A Question of Courage by Nell M Berry

Emerging Courageous Online Magazine - Stories

A Question of Courage by Nell M Berry

My husband loves to fish and duck hunt. He will go fishing or duck hunting regardless

of weather.

He hasn’t changed, as far as his love of fishing and duck hunting, in the 53 years we have been married. However, Lou has changed his priorities. He goes to Church on Sundays and any other day or night of the week there is Church and anything related to Church. Two heart attacks, one only four years ago, which resulted in triple by/pass surgery, hasn’t slowed him down, as far as fishing and hunting. He has slowed down to a degree, in the sense that he is physically unable to do some things because of his arthritis. But it hasn’t stopped him from doing what he loves and thinks he must do.

I suppose it’s forward to boast about my husband. Of course, without God we are nothing. But I am very proud of my husband. I am not going to lie and say we never have an argument, we are human. However, that does not keep me from being proud of him.

Lou has a weakness for young people. He will go out of his way to be helpful and kind to them. Just a couple of weeks ago, he volunteered as a counselor at the Baptist youth camp. There was one little fellow he developed a soft spot for. This little guy’s name was Jabez, unusual to say the least. That is what drew Lou’s attention at first. But then he just really got attached to him because of his sweet nature. He is still talking about Jabez.

A few winters ago, Lou got acquainted with a couple of the young men at Church, I think at that time they were 13 and 14. They were cousins and Lou took a great liking to them. So, after asking them if they liked hunting ducks, he asked their parents if he could take them duck hunting with him. Since I am not crazy about the idea of his going out on the lake alone, I was thrilled that he had someone to accompany him.

For several years he took them both duck hunting with him and they really enjoyed themselves. They helped him carry his gun and his duck decoys and he would have a treat for them, such as hot chocolate that he heated on an oil heater he had for the duck blind. Well, I guess that was the best time of his life, except when he used to take his own sons duck hunting.

Last winter was a trying time for Lou. One day in December, the 20^th to be exact, he was with a young fellow who had asked him to go duck hunting with him. As they were coming back in, they had pulled the boat out of the water and were getting ready to leave, and my husband heard a faint cry for help. He did not know at the time what it was. But after he listened and told his companion to listen, they both decided it was someone crying out for help.

Since they had just about gotten the boat ready to leave, they had to put it back in the water and go out again in the direction of the cry for help and began looking. They couldn’t find anyone. They kept looking and the wind was blowing pretty hard, so it was difficult to hear. My husband is pretty hard of hearing anyway. But the other fellow heard it and they looked over towards what turned out to be a capsized boat. At first, they couldn’t tell it was anything but a stump. Then they saw a hand come up and heard the faint cry again.

There, hanging onto his capsized boat by his fingernails, was a fellow who would not have lasted another fifteen minutes, had they not found him. They had to physically pull him into their boat, because he was so weak, he could not help them. Finally they got him into the boat and took him back to the boat ramp. When they pulled the boat out and got him out of the boat, he was so weak he could not walk alone. He was extremely cold, from being in the cold water. They had to strip him down to his underwear and put the heater on in his truck and they waited till he was alright. Then they left.

They never even thought to get his name. But I am quite sure this young man would be the first to tell you, he had experienced an act of courage.

Lou came home from that duck hunting experience and we were about to eat supper later, when the phone rang. It was dusk and the sun had just slipped below the horizon. Lou answered the phone. I could hear someone on the other end of the line screaming into the phone. It was our neighbor Jeannie. “Lou, could you come QUICK, I can’t get Larry to answer me”.

Her husband, Larry had been deer hunting on their neighbor’s property. She watched him drive slowly from his deer stand to their house. He drove up the incline in front of their house and never got out of the truck, motor still running.

Well Lou, hurried over there and tried to arouse Larry. He tried giving him CPR. But it was no use. Jeannie called 911, but the EMT with the ambulance told my husband Larry was already gone when he drove into the driveway.

It truly affected Lou. He and Larry had gotten to be quite good friends. Now, all he could do was remember his friend, walking across our yard, shirttail flapping in the breeze, just to talk or for some advice on a woodworking project. Larry made his living doing wood crafts.

That experience taught Lou the value of friendship.

Nell Berry 8-1-2003

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A few words about myself.

I am a 72 year old mother of four, grandmother of nine. My husband and I have been married 53 years. He is retired from his own business of maintenance construction.

I love to sew, crochet, cook, and write poems/song lyrics and just recently began writing short stories. I am also involved in a ministry called Children of The Heart ministry. They have a web site which has two of my poems posted on the poetry page. www.childrenoftheheart.com . I crochet baby blankets for them to give out to mothers to be who are considering abortion as an incentive not to have an abortion.

I also edit an online devotional called God Today Devotions.

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