Bass Fishin' with the Boys
by Tommy Garner
The first time I saw him he looked me directly in the eye, did not smile, and said, "The only way you can date my mother is to beat me arm wrestling". There was no doubt in my mind that he meant it. I had already heard about Adam Paul, the award winning football player and all around athlete. There was some doubt about my ability to beat him arm wrestling, as he was a football player in training several days a week. I did know that I would not back down from his challenge and he would have to break my arm to be able to put me down.
"Let's do it!" I said as I walked over to the table. People scattered as we squared off at the corner of the table. Instantly, I knew this was going to be tough. He had a grip like an iron vise and an intensity in his eye. It took all I had to keep my arm straight, but I was holding him. Eventually, I felt his arm give a little. When I did, I threw all of my weight and strength into my arm and shoulder. Reaching down with 
all my might I pushed harder and his arm crumpled. The young man looked up and said, "Well, I guess you can date my Mom".
Today as I watched my stepson Adam, I thought of the man he had become, and the hardships which life had brought to him. The single father of two wonderful children had experienced the ravishes of a very nasty divorce from his childhood sweetheart. Financial problems brought on by the split and life in general had been difficult on him. He has no idea how my heart aches when I think of what he has had to deal with. On the other hand, he has become a hero through his work as a paramedic and firefighter. Often, he is the first face that people in serious trouble see. They hear his soft voice saying "You are going to be okay. We are going to get you out of here". Then they watch as he quickly and calmly goes about taking care of the business at hand, like cutting them out of a wrecked vehicle or hooking them up to an IV.
Casey looks up to Adam in a great way, and being brothers, they share some of the same traits.
Today they both are catching fish, while trading good-natured insults and having the time of their lives.
I started the day off by dragging a good-sized smallmouth out of the murky water with a black and gold Rogue. By the time the guys got to where I was, I caught another smallmouth. Casey began to beat the water to a froth and in a minute or two was hooked up solid to a good bass, as well. Adam was having trouble getting started, so I asked him to come stand beside me.
The water was very high, too high for us to be fishing, but we had found some willing fish anyway. The water would not be right to fish until tomorrow, but we were here today. Before long, Adam was catching fish and having the time of his life. He caught the biggest smallmouth that he has ever caught, he caught a double (two fish at the same time on the same bait), which he had never done before, and he just kept catching fish, making it one of his best days of fishing ever. For a while it did not matter that he was having to juggle his schedule to advance his education and work at the same time, or that gas was $3.50 per gallon and there had been times he has had to choose between buying gas or food. Today he forgot the troubles and woes of life and 
enjoyed being on the river with his little brother Casey and me. We were catching fish (and good quality fish) the way you should when everything falls in place.
Normally, Wanda and I are catch and release fishermen when it comes to smallmouths, but today the boys and I kept two each. We also put many oversized goggle eyes on the stringer as well. Tomorrow they would be lunch for our family. Smoking hot fried fish, fried potatoes, cathead biscuits, macaroni and cheese and sweet tea made for a great meal around the table for our family. The fact that the boys and I had caught the fish together only made it sweeter.
The biggest thing for me was to see my kids having a good time enjoying the outdoors together, smiling for a while. The haunting lyrics of the song "Cats in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin brought a familiar scene to my mind. Life goes by so fast that we often don't take the time to share it with those we love. We don't take the time with our children and then they grow up so fast that one day they no longer have time for us in their schedule. Today we took that time and it will always be a day that we will remember and cherish.