"Scott's World; Episode XXXIX" - Thank you, Mark, Canoe Guides and Scouts!

[Staci Matheis]

Ah, man! You guys and gals wouldn't believe all the fun I had the past two days! You ever get the chance, go fishing with Mark (MoFish), the Canoe Guides and Boy Scouts - these are truly great people to share some time with!



Forecast for the weekend was high Friday in the 70's with severe thunderstorm warnings out for portions of the area; low that night in the 50's with more storms; high Saturday in the 60's and continued storms. Things were not sounding too good..... But, at least as I left the sun was shining!



I met up with Mark and Walt (one of the other Canoe Guides) at noon. Mark had everything loaded, his boat hooked up and palm pilot stowed before I got there. He had completed his pre-flight checklist before hand! (Whew!) We headed out for the 1 1/2 hour drive southwest of St. Louis - Mark and Walt in the pickup, me following in my Jeep.....



We got about half an hour into the journey when it started to cloud over..... Half an hour later, the skies really started to threaten..... 15 minutes after that, we drove into an intense downpour complete with thunder, lightening and hail..... 5 minutes later we were out of it and into broken skies! Heck! It didn't even look like it had rained 5 minutes further down the road!



We turned left from Highway 67 and into the S-Bar-F Boyscout Ranch for about a 4 mile drive to the lake..... Where's my turkey call and shotgun?!!? Oh, Lord! What beautiful woods! Rolling, rocky ground..... May apples popping up on the surface..... Intense green, white and pink provide by cedar trees, dogwoods and redbuds..... Light green in the canopy from oaks just beginning to leaf out..... And then, at the end of the road, this beautiful 250 acre lake nestled in the hills..... I was in heaven! And there had only been a light sprinkle here!



By about 3 o'clock, Mark Walt and I were in Mark's TV-18, 150 Merc cranked up and headed for the far end of the lake..... Not a very long trip with all that power! And let me be sure to add right here and now, that TV-18 is one, sweet ride! Beautifully laid out and crafted! I was impressed!



We fished until about 6:00..... We caught more bass than any 3 boys would normally catch in a year! OK! You girls might normally catch that in no more than a month..... Mark did his best to chant "Here Fishey, Fishey, Fishey!!" as Rachel had instructed him - but he simply was able to generate quite the right tone!



Time for dinner. Mark and I headed into town to Ryan's to pig out! I used up a three day supply of insulin in one evening!



When we left Ryan's, we walked out the door into rain, thunder and lightening..... The Boy Scouts were due at the camp in about an hour..... Please, God! Please don't let us have this all weekend..... Just give us a couple of hours of nice weather..... Please!



OK..... At this point, please allow me to issue a disclaimer and something of an apology..... I am going to do my best to relate to you what I experienced and felt..... But I am sure that there will be a certain lack of political correctness..... My experience with people who have special needs is non-existant..... I don't know the proper terminology to use..... I don't know what the medical and psychological terms are..... And forget the spelling..... Over the next 24 hours, my heart was deeply touched - and I am just going to try my best to give you some idea as to how..... Please forgive me if the words I use are inadequate or improper.....



The main area of our lodge was a large dining and lounge area with folding tables and chairs set up for scouts, troop leaders and canoe guides to eat. At one end were two bunk rooms - one for scouts and the other for guides - bathrooms and showers. Some of us had set up our sleeping bags on the screened-in porch that ran the length of the lodge. Mark and I were out on the porch talking when the scouts began to arrive....

 

[Staci Matheis]

I will always remember that first conversation - word for word. Anthony was so much more at ease with the situation than I was. He was a Nice Kid! I think he was slightly retarded - I don't know for sure - I basically adopted a policy of not asking, just accepting.....



When I came back with Anthony's soda, another scout had been seated next to him..... My first thought was "Elephant Boy"..... I placed myself between Anthony and the new scout and introcued myself..... His name was Justin..... What a bright, outgoing and friendly kid! I immediately liked him! He brought this huge smile to my face and heart!



Justin's two brothers were with him; please forgive me, but the term I want to use is that they were "normal"..... If anything, they were "Extrodinary"! Michael was 15 and John was 13. They loved Justin deeply! They, like Justin, were bright, intelligent and soft spoken! They told me that there was a fourth brother, college aged, who wasn't with them. John later told Mark and I that his father wanted a girl, too - but their mother had said "Uh-uh. No way." Four had been enough for her! Let me tell you, I only met 3 of the 4, but that family is so very blessed!



Anthony had to go to the bathroom..... OK, let's see how we're gonna do this..... The bathroom was at the far end of the lodge and there were some narrow halls and several turns to get there..... I had heard that you were supposed to hold wone arm stiffly at your side, forearm pointing in the direction of travel..... That worked fine until we got to the hallway..... Not wide enough for two..... I had no idea what I was doing. Anthony was cool, calm and collected - he was used to dealing with the nervousness of the uneducated!



That's when I realized just how "safe" I was! This may have been all new to me - but it was "old hat" to the kids! All I had to do was follow THEIR lead!



After dinner, everyone retired to their quarters..... It didn't take me long to fall asleep. Sound asleep. There were 7 of us out on the porch. One of the guys snored loudly..... Or, so I'm told..... I was dead to the world!



5:00 came and I was awake as usual. No one else was. It was still dark. Zonk! I was out again!



7:00 and people started to stir. I looked outside..... High, broken skies! High 60's! It was going to be a beautiful morning! We all ate breakfast, anxious to get out on the water!



The scouts were led down to the dock by the troop leaders who had come along. Most of them went out on a 26' pontoon boat and were going to be using worms and crickets for bait. They all had spincast rods which were supplied by the canoe guides. Gosh, they were excited! And my questions about how the movement of the boats would effect them were soon answered: No Fear!



Someone assigned John, Justin's sighted, 13 year old brother, to Mark and I. He had been fishing before, but never from a boat or in a lake where you could actually catch more than one fish in an entire day! We told him that, if we caught a fish first, we would trade him rods.....



I hooked the first; John landed him. Same with numbers two and three. However, we noticed right from the start that John could cast! (Later in the day, when I made a particularly bad cast and John was lounging on the deck while fishing, he commented "I cast better laying down than you do standing up!") John caught and landed numbers four, five and six! Mark was still at zero.....



I turned to John and suggested that, when he hooked the next one, he might want to trade rods with Mark! Just then, Mark hooks one! I commented that John might not have to donate his next hook-up to Mark after all..... "Yeah!" Commented John, "But let's see if he can get this one into the boat!"



That's the way the day went! Between the three of us, we landed well over 100 fish! Long distance releases on many, many more! Non

 

[Adam Murray]

Scott...what a great story! Your honesty about your apprehension is noble. I don't know if I could have done it. I've traveled to 6 of the 7 continents, fought in two wars, lived in 8 different states and considered myself a pretty worldy person. Now I'm thinking I don't know crap!



Sounds like you had a great time...I hope an opportunity like yours presents itself to me in the near future (from both a fishing and humanity perspective!)

 

[Craig Roberts]

WOW!!!

 

[Staci Matheis]

OK..... Here are the pictures I promised.....



Top:

Our flotilla prepares for departure Saturday morning.



Bottom:

John was allowed to drive the boat..... I wasn't.

 

[Staci Matheis]

Left:

John proudly displays his first fish!



Right:

Come on, Mark..... You really call that a fish? :^)

 

[Staci Matheis]

I wish that this picture had come out better..... It was taken about 9:00 pm on Saturday, just before the scouts left. Some of the canoe guides are in the picture as well, but the lighting was so poor, even with the small flash built into my camera, that you can hardly even make out the guys on the left side.



This was one WONDERFUL group of people!

 

[Robert Spradley]

WOW!! It takes special people to do this. Both you and Mark are alright in my book. Robert

 

[Staci Matheis]

Robert -



It's all Mark..... You should have seen him in action! He truly has a Heart of Gold! A kinder, more gentle and warm hearted man, you couldn't hope to find! God blessed kids everywhere when he gave them Mark!



me!

 

[Staci Matheis]

P.S.

For those of you who weren't around last year at this time..... When Barb first got her boat, I had offered to help her BREAK it in. Told her I was good at breaking things! We joked on the board for a while about NOT allowing me to drive a boat. I was referring to that in the comment about the picture of John driving Mark's TV-18!



me!

 

[Mark Hofman]

Thanks for the kind words, and wonderful report, Scott! You missed out on some of the conversation Sunday morning after the troop was gone. Everyone really had a good time. One scout had a ball running Gary's trolling motor. Another boy learned what to do when you need "to go" and you're in a boat. But the guys on the committee had the most fun. There are very few things in life that warm a person's soul as much as giving of one's self to another. We shared our love of Scouting and fishing, and received much more in return.



I also learned A-LOT this weekend.



1.) It doesn't help to have a checklist, especially a good one, if you leave it behind. "Take-offs are optional; landings are mandatory". I crashed.



2.) Kids - even disabled ones - can do more than you think, it you given them a chance.



3.) Everyone in the boat gets VERY wet when, in the middle of hole shot, you realize you've left the trolling motor down (there, Scott, I mentioned it so you don't have to!).



4.) When you take Scott fishing, be prepared to be humiliated, and be prepared to have fun.



Thanks for taking the pictures, Scott, and for sharing our adventure with those here. I SHOULD have let you drive. (That Lutheran guilt complex we talked about is weighing heavily upon my soul after seeing the picture of John driving.) But, on second thought, the right to break things on a boat belongs to the owner - - - - and boy, was I trying to break things!

 

[Mark Hofman]

Scott, although we weren't successful in catching anything over a pound, I want you to know that there are bigger fish in that lake. In my member library, there is a photo called "Nims Bass", taken two years ago on this lake. It went about three pounds.

 

[Staci Matheis]

Yeah, yeah, yeah..... Mac 'n Mini have a couple of those rubber fish, too, that they keep under their seats for when they need a photo..... I'm not gonna fall for that old boy scout trick! Right up there with snipe hunts!



me!

 

[Rob LaMoy]

I love taking kids fishing. Especially those with special needs. I am so proud of those kids not letting their challenges be handicaps! I myslef have tourettes, and know first hand how harsh the world can be. That is why I turned to the outdoors with such a passion. Glad to hear you had a good time Scott. Sometimes we need a little reality check like that to make us realize just how good we truly have it. Those kids sound like a ton of fun. Wish we had more interest in such events up around here. Most people just turn the other way.

 

[Staci Matheis]

Ya know, Rob.....



I think I've posted on here a couple of times that I think it would be really neat to have some sort of "National Take A Kid Fishing Day"..... Now that I've had this experience, maybe a "National Take A Special Kid Fishing Day"! Kinda like the Special Olympics!



Can you imagine all the joy that could be brought to the world.....



me!

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Too bad more people don't share that view. I had wanted to take my guide service full time and cater to physically challenged people. A friend of mine Wayne, is in a wheel chair from some muscular disease, but still fishes via a pontoon, and hunts from a van. He is a real inspiration to me. I hear that Ranger, sorry guys, makes a boat that is wheel chair accessible. I thought of a big Tracker pontoon actually. I would need grants, lots of them. Also a Kawasaki Mule for hunting, equipped to handle 2 wheel chairs in the back. The more I looked, the more I realized that there is almost NOTHING out there for these folks. Unfortuantely, I do not have the upfront collateral it would take to get it off the ground at this time. Some day! I remember my unlce who just recently passed away. As a kid, he would hunt from the car, leagal in NY for those confined to a wheelchair. If he shot a deer, he would call us kids to go drag it. After we all grew up and moved or became too busy, he wasn't able to go anymore. That really bothered me. EVERYONE should have the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors. Someday!

 

[Mark Hofman]

Okay, Scott paid me a tremendous compliment here, and I feel like he's only told 50% of the story. He was more willing to jump in and get involved than most people would be. He could have backed out of the weekend, but he didn't, like some of our former committee members have been known to do.



John took a real shine to Scott, joking and kidding with him like a kid would with a favorite uncle. Scott was the one that offered up his tackle when John wanted to switch to something different. He even brought along one of his own spinning rods, and offered it to John who was more used to that type of setup.



The other thing you all need to know is that Scott took A LOT of ribbing from my father-in-law about his Nitro hat (I'll post a photo when I get it scanned), and didn't back down. He even gave a the Nitro hat he wore at last year's Rally to JUSTIN!



I said it in another post. Scott sets a high bar for showing compassion and the best in our humanity. I was privileged to get to know him apart from this board and he is a fine example of a servant-leader.



So, Scott . . . . STOP BEING SO BLOODY HUMBLE! That "It's all Mark stuff is bull patties, and I'm calling you on it! (See, Rachel DOES affect me.) :^)

 

[Staci Matheis]

All I did, Mark, was to put myself in the best possible position to be on the receiving end.....



Thank you for the compliments!



me!

 

[Mark Hofman]

You are most welcome. Here are a couple of additional photos....



(Below) Gary and Skip fish while Mike runs the trolling motor (he REALLY wanted to!). Gary would instruct Mike to "pull up" or "push down" and "go" or "stop". Mike had a ball!

 

[Mark Hofman]

(BELOW)



The three musketeers (MO, Scott and John)

 

[Greg Meyer]

I spent a very happy "career" for 12 years working with Scouts...Den Leader to District Commissioner...Along the way I learned I never did "give" as much as I "got" from working with those kids. Twice I went to Summer Camp with an "Easter Seal" Scout Troop...There has never been a better experience for me...except for maybe delivering a baby in the back seat of my squad car...Trustees had to "clean-up" so I just got the warm fuzzies from that...



You guys will never regret what you do or how much effort it might take...

 

[Staci Matheis]

Greg -



It was no effort..... But, WOW!! It sure was rewarding!



Sign me up now for next year, Mark!



me!

 

[Staci Matheis]

P.S.



Mark, next time we take a picture like that..... BIG guy goes FURTHEST away.... Medium gets the middle..... And little guy gets closest to the camera.



NOT the other way around!



:^)

me!

 

[Mark Hofman]

Hey, all this does is show how FAT I've become!



Finished through-bolting the windshield tonight. Looks okay, and is a heck of a lot stronger than it was originally.



Have a great night everyone.

 

[Ken Neeley]

MO,

You did remeber the Loctite on the screws, right???

 

[Mark Hofman]

Ken:



No. But I only replaced the two outside screws on the passenger side console as a quick fix for this weekend. One bolt is a bit too long, so I will be cutting it down or replacing it on Monday along with the two original screws in front, and all four screws on the driver's console. Since I've got to take it all apart again, I didn't use the Loctite I will when I put it all back together again next week.

 

[Ken Neeley]

Oh man, you're SCREWED again!!!

Call Craig, standard 10% still applies!!!

But seriously, DON'T use Loctite, you'll never get the thing back off, however, get some rubber washers, it will help with windshield chatter.

 

[Mark Hofman]

Ken:



HA! Hooked AGAIN!!!!



Tug..Tug..Pull...Dive....Pull...Tail Walk....SHAKE, SHAKE,....There! I'm loose!)



Seriously, though, I was thinking about dabbling a bit of silicone around the threads behind the lock nut I used just to keep it from vibrating loose. The standard rubber insulators were just small enough that the bolt expanded them as it went through. The windshield squeaks a bit when you move it, but it doesn't chatter at all.

 

[Ken Neeley]

Cool, glad you got her handled...by the way, nice pic's and nice work, although we've never met yet, I'm proud to know you!!!

 

[Mark Hofman]

I don't know if I've mentioned this or not, but I was in Detroit last December 1st and 2nd for work. I stopped by your store and wandered around for about a half an hour before it closed on Saturday night. Saw the TV18 up on a stand in the corner (like it was being launched through the roof), rapped on the side of a white Tundra, and had several staff people ask me if I needed help. (I always need help, but I wasn't looking to buy anything since I couldn't carry what I wanted back on the plane with me!)



I've been in the BPS stores in Houston, Nashville, Springfield, and St. Louis. Yours is very well laid out and had a very friendly staff.



I'll probably be back up there the first weekend in December again this year. I'll let you know for sure as it gets closer, and I'll spring for a couple of Coronas.

 

[Ken Neeley]

You got it...looking forward to it and thanx for the comments.