him and he left.

Forty five minutes later, after coffee and getting dressed, the door bell rang. "Hi Dolores, Corey wanted to say hello". Corey is nine. We visited for a time.

Later that afternoon, the door bell rang. (I still had not unpacked the van). "Hi Dolores, do you want to go fishing tomorrow with me".

Johnny looked at me with his big eyes and long lashes and big smile........I melted and put all thoughts of work and unpacking out of my mind and said, O.K. He told me that he would pack a lunch for us and we would have fun.

After dinner, the door bell rang. "Hi, Dolores. Could we check out your fishing pole and George's fishing gear in the garage."

We went to the garage and went through all of the fishing gear and made our choices for the next day. We agreed to meet at noon. I needed to do laundry. He then asked if he could come over early since his brother was taking sailing lessons and he wanted to hang out with me instead. I told him that he could come over early but that he would have to entertain himself while I did some work.

When he left, my daughter called to find out how I was handling the day. You see, August 11 was the SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF GEORGE'S DEATH. Little Johnny was George's friend. He and his friends lovingly referred to George as, "George of the Jungle".

I told my daughter that I did not have too much time to think about the significance of the day because of Johnny's visits. She and I discussed what happened prior to my leaving home on the 10th.

I was putting several files into my briefcase to work on while I was away. One file fell to the floor and a card fell from this file. This was a business file. What was this card doing in it? The card was NOT a special occasion card. I opened the card. It was from George. It said, "I am looking forward to our long trip to Florida and then to Cancun and back to Florida again. I love you very much."

THIS CARD WAS THE LAST CARD THAT I HAD RECEIVED FROM GEORGE PRIOR TO HIS DEATH.

On August 7, I published the blinking red light and now this!!!!!!!!

WE ARE GOING FISHING............

Johnny arrived bright and early. Instead of waiting until noon, I finished up a few things and off we went. We stopped at one area to catch turtles, frogs and minnows. We tried to fish but the area was not conducive to casting. We lost some hooks, bobber and sinkers.

"Let"s go to crab creek, exclaimed Johnny!" I thought for a moment and agreed.

GEORGE WENT TO CRAB CREEK EVERYDAY. He caught dinner everyday. He was known as "CRABBING GEORGE" at this location. He had a special spot where he placed a chair in the water and enjoyed his favorite pastime. He always caught enough crabs to share with others. It cracked me up when he told me that he bartered steamed crabs for his haircuts!!!!!!

HE WAS ENJOYING RETIREMENT.

We arrived at Crab Creek and I could visualize George in his favorite spot. It pleased me to no end to remember how much he loved this spot and the enjoyment it brought to him. ALSO THE FUNNY STORIES........

Little Johnny smiled at me and he told me how many times George could be found at Crab Creek.

Due to circumstances, I was not always at the Cape with George. I had responsibilities back home that required attention. I was not fully retired.

We enjoyed ourselves at Crab Creek, but did not have much luck catching fish or crabs. WE ALMOST CAUGHT A LARGE SEA GULL!!!!!!!

Johnny had a great cast. The line went so far that it flew to the other side of the creek. He snagged a large tree. We had a fishing line tight rope going across the Creek. I chuckled to myself as I imagined little critters doing a balancing act walking across this line.

WHAT TO DO? WHAT TO DO? Johnny yelled for help and I tried to unsnag the line to no avail. I could not unsnag it from either side of the creek. It was determined that we were going to have to sacrifice another bobber, hook and sinker. We had to cut the line.

There were people on the other side of the creek watching us. Probably wondering which one of us would fall in the water first.

It was time to cut the line...

OH NO!!!!!!!! A large sea gull was dive bombing for a fish and was headed straight for the line. This poor little creature of God could hurt himself if he flew into the line.

Everyone who was watching this scene yelled at the same time and startled the gull. The gull pulled up just in time to miss the line and only lost one feather.

THAT WAS A CLOSE CALL......We quickly cut the line.

The rest of the morning went like that. I could just see George and God in Heaven looking down on us and cracking up laughing.

It was finally time to go home. We packed up our gear and left.

Later that day, Corey came over with Johnny. He had a great day with his sailing lessons. Next year, he would be finished with lessons and told me that he could take me sailing.

I HAVE BEEN GIVEN A SECOND CHANCE WITH SAILING if this happens.

Men my own age have stopped asking me to be their sailing partner. If I ever finish, "A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY THROUGH LIFE," you will understand why.