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A Wish Come True
By: Roger Lee Brown The Bass Coach
A few weeks ago in the late afternoon while
I was re-spooling one of my fishing reels my wife had yelled down to me in
the cellar and said that I had a phone call. Right in the middle of my
winding I had asked her who was on the phone to which she responded, “I
think you’d better get this call.”
So I stopped what I was doing and
picked up the phone and said hello. The voice on the other end of the
phone introduced herself as Cheryl from the “Make A Wish Foundation,” she
then proceeded to ask me if I was the Bass Coach?, to which I responded
yes!... She then asked if I was the person that had the bass fishing
school and a bass charter service located up in the Lake Champlain region
in upstate New York, to which I again said yes!... I was thinking to
myself (kind of dumbfounded) and was wondering why she would be calling
me, so I asked what I could do for her. Cheryl then told me that a 17 year
old boy by the name of Jared who presently resides in Michigan had made a
wish. Now, I had heard of the Make-A-Wish-Foundation in the past and even
donated to it’s foundation but I wasn’t sure how the foundation really
functioned, I just knew that they had helped people with terminal
illnesses make their wishes come true, but when Cheryl had told me that
Jared specifically requested that he wanted to meet me in person, and
especially that he wanted me personally to teach him how to fish for bass
I was speechless… I then thought to myself for a moment wow!, what an
honor, Cheryl said that this young man (17 years young) had been diagnosed
with a terminal illness called “Leukemia”, and of anywhere in the whole
world he could have choose to visit, or of anybody that he could have
wanted to meet or see, he just wanted to meet me personally and to have me
teach him how to fish for bass. I never in my wildest dreams expected an
honor such as this one.
After the Make-A-Wish Foundation and I had set up a time slot that was
open on my calendar and scheduled Jared and his father to attend my 3-Day
“On-Water” Bass Fishing School, much to my surprise, not only was Jared
and his father coming to the Lake Champlain area, but the Make-A-Wish
Foundation made it possible for Jared’s whole family to come with along
with them and visit the Lake Champlain, NY area during the period when the
school would be scheduled. The more I was learning about this foundation
the more impressed I got in finding out what they were doing for the
unfortunate people suffering from all the many different terminal
illnesses. This Make-A-Wish Foundation is truly great! All of my life I
have donated to charities of different natures but after dealing with this
foundation I feel that it’s a true “second-to-none” organization that
really supports its cause. Anyway, while helping with lodging
accommodations I had suggested to Cheryl that a Bed & Breakfast
establishment would be a great idea for Jared and his family to stay at
because they would have the old “Home-Town” hospitality that would make
their stay more comfortable, and she agreed. When the reservations were
made, the lodging was reserved at the Crown Point Bed and Breakfast which
was only a minute from Lake Champlain and about 10 minutes from Lake
George (which being the two lakes that I teach on), and just minutes away
from Lake Placid (NY), Burlington, VT., Rutland, VT., and Fort Ticonderoga
which is located in the Town of Ticonderoga, NY. This gave Jared’s family
a chance to visit the many different areas here in the famous Adirondak
Mountains as well as a chance for Jared and his father to enjoy the
different places after the finish of each “On-water” school day.
When the first day of the school started, I picked up Jared and his father
(Ron) at the bed and breakfast where they were staying. After meeting them
for the first time, the first impression I got from Jared was a good one.
He was a tall, slim, good looking boy with a great personality. As the
three days had so quickly moved on, while spending time with Jared and his
father I couldn’t help but from getting attached to them. We had so much
fun fishing together especially while catching several bass each day that
we had spent on the water. Just being able to teach them how to use so
many different baits that they’d never used before and consistently
catching bass with them, we all had a great time. Jared and Ron didn’t
realize that there were different types of baits that caught mostly big
bass while other types of baits caught smaller ones (especially in
numbers.) Jared used to fish with his grandfather off and on through the
years while growing up, but now his father had a chance to learn not only
how to catch bass, but how to spend more quality time with his son fishing
together as a family should. During these three days, Jared and his father
not only learned how to fish for bass, but they learned how to enjoy each
other just spending time doing something they now had in common.
When the last day approached I was starting to feel a deep kind of sorrow
for Jared because I knew that I probably wouldn’t have a chance to see him
again. The little time that I had spent with Jared, I found him to be an
amazing seventeen year old boy with a positive attitude in just about
everything that he talked about. I don’t know if most of us wouldn’t just
pity ourselves if we were in Jared’s situation or not, but I do know now
what strength, love, caring, and having friends and family is all about. I
know the Lord has reasons for everything that he does, and I’m sure that
he had a reason for Jared’s condition, but, I would gladly trade places
with him if I could. I just want Jared and his father to know that I’ll
always hold a place in my heart for them and that my prayers will be with
them always.
Lastly, I want to thank the Make-A-Wish Foundation once again for all that
they have done for Jared and his family. It’s organizations like this one
that truly make wishes come true! Please, help in supporting this
foundation because they are truly for real.
http://www.wish.org/
Until next time….. Take care & God Bless!... “The Bass Coach”..Roger Lee
brown www.capital.net/~rlbrown and www.fishing-boating.com/basscoach or
you can email me at: rlbrown@capital.net or call me at (518) 597-4240 |