In January, when we traveled to Coeur d'Alene to visit our second-eldest son, Brett (husband and dad) even joined in the postcard project! This was his first postcard, which was returned to us in June after being hidden in the library in Spokane, WA. Even though our visit to North Idaho was in winter, it had us both feeling nostalgic for the ten years we lived up there near the lakes and mountains. Hayden Lake is where our third son learned to fish, something he loves.
An older man used to sit on the dock at Hayden Lake, fishing. Kids would often scramble his way and ask questions, the way kids can--"What are you doing? What's in this box? How many fish have you caught?" The man was gruff and short with them, clearly annoyed at the interruptions.
One day a kid carrying a tackle box and fishing rod sat down about ten feet away from the man, who gave him a sideways scowl. The boy looked back calmly, saying nothing. The man returned to fishing and the boy watched his every move for the next three or four hours.
The next day, the boy came again, sat down at a distance, and watched. The man glanced his way with a stern look and the boy looked back, clear-eyed, but said nothing. He just observed in silence for the next few hours.
This went on for nearly a week. After about the fifth day, the man turned to the boy and said, "Come here." The boy stood with a measured calm that belied his eagerness, picked up his tackle box and went to where the man sat fishing. "Sit down," the man said. "Do you like to fish?"
That boy was Nate, and he was eight years old. The man spent the next couple of weeks teaching him the water--what fish lived in it, how to work it, what bait and lure to use for which species of fish.
Nate and Brett have spent a lot of hours fishing. Anna and I enjoy fishing too. Jesse, I think, will be a good fisherman one day if he gets the chance; Jonno is less interested. Braden doesn't care for it, and Seth (our eldest) doesn't mind it but doesn't really go out of his way to fish. But Nate was born for it.
An older man used to sit on the dock at Hayden Lake, fishing. Kids would often scramble his way and ask questions, the way kids can--"What are you doing? What's in this box? How many fish have you caught?" The man was gruff and short with them, clearly annoyed at the interruptions.
One day a kid carrying a tackle box and fishing rod sat down about ten feet away from the man, who gave him a sideways scowl. The boy looked back calmly, saying nothing. The man returned to fishing and the boy watched his every move for the next three or four hours.
The next day, the boy came again, sat down at a distance, and watched. The man glanced his way with a stern look and the boy looked back, clear-eyed, but said nothing. He just observed in silence for the next few hours.
This went on for nearly a week. After about the fifth day, the man turned to the boy and said, "Come here." The boy stood with a measured calm that belied his eagerness, picked up his tackle box and went to where the man sat fishing. "Sit down," the man said. "Do you like to fish?"
That boy was Nate, and he was eight years old. The man spent the next couple of weeks teaching him the water--what fish lived in it, how to work it, what bait and lure to use for which species of fish.
Nate and Brett have spent a lot of hours fishing. Anna and I enjoy fishing too. Jesse, I think, will be a good fisherman one day if he gets the chance; Jonno is less interested. Braden doesn't care for it, and Seth (our eldest) doesn't mind it but doesn't really go out of his way to fish. But Nate was born for it.
The finders are named Becky and Cole. They wrote:
I found this in a Spokane library book & it kicked around in my kitchen after the book went back. I work as a courier at Spokane's blood bank & my husband is a semi-retired wheat farmer. We play Cowboy swing music with our friends & are looking forward to full retirement in a year. Have a great day. Becky & Cole
Thanks, Becky, for returning the postcard! Here's to passions--whether art, reading, fishing, growing things, or swing music!
I found this in a Spokane library book & it kicked around in my kitchen after the book went back. I work as a courier at Spokane's blood bank & my husband is a semi-retired wheat farmer. We play Cowboy swing music with our friends & are looking forward to full retirement in a year. Have a great day. Becky & Cole
Thanks, Becky, for returning the postcard! Here's to passions--whether art, reading, fishing, growing things, or swing music!
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