Article 4: What a Family Outing Looks Like in my Hometown

By Chadwin Scatch

It was a foggy and chilly morning; the leaves were nicely green and the air was ripe for breathing. Summer had just started and it was hard not to be outside with a cold beer. Today was the day the family and I would go for a camping trip to the nearby island, Colert Island. I woke the two boys up while Lewez got breakfast and lunch ready. Everything was packed and all we had to do was hit the road to get to the nearby dock. Finding self-motivation to do things was always a problem, but not today. It was going to be great to be with the entire family. This weekend was going to be a new experience and the time of our lives.

After indulging in chocolate chip pancakes and coffee, we jumped into the station wagon to hit the road. It was thirty minutes to drive across town to get to the nearby port where the new boat was. Talon was anxious to see the boat in the open water for the first time. The boat was a 1987 Tayana and it was a rather a pricey craft. Caught in the moment, I hit a bump on the dusty road that had the car hop up a little, making Niyl kind of get-a-big-surge being in the back. He sprang up a little almost hitting his head on the ceiling. “Whoa” he wailed out, “that was big pothole Pops next time take it down a notch.” I then sped up a little just to make it seem to be a little dangerous, “Sorry, son, we got lots of fun to have in a short amount of time.”

Pulling in to the parking space, everyone unbuckled and unsettled from their seats to get out of the car. The day was sunny and hardly had clouds out, which was a beautiful condition for our trip. I unloaded the car and hauled the stuff over to the ship to launch off the harbour into the bay. Lewez was in awe of the boat and loved the smell that drifted off her face into the breeze behind her. There wasn’t a moment wasted we sailed west and headed to the Island to get started on setting up the camp. Colert Island was only a two-hour boat ride away, so on the way we stopped to toss a couple lines into the lake in hopes of catching a few fish to fry later. Talon ended up catching two decent sized fish, and I caught one that looked rather small so I threw it back, in spite of how much I like fish fries.

Traveling the rest of the way to Colert Island was blissful and went by in a quick instant. We arrived at the dock that was there since the beginning of Brill Town. It was always a nice getaway place for people who wanted to camp with their family and enjoy nature. I hadn’t brought the boys here since they were much younger and they had the best time. In about fifteen minutes, I got finished setting up the camp in this nice area by the lake with the boat in a seeing distance. There were no other people around, which was not surprising since not many people camp from town. Lunching with my family had me full and ready to go for a hike up the hill to see the secret waterfall. The boys were not as excited as I had imagined, but it was good to see them spending time with the old man. “Time is a precious thing,” I have mentioned to the boys lots of times. “Cherish it at every moment, care for it and use it wisely.”

Approaching the waterfall from far, we could see the water sparkling in the sunlight and hear birds singing songs. Something funny happened: Niyl and Talon started to race towards it in anticipation to swim. I smiled and got warm-hearted as the kid in wanted to run, too. My wife and I cracked a beer when we got to the waterfall, then sat down to relax. The boys sat in the water as if it was a hot tub in a hotel watching the waterfall trickle close by. Niyl swam to see the other side of the waterfall to see how deep it was and Talon went under it. I got a little romance time with Lewez, till I heard Niyl shouting from the top of the waterfall loudly. I looked up and before I knew it, he was off the cliff and heading into the water feet first. Lewez screamed while I watched and he disappeared, he didn’t come up. My heart dropped and I started swimming faster than Michael Phelps going for Gold.

When I was swimming to him, I didn’t know if he was dead or not; my heart was beating really fast. I dived into the water fearlessly, not caring if I might drown without breathing first. I found he was stuck between rocks, unharmed, and I pulled him out as carefully and quickly as possible. Talon and Lewez were panicking, checking if he was breathing as soon as I got him out. I ignored them; my mind was on saving him. I did the chest compressions, trying my hardest to get him back to life. Struggling to get him to breathe, after thirty chest compressions I got scared. Drained of energy, I did it again with mouth to mouth. Finally, he regurgitated the water from his lungs, dazed and confused over what just occurred in the little amount of time. Happy to see him alive, Talon made a joke and it made Niyl laugh, causing him to cough. We all hugged him to celebrate the mere luck of his surviving and being able to laugh about jokes. Still kind of crying, Lewez kissed me, saying “you saved him, love.”

Walking away from the waterfall, I asked Niyl what happened; he answered “the water knocked me out I guess that’s it.” I kind of glanced at him and told him the way I found him. Getting back to where we camped, I was exhausted and wanted Niyl to rest from his near-death experience. In my head, then out loud, the words came out of my mouth, “Maybe next time be careful not to jump into the death; tomorrow maybe there won’t be another chance.” “Time is ours for now, and it’s important to be living in the present. There are lots of lessons from the time we spend together and what it has to offer.”

I cooked supper for the family, fish, meat, beans, rice, corn and potatoes. I made a fire by the tents and got everyone tea before we talked about a trip we would never forget. This weekend was not going outstanding so far, but we did have the scariest time of our lives, making us appreciate our time together much more. The trip was what you could say, a typical family trip in my hometown. There’s lots of fun and even more troubles than you expect that come along with hazards of the great outdoors.

About the author: Chadwin Scatch lives in Norway House, Manitoba. He is currently enrolled in the 3 year Bachelor of Arts Program at the University College of The North. His interests are Environmental Science, Writing, and Criminal Justice.

Instructor’s remark: Chadwin Scatch contributes regularly in my first-year course, Composition and Rhetoric (ENG 1002). Though a scheduling conflict keeps him from attending an hour of class time, Chadwin shows his determination to succeed by taking on writing projects during my office hours, instead (Dr. Carolyn Creed).