It's A Beautiful Summer! Have You Noticed?

By G. E. Shuman

Last night my wife and I took a ride up to Websterville, to pick up our kids. It was about nine o‘clock, and they had just arrived home from a church trip to Massachusetts. As we headed down our street and up toward that town, we were both amazed by the beauty and brightness of the full summer moon. “You know,” I said, “it’s a miracle that the earth even has a moon like that. I’ve heard that a planet the size of ours shouldn’t even be able to support a moon that large.” Lorna listened, (sort of) as I spouted this vague (fact?) I had once heard about our moon. She was more interested in the enormous beauty of that big moon than by anything I was saying about it. She is a smart lady. It was a beautiful moon!
This early morning, even as I write this sentence, the summer sun that streams through my window is warming the earth, sustaining grass and gardens, trees and toads, plants, people, and everything else that lives. Birds bicker in the trees, and squirrels scamper ‘round and ‘round limbs and trunks. It’s a beautiful morning!
Weeks ago my family was at the gorgeous Maine seashore; more recently, beside a still and shimmering Vermont lake. The same blazing, warming sun shown down on lake and ocean in the day, the same bright moon at night. The same blue cloud-studded sky swirled above them both; supporting swooping birds in search of fish. Those were beautiful days!
Wonderful sights abound on any short ride through our own state and others. Bountiful corn fields, and cattle fill the hills. Scattered wildflowers flourish along roadsides. Distant, haze-covered mountains seem as silent, gray-green waves on the horizon. People, in small cities and on large farms, tend to outdoor summer duties. Lawnmowers buzz before lawn mowers who push them; balers spit bundles behind tractors which pull them.
A few dark days of rain come to cool the air and quench the dry earth. Lawns, livestock, plants and people take a break from the sun. Lightening bolts jolt as thunder rolls over the hills and down the valleys, warning all to get inside. Then the rain pours, the clouds roll slowly past, and the sun streaks through with returning warmth, and rainbows. How beautiful!
This morning, near the end of my wife’s and my daily jaunt, the form of a little boy behind a screen door said: “hello,” as we walked the sidewalk, past his home. “Hello. It’s a nice day.” was my reply, as we continued. A moment later his slightly raised voice responded from behind us: :It’s a BEAUTIFUL day!” The little boy was right. It’s a beautiful day. It’s a beautiful summer. Have you noticed?

A Fish Story

By G. E. Shuman

I love fishing. I don’t get to do it very much, but I love to fish when I have a chance. There’s just something exhilarating in the fight, with what feels like a very large fish on your line. There’s something even more exhilarating about pulling that monster in, even if it isn’t exactly a monster, and sharing the story of the catch with your family. (In my family, all I need to share is the story, as I’m the only one in our home who likes fish.) I also love the idea of having a frying pan full of free, protein-packed, yummy food, and the fun of cooking the treat up. For me, the whole experience is just great.
Now, there are fish stories, and then there are FISH stories. What I want to tell you next a true fish story which happened to a friend of mine; more precisely because of a friend of mine. It is a story of how some of his other friends benefitted in several ways, including fish, all because he was aware of their needs.
The occurrence took place years ago, long before I even knew my friend personally. Several people who witnessed the event wrote about it so that people would remember it. I happened to be rereading one such account of the story earlier today, and actually spoke with my friend about it shortly thereafter. Now, I’m not sure how to say this, without seeming to brag, but I do happen to have a few friends in high places. This particular friend of mine was very well known at the time of the fish story, and is even more well known now, than then. Actually, he was, and is, a very famous guy. In fact, his fame was one of the reasons the big fish story happened, as you will soon see. (Trying not to brag again.)
It seems that one sunny day my friend was in another country, trying to relax on the shore of a beautiful lake, when people suddenly recognized him and began to crowd around him. He’s always been a very wise and popular speaker, and the crowd wanted him to talk to them. Well, the crowding got to the point that my friend was in danger of being pushed right into the lake. He turned around and happened to see two fishing boats tied on shore. If you read an account of this event, you will notice a detail: the fishermen weren’t in their boats at the time, but were on shore, cleaning their nets. (In that part of the world it is legal to net-fish in lakes.) Well, to avoid being trampled or soaked, my friend got into one of the boats and asked the owner to push it out a little ways from shore. He then sat in the boat and used this improvised stage to address his fans, waiting on shore.
(Okay. Here comes the fish story I promised you, even though I know I shouldn‘t begin a paragraph with parenthesis.) When my friend had finished talking, and the crowd had begun to disburse, he asked the boat owner to launch the boat out into the deeper water of the lake. My friend, evidently, had also planned to do a little fishing. He then requested that the boat owner, (also a friend of his) put his net into the water to drag for a catch. This surprised the man, and he told my friend that it would be no use; they had been out fishing all night, and had caught nothing. (I’m not sure, but I don’t think my friend was surprised by this news.) In any case, the boat owner agreed to lower his net, just because my friend had asked him to. He, likely, thought he might as well humor my friend, as they were out in the middle of the lake anyway. Besides, what would you have done, if a very famous man had asked you to do something like this? What happened next is just amazing, to an old fish-tale lover like me. Remember, this is a true story.
As soon as the owner of that fishing boat had cast out his net, it became filled with fish. Then it became OVER filled with fish, to the point that the net began to break. The fisherman immediately called to the men on shore to bring out the other boat to help. (I can just imagine my friend sitting there in that boat, smiling at the excitement of the fishermen.) The other men hurried out from shore, and, together, they all filled both of the boats, to the point that they began to sink! I would love to have heard the laughter and shouts of joy, as those guys hurriedly got those boats, full of that much needed catch, to shore.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, this very real and famous friend of mine is named Jesus. He would, and I would, love to have you check this fish story out for yourself. Just grab a Bible and read at least the first seven verses of the book of Luke, chapter five. (I promise, opening that book won’t hurt, even if you haven’t done it in a while.) I can assure you that my friend is very good at fulfilling real needs, even ones involving fish, and often to the point of being more than you can hold. You just have to launch out a bit. I wish you would give Him a try.

Maine's Rocky Coast

by G. E. Shuman

(I jotted this down during my visit to the Rockland Maine breakwater last week.)

Salt sea scents
Calling birds
Slapping waves
All conjure words

Heightened senses
Soak up scenes
Foghorns echo
Distant dreams

Bouncing bouys
On floating foam
Clinging seaweed’s
Rocky home

Luffing sails
And clanging bells
Misty, rolling
Ocean swells

Swooping seabirds
Skim the sky
Wind-swept puffy
Clouds roll by

Distant islands
Fairly float
Just beyond
The white-sailed boats

Peaceful, place
Of sea smoke ghosts
Soothing souls,
Maine’s rocky coast