Fish tales

Bruce and Husband

Several weeks ago I wrote this about Husband and Bruce’s trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Northern Minnesota.  Here’s the follow up to that.  It’s taken these many weeks to discern just what exactly happened that week.  Here’s what I’m managed to piece together.

Picture it.  Little Bruce with his arms spread wide across his chest saying, “I once caught a fish THIS BIG!”  Unfortunately, a tall tale is all Bruce can share about catching fish.  He didn’t catch any.  As his mother this made me sad for him and irritated that his dad couldn’t make that happen for him.

I wish that could have been Bruce's stringer of fish.

The group took motor boats in to what would be their base camp.  The first canoe outing on the first day, Husband, Bruce and his sister, Kim went out in the canoe.  Bruce hasn’t been in a canoe before.  All is going smoothly.

At the same time, Linda, Husband’s mother, decides to get in a canoe along and go “fetch water.” (That’s why I didn’t attend.  I don’t do things where water has to be “fetched.”) It’s unclear to me why she had to get in a canoe to do this.  She loses her paddle and the wind begins to take her away from shore.  She shouts to Husbands canoe and they promptly paddle over to “save Nana.”  There’s some splashing and canoe rocking but Nana and her canoe are rescued and sent on their way.  About that time (now I’m quoting from Husband on this) Kim begins to “Laugh and goof off in the canoe.” 

It takes very little coaxing to overturn a canoe I'm told - and that’s just what this one did!  The canoe flipped with Bruce in it!  All had on life jackets.  He was screaming, “Help me, Daddy!  Save me!”  Husband grabbed his life jacket by the collar, moved a few feet and then made Bruce put his feet down.  It was shallow, thankfully.  Along with the three passengers in the vessel, all of Husband’s new fishing lures and tackle and our brand new video camera went swimming as well.  They said the camera was water proof to ten meters – well, we’ll soon see.

Sawing wood.  Yes, I think that's an actual saw. 
Sheesh!  Someone thought a 6 year old and a saw
was not only a good idea but a photo op

Wet and traumatized but not injured, the crew returns to shore.  And that’s it.  Bruce refuses to get into a canoe ANYMORE.  He’s on a canoe trip for crying out loud!  He tried to fish from the bank.  Apparently Walleye and Northern Pike don’t bite from the bank much.  He had fun, however.  He cut wood, ate fish, built campfires, etc.  But he didn’t catch a single fish.  I can tell he’s upset by this somewhat.  Coming out of the woods he had to ride in a canoe, but he rode with the other couple who also attended. 

Since the lady who also attended got injured, everyone came out a day early.  I spoke with the boys when they came out of the woods.  Husband was exhausted, stressed and just plain weary from being in the company of his family for that long.  He doesn’t do well being almost without tobacco and completely without alcohol for that long.  We’re not really the T-totaling type…

He's not in the canoe...

Since they had an extra day before the flight home, they went to the Mall of America.  Now this would be torture for Husband on his very BEST day.  He sent me a text that read – “Mall of America, save me.”  I couldn’t stop laughing.  He volunteered for the week of indentured servitude. 

In the Rain Forest Café of all places he said he had several glasses of wine.  Then he could process the fishing adventure and tune out bedlam that is Mall of America.  When asked why he didn’t just have a martini, he answered, “Because I knew I wouldn’t keep my mouth in check.”  “Well OK,” I replied.

Several days later the couple sent David and Bruce a really nice card with some photos from the trip.  They thanked Husband for all his hard work on the trip.  They ended the letter with, “This is a trip we’ll never forget!”  Interesting how they didn’t use the word fun….