A LOCALLY OWNED NEWSPAPER DEDICATED TO THE SERVICE OF GOD AND MANKIND.

The Old Man sat in the back seat of the boat, an aluminum 16-footer with a flat bottom and square bow. His left hand rested on the tilted outboard motor. Daylight was breaking on Memorial Day Saturday. He and the Boy were trying to launch and get out of the way of the crowd. As it turned out, they needed to hurry even more than anyone could have expected.

The long line of pickups towing boats was moving quickly when they arrived at the ramp, but the line grew steadily longer all the time. They pulled to one side in the parking lot, transferred their stuff and unstrapped the boat. The Old Man climbed in and rode in the boat’s rear seat as the Boy dropped into line. At 15, he was already proud of how well he could back a trailer.

When it was their turn, the Boy swung into position, shifted into reverse, put his left hand on the bottom of the steering wheel and backed down the ramp. He used the white foam front of the Old Man’s truck driver hat as a marker and put the boat into the water with one smooth, fluid move.

As the boat began to float free, the Boy let the truck roll back one last stretch, then braked hard to give it a shove. He was back in drive and heading up the ramp when his mind wondered why the Old Man had waved his arms just at the last moment.

Halfway up the ramp but not yet clear of traffic, the Boy stopped. He looked back to the boat and saw the Old Man scrounge for something at his feet, then drop the motor and yank the pull starter with the vigor of a man half his age.

A fluff of blue smoke boiled up behind as the motor caught, then the Old Man was in gear and plowing away from the crowd. It seemed like he was pushing quite a wake, even at a low speed. The Boy put it out of his mind.

“Maybe I imagined that,” the Boy thought, then drove to the top of the hill and found a place to park.

Minutes later, returning to the floating dock, the Boy discovered the boat and the Old Man were nowhere to be seen. He looked on both sides of the ramp a couple times each, but they weren’t there. Finally, far out on the lake, he spied the Old Man cross the horizon from right to left, the shiny white and red hat perched atop his head. Eventually, the boat turned back toward the floating dock where the Boy waited.

“Did you not see me waiving my arms?” the Old Man asked as he coasted to a stop.

The Boy put his right hand on the boat’s gunrail to steady it, then stepped in and took the front seat.

“Not until I was already pulling away,” he said. “What happened? Why did you run halfway across the lake?”

“It was that or sink,” the Old Man said. “For a minute, I thought it might be both. You left the plug out of the boat.”

“I left the plug out of the boat?” the Boy said. “You were sitting right there on top of …”

“I know,” the Old Man said. “That’s how I know you left it out.”

They stared at one another in silence for a moment. Finally the Old Man smiled and they both laughed.

“I tried to stick the plug in after it was already sinking,” the Old Man said, but I couldn’t find the loose plug under the water that had already flooded in. Running a ways vacuumed the water back out.”

“How much water can you have in the boat before it’s too much to do it that way?” the Boy asked.

“About a tablespoon more than we had,” the Old Man said.

“It’s a good thing you don’t panic easily,” the Boy said, impressed.

“Oh, I panicked plenty,” the Old Man said. “There was just nowhere else to panic to. Sometimes circumstances hem us up and make us look smarter than we are.”

“I bet that happens to you a lot,” the Boy joked.

“What’s going to happen from now on is, you’ll put the plug in before you unstrap the motor to launch,” the Old Man said. “It’ll be your new rule of thumb.”

The Boy still thought he was being convicted unfairly, but agreed.

“How did you know running the boat would vacuum out the water?” the Boy asked.

The Old Man grinned quietly and looked away.

“I didn’t,” he admitted. “I was just trying not to sink right at the foot of the ramp. But it worked out like it did and made me look smarter than I am. Now I’m smarter than I was. If you’re as smart as you think you are, you’re that much smarter now, too.”

Kevin Tate is a freelance writer. Email kevinmtate@gmail.com.

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.

Error! There was an error processing your request.

You'll receive our top headlines each morning, seven days a week, as well as each weekday afternoon.

Get news sent to your inbox as it happens, as well as our top stories each week.

Get weekly recaps during Mississippi's annual legislative session, plus breaking alerts, from our state politics team.

Are you a Chickasaw Journal subscriber? Sign up to view our weekly e-editions each Wednesday with just a click. 

Are you an Itawamba Times subscriber? Sign up to view our weekly e-editions each Wednesday with just a click.

Are you a Monroe Journal subscriber? Sign up to view our weekly e-editions each Wednesday with just a click.

Are you a New Albany Gazette subscriber? Sign up to view our weekly e-editions each Wednesday with just a click.

Are you a Pontotoc Progress subscriber? Sign up to view our weekly e-editions each Wednesday with just a click. 

Are you a Southern Sentinel subscriber? Sign up to view our weekly e-editions each Wednesday with just a click.

Are you a Daily Journal subscriber? Sign up to view our daily e-editions each morning with just a click. 

Get weekly recaps during Mississippi's annual legislative session, plus breaking alerts, from our state politics team.

Get news sent to your inbox as it happens, as well as our top stories each week.

You'll receive our top headlines each morning, seven days a week, as well as each weekday afternoon.

Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.

Check your email for details.

Invalid password or account does not exist

Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.

An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.

Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.

A receipt was sent to your email.