Deep in the heart of Nantahalah National Forest light gave way to darkness as night fell on the Heart of a Sportsman fishing camp. As the temperature dropped you could literally hear the music from the movie Deliverance being plucked out on a banjo by our buddy (and comedian) Bruce LaRue. There we were (Mark Ridenhour, Shane Brock, Kevin Simon, Nick Jones, Bruce LaRue and me) sitting by the campfire warming our hands on the first ever HOS Trout Fishing Adventure Trip along Snow Bird Creek. And it was just that: an ADVENTURE. Colder than anticipated temperatures, rain on the first day, hard to find camp sites, blown out tires, monster trout, improvising to cook (because someone forgot to bring the cooking stuff), leaky waders, slipping on rocks and falling in the stream, and meeting some really cool folks made for an interesting time to say the least.
We caught lots of trout and some were enormous. Mark and Shane literally put on a fishing clinic on Friday evening and Saturday morning. We definitely ate better because of them. After a morning of hard fishing on Saturday we were returning to camp for lunch and a tire blew out on LaRue’s vehicle, right there in the middle of Wilderness, USA. We knew that we had to get something done, because we had rough roads to cross, a 4-hour drive home, and tomorrow was Sunday and nothing would be open. Bruce and I set out for town and quickly found out that everything shuts down after lunch on Saturday in Graham County. We limped into town and found a place called Ellers Service Station. The mechanic looked everywhere, made calls and tried everything he could to find the right size tire but to no avail. Now, we were on our way on the “doughnut tire” through the mountains to another town nearly 40 minutes away. I’ll admit I was a little worried, especially when the axle started making this crazy banging noise every half mile. We decided to turn around and eventually found our way back to Ellers on our literal last leg. Thankfully the store was still open and a quest was started by the mechanics to get us back on track. Here’s where the story takes an unusual twist. We were desperate. Vulnerable. Between a rock and a hard spot you might say. The mechanic knew this and we held our breath as we waited to hear the damage (to the pocket book). But, instead of taking advantage of our misfortune, the mechanic worked tirelessly to try to save Bruce money. At one point we even heard the guys talking about “stealing” a used tire from the lot of someone else down the road just to get us on our way. Finally, they figured out how to get us on our way safely. While we were waiting on the work to get done, a very nice older man came in and we struck up a conversation. He noticed the shirts we were wearing that donned the HOS logo and after a while he asked us what church we were affiliated with. We told him and we talked for a while and with tears in his eye he asked us to pray for his daughter, “Cookie”, a 37 year old with 2 kids who has terminal cancer. Wow! We thought we were having a bad day. Bruce summed it up great on the drive home when he said that that man’s story really puts things in perspective. It sure does. Our situation didn’t even compare.
Bruce said another thing that will always stick in my mind on the winding ride back to camp. He said that he’s found in his 51 years of life that a good philosophy to live by is to “make the most of the best and the least of the worst.” On this trip we had done just that. We caught lots of fish and we ate ‘em, and they were good. We had some bad stuff happen, but put into perspective, they were opportunities to meet new people and have an experience of kindness that restores your faith in humanity.
As the fire popped and crackled on our last night in camp, we talked about the events of this “adventure” and the adventure called life. We talked about the trials of life and read from Philippians, which incidentally was written by Paul who was experiencing a trail of his own by being unjustly imprisoned. It was nice. When I zipped up my sleeping bag and was serenaded by the rushing trout stream, I thought of “Deliverance” again, but this time, without the banjo music, but to the tune of God’s grace. Thank God tonight for what he has given you, especially His son Jesus. Also, pray for Cookie and that she is delivered from the grip of cancer. God is an awesome God!
“For you, O Lord, have delivered
my soul from death, my eyes from
tears, my feet from stumbling, that I
may walk before the Lord in the land
of the living.” Psalm 116
Jeremy B. Harrill
