Pearlie

As a young child, fishing and camping were normal weekend events in our family. Camping always kept my full attention. Boating, swimming, and late night campfires with the ones you love were the most memorable experiences that I had. Fishing was never a high interest of mine at that time.

Now that I am older with children of my own, I have a different outlook on many different things. A friend of mine called me and asked if I wanted to go on a fishing trip with the guys. The trip was at Lake Erie and I had never been there. All of my fishing trips consisted of rivers, reservoirs, and small man-made lakes. I met my friend and we continued to the nearest bait store for our fishing license and of course, bait.

What I did not expect was,.. I was about to have the ultimate fishing experience of my lifetime along with getting in touch with my inner spirituality. The experience was one in which I will never forget for the rest of my entire life. I stepped onto the boat and felt anxious to get out onto the water. Once the boat was out and moving through the channel, anxiety was still going through my body. Then, there it was. The wide open, beautiful Lake Erie. As the boat began to get up to a high speed, the feeling that I had just being on this huge body of water was indescribable. I felt a calmness run over me. The wind running through my hair and the smell of the outdoors over a body of water had made the Indian in me feel the spiritual sensation.

As the boat came to it's destination, all the fishing poles were set out. The boat began trolling. The whole entire party on the boat had caught fish after fish. Walleyes, perch, and bass. The boat stayed out for ten hours. The whole time that I was out there with the sun just beaming down on my body, I felt like nothing else in the world existed at that time. There were no worries, crime, work, children, or anything else that goes on in our everyday lives. It was simply breathtaking.