Things happen in strange and wonderful ways.
Meet Zak. I met Zak a few hours before this. But I am getting ahead of myself.
My brother has a business. He sells stuff to a nice woman from Dallas. The nice woman from Dallas has a son named Zak. Zak has never been on a river before. Dallas is not known for its waterways.
When my brother heard that his friend was coming to Madison to see a friend, she was told “You must meet my brother.” I’m glad she decided it was worth her time. Zak was interested in getting some time paddling, and we were in a position to take this young man out on the Upper Sugar River.
So we went. Zak learned fairly quickly and seemed to enjoy the river. He took direction well and tolerated my detours to cut out branches with a bow saw. He liked the odonates (that’s my boy) and other flora and fauna, and asked a lot of questions. We paddled under low branches (I call them car washes) which dropped spiders in the boat, which he handled quite well.
Zak figured out quickly what is meant by River Time.
At the end of the day, we all signed the paddle and sent it home with him. He seemed pleased.
His Mom texted me a few hours later. To quote Zak: “Mom, he’s a real adventure guy!” I don’t know about that, but I do know the joy of introducing kids to the wonders of nature 20 minutes from our city. There’s nothing better, as you can see.
Respectfully submitted,
Canoelover