The Amazing Fishing Trip

The sun couldn't set fast enough for George. After putting in a hard days work, helping his father set tobacco plants, he was going down by the river to camp and fish. Fishing was one of his favorite things to do. With so much work to do on the farm he rarely had the time to go.
George lives in Buckeye, Kentucky. A small farming community, nestled among the rolling hills in the central part of the state. The layout of the land would make an Irishman feel at home. With its limestone rich land and rock fences, some of them erected in the early 1800's.
George is just like all the young boys in this part of the state. They are all needed to help out with the family farm. They work with livestock which consist of cattle, chickens and hogs. They also work with crops. Such as, tobacco, corn and hay. They are also expected to work in the family garden. To get a break in all the work was rare. George wasn't about to let it go waste.
When his father and himself finished up for the day, he went straight home, ate supper and prepared to go fishing. He ran out to the barn, found a shovel and made his way to the ditch line directly behind the barn. The ditch line stayed damp and he knew this was a good place to find night crawlers for bait. After finding enough bait, he then packed up his tent and sleeping bag, put together a snack and grabbed his cane pole.
Now no young boy can go through life without a best friend and what better best friend than a good dog. Thats just what George had, a dog name King. He was not any kind of full breed, he was more of a mutt. With a black and white face, black stocking feet, with a black and white speckled body. Just as always, as soon as King seen the cane pole, he made a bee line toward George. George wouldn't have it any other way. He always welcomed King to keep him company. He would pal around with him as if he was a human companion. King loved these trips as much as George did. So off to the river.
It was a short distance to the river, no more than a five minute walk from the farmhouse. Despite the short distance, King and George never made the trip in less than thirty minutes. There would always be a squirrel to tree or a rabbit to chase along the way. As well as a lizard or two and sometimes a frog to play with. Don't forget the fireflies this time of year. Sometimes he would take a fruit jar with him. He would poke some holes in the lid to let air in and put fireflies in to make a homemade lamp.
After all the fun along the way, they finally made it to the river. George had a favorite place to fish. It was under a willow tree with long drooping limbs that not only provided shelter from the elements but also provided a nice cool nesting area for the fish during the day. This was a perfect place to drop in a line and catch some fish to take home.
After unpacking his gear, King and George set out to find some firewood to burn in the campfire.
Finally finding ample wood and kindling to start a fire, they made their way back to the willow tree to set up camp.
With a fire started and his tent put up,it was time to do some fishing.
George baited his hook with the biggest night crawler he could find, cast his line out and set back waiting for a fish to take the bait. Now this was a team effort for George and King. They would both sit patiently and watch the line for a sign that they had a fish ready to pull in. They were old pros at this. They knew better than to pull in the line at the first sign of a fish taking the bait. When a fish first starts to nibble at the bait the line will move, causing the water around it to ripple just like dropping a small pebble in the water. This is a sign to get ready to pull it in. After seeing this, you have to wait for the line to actually go a little deeper in the water causing your pole to droop. This is a sign that he has taken the bait and is running for deeper waters. Then you give a gentle tug on the line. Not to hard though or you will break the line. The key is to tug just hard enough to set the hook. King knew just when it was time to set the hook. He would bark and jump around fiercely to get the attention of George. George so loved to watch King have a good time. King, also, liked George having fun. They were such good fishing partners.
A couple of hours has passed by and they have caught enough fish for the whole family to get together and have a fish fry. Just the thought of eating the fish made Georges tongue slap his brain out. He could see his mom rolling out her famous hush puppies, frying some potatoes and throwing together a big bowl of cole slaw. Umm...Umm...Good. He could hardly wait.
By this time they were getting hungry. He opened up his lunch sack and pulled out the sandwiches that his mom had made him. Along with a few apples he took from a tree he found on his way. He tore the sandwiches in half and shared them with King. King didn' t care to much for the apples, so he let George have them.
After getting their bellies full they decided they would do some more fishing. This time, however, the fish weren't biting.
With the combination of a full meal, no fish biting and the warmth of the fire they began to get sleepy.
George was trying his best to stay awake and his mind started wandering. He began thinking about a book he had seen at school about deep sea fishing. He remembers reading about how a person could rent a boat for a whole day and take it out to sea to do some serious fishing. He thought how nice it would be for his family to do that some day. Then he got to thinking about how the only time they ever left the county was to go up north to Lexington to the livestock sales or to take their tobacco to market. His mother and father would love to take such a trip, it was just that times were hard and it took what money they had to get by. They would never be able to afford such a trip.
By this time King had fallen to sleep. He was in a deep sleep. George knew this by watching Kings legs jerk in a running motion. He was obviously chasing a rabbit in his dreams. Dogs will do that from time to time.
Soon after George began to drift off to sleep. He was still thinking about how much he would like to go deep sea fishing when he began to nod off to sleep.
The next thing he knew he was sitting in a great big padded seat fastened to what looked like a wooden planked floor. He slowly look around and seen he was on a ship. "A real ship!" he excitedly thought to himself. The ship was not his alone, for about the ship were other children his age, sitting in the same type of seats. He looked up from the seat and in his hands was a great big rod and reel. The kind he had read about in the book at school. The rod and reel was resting against some metal railing. He leaned up and peered over the railing. He couldn't believe his eyes. Stretched out in front of him,as far as his eyes could see, was a vast body of water.
He rubbed his eyes from disbelief, glanced down to see if King was still there. King was still at his side and sitting quietly as if nothing was wrong. George spoke, "King, where are we and how did we get here?"
King just glanced up at him and barked, acknowledging Georges voice. Just then, King took off running across the deck of the ship. George bolted up from the seat, as if he had been kicked out of it and chased after King. He followed King into a cabin on the ship.
Upon entering the cabin, he discovered an elderly man petting King about the head.
"What a beautiful dog." said the elderly man. "I bet he's smart, too. Is he yours?", he said looking up to George."May I ask his name?"
"His name is King and he is the smartest dog in the world" said George confessing his pride in King. "My name is George. But who are you?"
"Young man let me introduce myself, my name is Captain Murphy. I would like to welcome King and yourself aboard the USS Dreamboat." replied the elderly gentleman.
"Sir, I hope you don't think I am being unappreciative but can you explain to me how I got here?" asked George.
With laughter in his voice Captain Murphy replied, "I suppose all this is strange to you. My dear boy, you have yourself to thank for being here."
"How do you mean?", said George with a puzzling tone in his voice.
"You so wanted to fish in the open waters of the sea that you let your imagination bring you here. All the children you see here on this ship arrived here the same way you did, through their imagination. An imagination is a beautiful thing to have.", replied the captain. "I would not even exist if not for you and the children imagining me. For that, I owe you a world of thanks."
"You mean I can do anything I wish to do through my imagination?", asked George.
"You are only limited by your own mind.", he said. "Now I have to go see about my ship but before you go, I noticed that King hasn't got a collar." Reaching in his rear pocket, he pulled out a red bandanna and tied it loosely around Kings neck. He then said,"Be sure to come back any time you like." Then he showed George to the door and exited the cabin.
"Thank you", replied George,"I will be sure to return."
After exiting the cabin George returned to his seat with King beside him. Upon sitting in the seat, he was splashed in the face with a mist of water from a wave hitting against the ship. He put his hands upon his face to wipe it dry. When he removed his hands, he was no longer on the ship. Instead he was back under the willow tree. Apparently, he had fallen asleep. "Wow!! What a dream.", he thought to himself. He then reached down to pet King and to his amazement he found a red bandanna around his dogs neck. "Could it be? Was I really there?, he began to question himself.
He quickly put out the fire, gathered his gear and fish. Then he hurried back home.
Upon reaching home, he dropped all his stuff near the rear door and ran inside while King headed off to the barn.
By this time, his mother was out of bed preparing breakfast.
"Mom, you would not believe the dream I had last night!, said George.
"George, I'm glad you had a good time. You can tell me about your dream shortly. Breakfast is almost ready. Why don't you go out to help your father finish the morning chores, so we can all sit down and eat together?, his mother asked of him.
"Alright,Mom.", replied George.
George went out to the barn to find his father. Upon entering the barn he found his father on his knees next to King. His father pointed out the red bandanna and asked, "George, where did this bandanna come from?"
George told his father of how he dreamed of fishing on a great big ship and how a kind captain had given King the bandanna as a collar. When he awoke the collar was on his neck. "Dad, you should have seen this ship. It was the USS Dreamboat and the captains name was...."
Before he could finish the sentence his father asked, " George, was his name Captain Murphy?
"Dad, how did you know?", George said with amazement.
Just then, his father went to an old chest which he had in the barn, opened a drawer and pulled out an old tattered red bandanna. Turning with the bandanna in his hand and showing it to his son he replied," Because Captain Murphy gave my dog a red bandanna when I was your age, too."
He then reached down, hugged his son. "George, I am so pleased that you got to experience that too.", he said with a grin on his face and a tear in his eye.
"You, too, Dad? asked George.
"Yes, son. Me, too."
"Will I ever see him again?, asked George.
"As long as you believe, you will continue seeing him. I still see him in my dreams from time to time. It doesn't matter how old you get, son. You will always have a little boy hiding somewhere and you will always go back in your mind to these days in your life.", said his father.
Upon saying that, he then put his arm around his son and they walked toward the house for breakfast. They kept this to themselves, never revealing their secret to anyone. This would be the one thing that a father and son would share together.
Later that night, when George fell asleep, he seen Captain Murphy again. Only, this time his father was there with him. Captain Murphy was between them, with his hand upon each of their shoulders.