olcaptain
Senior Member
As the tall man eased his almost 70-year-old, 290-pound frame into his beloved 17 ft canoe an almost instant transformation began to take place. Even though his right shoulder ached at night and his knees were unforgiving, after a few pulls of the paddle he slipped into his “tending like” mode. As a child, the kids over the fence in his neighborhood would pretend that their Swingset was a Rocket Ship. The Rocket Ship might then become a Covered Wagon heading west or a famous train like the Silver Meteor heading up the Eastern Seaboard. These kids never “pretended.” They “tended like.” For instance, they might say “Let’s tend like we are riding this train all the way to Washington DC.”
The tall man also loved to tend like. Today he might be Lewis and/or Clark. Tomorrow he may be the Last of the Mohicans or Pasquinel from the Centennial Series. But in either case at least for an hour or two the years, the pain, and the pounds seemed to temporarily disappear. One of the highlights of the old man’s week was running his Trail Cameras on Crooked Creek. Each camera was strategically placed where animals had come and gone and where the man could get to them without having to pull his long and now large frame out of the canoe. Growing up in the city didn’t give this man an opportunity to see a lot of wildlife so when he “tends like” a Bobcat is a Leopard or a Lion on the Serengeti he hopes you’ll understand. Can an Otter really become a Wolverine? Can a Beaver transform into a small Buffalo? Can a Whitetail Deer really become an Antelope?
As you look at today’s Crooked Creek Critters why not relax and tend like you are on board with the Ol Captain slipping silently up the Nile. If you are fortunate, you may see a Crocodile or a Hippo. But be warned. You won’t see much out of the ordinary if you are not willing to “tend like” a little bit yourself!
