[Cover Photo by Victor Van Weldon on Unsplash]
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When I was around twelve, Kevin Kimsey and I were coming back from a motorcycle ride in the woods when we saw an older man near the creek fishing. We parked the bike at his grandma’s house and walked down to the creek to see if he was having any luck. Kevin knew the older man (we’ll call him John), so we spent some time hanging out with him and discussing good lures and spots to try along the creek. We were walking along when John decided to cast across a spot and see what he could do.
I’d been walking right in front of John and talking with him and Kevin was just at his side and behind him. He should have been generally aware of where we were. I often joke with others when I’m fishing about the fact that I have no history of hooking people – and it comes from somewhere. He whipped his rod backwards (I was well out of the way of the rod) and his lure and line looped around behind his swing. John’s lure hit me in the cheek and partially hooked my face just under my eye.
You might wonder if this story is about me being careless, but I was not in the path of his swing and I hadn’t suddenly walked up to him. Further, you might want to blame John and he certainly should have been more aware of what he was doing swinging a rod with hooks on it around two young boys 11 to 12 years old. However, this story is about the situational awareness — of Kevin.
We can all imagine how badly this story could have turned if John had whipped that rod on out and the line and lure followed. The lure could have placed a permanent scar on my cheeks. It could have run upwards and hit my eye with severe consequences. If Kevin had grabbed at the lure it could have been driven into his hands and may have still gotten me and my face badly. If Kevin had grabbed at John’s arm, it may have been too late or it may have just altered John’s swing.
How did he do it? Keving made the absolutely perfect decision. I used to read a comic book about a super hero with a unique power. He had the ability to mentally evaluate in tenths of a second all the possible outcomes of an action when responding to a crisis. So, he could always choose the best action with the best outcome based on the circumstance he was under. Kevin had that power on that day.
I’ve had the advantage of having years to think about it and I can’t think of a much better response than the one Kevin used that day. John’s lure had just hit me in the face; I was stunned and recoiling with a lure in my face. I was starting to reach for the line as John was not immediately near me or looking at me when Kevin’s arm shot up. John went to whip the rod out for a cast and it locked up… in Kevin’s grasp. Kevin had grabbed the last foot or so of the rod and held it firmly. The line didn’t go out, the lure didn’t even feel any pull from the line.
John whipped around wanting to fuss at Kevin, thinking maybe Kevin was playing a prank. Then, he saw what had happened. He stopped, carefully removed the hook and lure from my cheek and praised Kevin. I don’t know that my parents or Kevin’s ever knew the event occurred, but I’m very thankful for his very, very smart choice. It was amazing situational decision making for anyone.
I do always watch where I’m casting, when I fish. I watch beside me, I watch behind me and I watch where I’m going. I’ll cast into trees and bushes near the water, mind you, but I’m doing that intentionally. I try to get into and near as possible to the tightest spots where I think fish are hiding. No one is going to cast perfectly every time, but I’m thankful that I’ve never caught any person with a hook. A little situational awareness (looking back, around and forward) will go a long ways.
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Click here for the next Turtletown adventure: Tales from Turtletown #5: Little Brothers and Motorcycles
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