As a youth I took up the sport of archery. It quickly became a passion and has stayed that way for the past 30 years. Along the way you meet many great people who also share that passion.
One sport associated with archery is bow fishing for various species of fish. Living on Chapman Lake the channels are known for lots of carp.It was the spring of '82 and it was a great year for bow fishing. I had managed to convince my mom to let me skip school and stay home to bow fish. The morning was perfect and the fish were in the peak of the spawn.
After putting a couple of fish on the bank, I noticed a man working his way down to the end of the channel where most of the fish were. I had never seen him there before, but I figured he can't be all bad he's out here bow fishing. A few minutes later we met at the hot spot. We started talking and I told him it was a good day to be out and he agreed with a smile.
As the conversation went on he asked me "Should you be in school?" I said yes, but I talked my mom into letting me skip today. I then asked him if he had taken the day off also. He answered, "No, I just go in later." I then asked him where he worked. He paused, then said "I'm a police officer."
With my stomach in knots I hung my head and thought how lucky am I to skip school and then meet a police officer. Seeing the scared and concerned look on my face, the man showed a very large toothy grin and giggled saying, "I can't blame a young man for staying home from school to bow fish." I turned to him and introduced myself and at that point I was honored with meeting Officer Terry Polston.
From then on, whether we met at that channel or just crossed paths, we always had a good laugh about a 12-year-old young man who skipped school to bow fish. On that spring morning I made a friend for life, much as many people did when they met Terry. I could only hope that there are plenty of fish and deer in Heaven to keep Terry busy. I am now 38 years old and I will never forget that day.
