06-06-2013, 02:27 PM
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[font "Calibri"]They came aboard the boat “Freedoms Dream” as they usually do, quietly with some trepidation, asking permission to board as is the manner of the military. They are all war veterans, save 2 children belonging to one of them. They represent the Army, Navy and Marine Corp. The older ones served in Vietnam, the younger Iraq and Afghanistan. They share a common bond; they have experienced the horrors of war.[/font]
[font "Calibri"] [/font]
[font "Calibri"]They have come to experience a day on the water, fishing with their brothers at arms. They can talk to one another about things they cannot address to anyone else…..Things that only those that have experienced can understand.[/font]
[font "Calibri"] [/font]
[font "Calibri"]The lake is flat as we leave the harbor in search of fish. I hear portions of their conversations as they introduce themselves to one another. The two little girls are quiet as this is their first time on a boat and they are surrounded by strangers. Their
s are innocent while the faces of the others bear a certain 
ness that death and war brings. Today they are filled with anticipation.[/font]
[font "Calibri"] [/font]
[font "Calibri"]The fishing has been good and I assure them that it will be again today. I slipped the anchor in the shallow water and soon rods were baited and cast out. Some were proficient with the tackle while others were unfamiliar with the rods and reels.[/font]
[font "Calibri"] [/font]
[font "Calibri"]Soon we were fast to fish and the morning air rang with “fish on” and it was controlled pandemonium as they struggled to keep lines from crossing and getting the fish to the net. Smiles abound as the first fish came aboard and the realization that, indeed, they were all going to catch fish.[/font]
[font "Calibri"] [/font]
[font "Calibri"]Conversations became animated as they discussed the merits and the down side of the channel catfish and other species coming aboard. The ones, who knew, taught the others with no experience how to grip the catfish to avoid the barbs in the fins and how to remove the hooks without getting their fingers in the mouths. Soon they became a team, each helping the other tie hooks, teaching knots and baiting. When one had a bite they offered their rod to another insisting that the other should reel it in. arguing who had caught the biggest and the most, laughing, cajoling. They praised the little girls as they caught their first fish. Theirs of wonderment not unobserved by the others as the girls posed for pictures to commemorate the occasion.[/font]
[font "Calibri"] [/font]
[font "Calibri"]Too soon we returned to the harbor to filet and package the fish to distribute to those that wanted them. Pictures were taken and telephone numbers exchanged. It had been an extraordinary day for me as it always is when I have these men and women aboard that have given so much to insure our freedoms. This small thing we do, fishing and sharing our love for the outdoors, has changed my life and fills me with pride. God truly gives us many blessings, knowing these valiant men is one of them. [/font]
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[font "Calibri"][url "http://www.handinhandoutdoors.org"]http://www.handinhandoutdoors.org[/url][/font]
[font "Calibri"] [/font]
[font "Calibri"] [/font]
[font "Calibri"] [/font]
[font "Calibri"]They came aboard the boat “Freedoms Dream” as they usually do, quietly with some trepidation, asking permission to board as is the manner of the military. They are all war veterans, save 2 children belonging to one of them. They represent the Army, Navy and Marine Corp. The older ones served in Vietnam, the younger Iraq and Afghanistan. They share a common bond; they have experienced the horrors of war.[/font]
[font "Calibri"] [/font]
[font "Calibri"]They have come to experience a day on the water, fishing with their brothers at arms. They can talk to one another about things they cannot address to anyone else…..Things that only those that have experienced can understand.[/font]
[font "Calibri"] [/font]
[font "Calibri"]The lake is flat as we leave the harbor in search of fish. I hear portions of their conversations as they introduce themselves to one another. The two little girls are quiet as this is their first time on a boat and they are surrounded by strangers. Their
s are innocent while the faces of the others bear a certain ness that death and war brings. Today they are filled with anticipation.[/font][font "Calibri"] [/font]
[font "Calibri"]The fishing has been good and I assure them that it will be again today. I slipped the anchor in the shallow water and soon rods were baited and cast out. Some were proficient with the tackle while others were unfamiliar with the rods and reels.[/font]
[font "Calibri"] [/font]
[font "Calibri"]Soon we were fast to fish and the morning air rang with “fish on” and it was controlled pandemonium as they struggled to keep lines from crossing and getting the fish to the net. Smiles abound as the first fish came aboard and the realization that, indeed, they were all going to catch fish.[/font]
[font "Calibri"] [/font]
[font "Calibri"]Conversations became animated as they discussed the merits and the down side of the channel catfish and other species coming aboard. The ones, who knew, taught the others with no experience how to grip the catfish to avoid the barbs in the fins and how to remove the hooks without getting their fingers in the mouths. Soon they became a team, each helping the other tie hooks, teaching knots and baiting. When one had a bite they offered their rod to another insisting that the other should reel it in. arguing who had caught the biggest and the most, laughing, cajoling. They praised the little girls as they caught their first fish. Their
s of wonderment not unobserved by the others as the girls posed for pictures to commemorate the occasion.[/font][font "Calibri"] [/font]
[font "Calibri"]Too soon we returned to the harbor to filet and package the fish to distribute to those that wanted them. Pictures were taken and telephone numbers exchanged. It had been an extraordinary day for me as it always is when I have these men and women aboard that have given so much to insure our freedoms. This small thing we do, fishing and sharing our love for the outdoors, has changed my life and fills me with pride. God truly gives us many blessings, knowing these valiant men is one of them. [/font]
[font "Calibri"][/font]
[font "Calibri"][url "http://www.handinhandoutdoors.org"]http://www.handinhandoutdoors.org[/url][/font]
[font "Calibri"] [/font]
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