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Authored By Michael M. Michaelson © October, 2001 |
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Something Lost and Something Found |
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They were married in August of '92 after a lengthy courtship which began on a community camping trip. It took Jed some two years to get his life together well enough to finally propose to Nellie, his beloved. Jed was earnest to show the love of his life his willingness to sacrifice everything to win her heart. And so decided to sell off his distant mountain cabin and move closer into town and of course, nearer to his Nellie. Soon time took its course and Jed bought his special Gal one of the finest wedding rings the jeweler had to offer. The wedding was a casual affair, most of the town folks of Bend Oregon attended and they settled in for a good home town life. It was on their honeymoon that the first stage of this story was set into motion. The young couple decided to rent a cabin at Pauline Lake, a wonderful lake, set high into the depths of an extinct volcano crater not to far from home. |
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It was the third peaceful day while fishing a deep cove on the east side of the lake that the bride Nellie hooked into a good one. Her pole bent nearly into the water and her line spun out like there was a jumping lamb on the end of it. They were both outdoor people and enjoyed the thrill of a good catch and this certainly seemed to be just that. After letting the fish have its way for a few minutes, Nellie slowly put pressure to the line and carefully reeled the flashing whopper in. The day was bright and blue and the water was so clear that you could nearly see the bottom at forty feet. Yet they were fishing in a deep rocky area and it took a good while before she could see that for sure, she had a real nice fish, it had to be a good 20 inches long! |
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Jed just set back and watched his beautiful bride work her fish and casually kept an eye on his own pole as Nellie skillfully worked her fish up towards the boat. Then in a rushing fury, the clear surface was suddenly splashed open when the fighting fish leaped into the air as if showing its beauty, its strength and its desire to break itself free. However Nellie was in no hurry and in another ten minutes she had skillfully worked the fighting thrasher into netting range pulling it near to the edge of the boat. Jed was up and moving into position to take over but with a soft jester she waved her husbands help away. While holding her pole up with one hand Nellie expertly reached down with the net to carefully slip it under the "Beauty of a Fish" and make the catch! Well, this is where it happened! Suddenly without realizing it, Nellie's wedding ring had worked its way off her finger and while she was reaching for the fish with the net, she saw with her own eyes that moment of horror flash in front of her life…as her ring slipped off her finger and fell into the clear waters. For that moment everything stood still, even the huge fish had seemingly stopped. The fish was a foot from the net, the line was taught, the ring was suspended in its fall to the water and Nellie's eyes were locked in an unbelievable gaze. Only for that single moment was time suspended, then it suddenly roared back into its full movement and the ring hit the water. Now of course, Nellie dropped the pole trying to reach the ring before it sank below the surface out of reach, but now something else took place. Jed was leaning over the side gazing down in shock at this incredible moment. Then, at the same time the fish itself seemed to lock its eyes onto the shiny ring and in a flash of a second it simply opened its huge mouth and swallowed the sinking ring. All hope vanished from Jed's heart but in a moment of quick thinking Nellie reached for the last hope. In a flash she grabbed her pole back and frantically began reeling in her line. However, in those few seconds of the line going limp, the fish had managed to spit out the hook and with what seemed to be a mocking look the huge old lake trout rolled its eye in a jester of defiance and swam down into the depths and disappeared. Both Jed and Nellie just stared over the side in utter disbelief, neither of them saying a word but finally Nellie broke out into sobs and tears. Nothing could be done in short of draining the high mountain lake. Even though they fished there from morning to night throughout the rest of their honeymoon, trying to catch that old deep water trophy, they never saw it again. For sure Jed was upset but nothing like Nellie. Together they did endure the storm of loss and with their love and in harmony they built a good life for themselves. Now it was about five years later when a terrible car accident took Nellie to her grave. This was a great devastation for Jed and there were times when he thought he just could not go on with life. He really needed answers and wondered if Nellie would ever let him know that she still cared and that she was at peace. It was during one of these bouts with anger and sorrow when Jed returned to their honeymoon lake and found a lonely camp site to set up his tent. There he set and watched time go by, wondering why life was so cruel and thought that he just could not go on without his Nellie. One morning before the crack of dawn, Jed set out, just like it use to be when Nellie and he use to go out on the lake to fish. Jed pushed off and paddled out alone and was drifting quietly far out on the still waters of the earliest sunrise. His line was deep, while his mind was reaching many years back thinking of his lovely bride when suddenly his pole was bent with such force that the boat actually turned in the still morning calm. It was a natural reaction for Jed to take hold of his pole and for over twenty minutes he argued, fought and slowly got the upper hand on what eventually appeared to be one of the biggest lake trouts he had ever seen, no less caught! "What a catch and only if Nellie could be here to see this," Jed was excitedly muttering out endearments to Nellie, while he fought the fish! Jed finally brought that clunker into the boat…and what a fish. It instantly brought back memories of his Honeymoon and the fish that got away with their ring. But no doubt, this one was way bigger and far heavier; it had to be "Twenty Eight" inches long and possibly weighing close to thirty pounds…impossible! Something began to happen with Jed, for soon all his mournful thoughts began to vanish and this was the first time Jed had smiled in months…certainly this was a trophy he surely would mount. After all the "hoop-da-la" about the word of this catch spreading among the other fishermen and the excitement had subsided; Jed soon found himself at home meticulously cleaning the monster fish. With careful precession cuts he worked the large beautiful fish in order to preserve its beauty and maintain its form, for when it would be mounted. Then a strange thing happened, Jed's knife slit into what seemed to be an old lure that was stuck inside the huge fish. But with some further cutting and careful extraction so not to ruin the flesh of the fish, Jed held in his hand what seemed to be a ring! Beyond all reason and with serious tears of wonderment running down his face, Jed stood there for a long while, knowing for sure that his Nellie had now sent him a message, for yes, it was their LONG LOST WEDDING RING! True or Bull? Is this Story a good fabrication or a real true event? Is it a bag of Gold or a bag of Baloney? If you think you've got the answer, send it in and you'll get the Right Answer Back! Plus, your E-mail address will be entered into a drawing for one of our Great Prizes! Contact TickTalk: |
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