Before memory fades likes the reds, oranges and yellows of the South Holston Valley's fall months, a few words on last week's Tenn'Clave Reunion, a very special encounter of friends old and new.
Monday brought our first Clave settlers to the Observation Knob campground as Buddy Nichols rolls in from Florida and stakes his site for a week of fishing the South Holston Valley. Shortly thereafter our Band of Merrimakers arrive over the next two days and mottled blues, greens and browns, home for many, pop up on the Tenn'Clave favored finger of campground.
The weather is perfect, air is clean and crisp, fish are eating and there are plenty of them. The next four days will be some of the most technical fishing days on the South Holston that our traditional Clave returnees will encounter.
Their is a special aura over this group of Clavers this year. We are bewildered, anxious, perhaps intimidated, yet excited, proud and ready to serve.
0800 Sat. 11 October 2008. The first vehicle arrives and points in the direction of Tenn'Clave Central. The right front door of a Ram Pick-Up opens, a wheel chair from within spins 45 degrees, pneumatic ramp lowers to meet the early morning blanket of dew and descends to the ground, and our stomachs wrench. From the armada of vehicles, mostly all young men, one Viet Nam Vet and two women disembark from their vehicles with limbs missing, faces rebuilt, on crutches and canes, and the motorized wheelchair now coming straight to the front.
Senior Clavers all stand tall, take a deep breath, swallow hard and realize this is what it is all about.
Project Healing Waters has arrived and the highlight of our weekend commences.
I look over my left shoulder as I greet this entourage and see our guys all standing tall as though they are fixed for formation. There are few smiles at this instance. I glow knowing our guys, my best of friends are consummate professionals, devout fly fisherman, all educators in one fly fishing discipline or another, and each shares a personal bond before meeting a single disabled Vet. These young Warriors are in for the treat of their lifetime and they got it.
John Bass, national Healing Waters Trustee and group coordinator, from his motorized wheel chair stops at my extended hand and barks "My Vets are here. Let's eat and go fishing!"
I ask all to join first in a Circle of Brothers, Vets meeting Vets for the most part as we exchange names and extend Southern hospitality to the group's ladies. Our ladies look with pensive eyes from the distance and scurry back to their make-shift field kitchen to serve 36 hungry mouths. Bass offers up 50 pounds of the finest sausage from his 3rd generation company, Bass Farms Sausage and the breakfast feast is devoured by all.
Most of our Vet guests have never fly fished, have never seen waders or boots much less wear them for the next six hours, or ever held a fly rod and reel in their hands. Our guys made short of that and had everyone dressed and geared up with equipment and a quick casting clinic following breakfast.
We are next off for fishing licenses and then on to private waters extended by River's Way (a great lodge and facility for fly fishing and corporate outings) and other generous South Holston River land and river frontage owners, all with a special place in their hearts for our country's battered and torn Vets, most of which Iraqi theater tested and damaged. Scarred but only on their outer surfaces, as within each and every one was a special man in his own way, with much too much to offer their Clave counterparts.
The rest of the day was filled with the thrill of catching their first trout on the fly, a stream-side luncheon served in the shade of majestic canopies full of Autumn's best smells, hues and suturation. Set apart with sandwiches and drinks in groups of two's and threes, we bonded and they bonded and friendships for life were ignited. Laughter filled the hollow and dissimilar out-of-frame stories abounded, all with a common purpose, to prove the real worth of the Healing Waters program by serving military personnel who have been wounded, injured, or disabled to aid their physical and emotional recovery by introducing the skills of fly fishing and fly tying and by using and enjoying these skills on fishing outings and as a lifelong recreation. The return to the campground was a chilling down period before all were off to a sumptuous supper of baby back ribs with all the trimmings thanks to our ladies, our traditional Tenn'Clave raffle and a wee sip of Gentleman Jack's best recognizing his birthday anniversary on that weekend while many toasted our new friends and other mutual subjects of emotional and genuine interests.
For the previous days we witnessed scores of fish taken from these waters, some of which stocked by friends for this group's day on the river. Few fish were taken by any of us, much less first day novices. Fishing was very technical this year, with flies of choice smaller than anything I could ever tie to a tippet or hold in my hand.
If you wanted a #22 Blue Wing Olive or #20 Zebra Midge tied on you went to Army Corporal Josh Williams, who with one arm, tied a foolproof Improved Clinch Knot and dropper fly with his thumb, index, and middle finger. Tied to perfection in seconds by the way as he nonchalantly chewed on a ham and cheese sandwich and joked with us at lunch.
Or you could have Army SGT Robert Bartlett, with face blown away by a road side bomb, blind in one eye, and after 74 operations at Walter Reed with more to come, tie a nimble #22 Midge with 8X tippet for your line. He did that all day Sunday for his new friend Navy Master Chief Will Wilson, who both travelled eight hours down from Walter Reed Hospital in DC to get out of the wards and meet new faces, make new friends, and catch a few fish if they were really lucky while Will showed us all how to stand mid-stream on one leg for five hours in pursuit of it all. To these warriors its business as usual. To us it was bewilderment.
There will be a Tenn'Clave XII. Same weekend next year. The crowd will be larger as more Vets now want to come. We will again make new friends. Many of us will stay with last week's new friends throughout the year, for some most of our life time.
There will be more stories to tell to we are certain. You can view others' testimonials at http://www.tennclave.com/testimonials.html Once all photos are in, this site will share a Weekend Photo Gallery and the imagery will tell this story with quality realism.
Thanks to so many that made this weekend so very special to everyone who attended. You all know who you are. Thanks to our wives who worked continuously with Danny Walls and Scott Singleton serving up the best meals ever enjoyed at a Tenn'Clave, all served on-time and hot and delicious. Many appreciated thanks to all who donated equipment, supplies, and our volunteer friends along with Steve Hanna, Jason Baker and Chris Rowland who each gave up a day of their fishing license value on Saturday for the benefit of assisting and teaching a Vet to fly fish. And thanks to Claude Freaner, expert hand wood carver for his gifts, our Claves favorite veteran "rocket scientist" who made quick work of cleaning up Saturday night, helping in a huge way.
We would be remiss not to recognize the the generous offer of his private property and river access offered for the Healing Waters activities by Juddy Mottern (Pursuit Farms) of Bristol, the South Holston River Fly Shop on Emmet Road, Bristol and good friend Bruce Wankel of the Virginia Creeper Fly Shop who faithfully supports the Clave when asked. Our sincere thanks to Larry and Edna May of Bluff, City who arrived early in the week and set-up 30 feet of canopies so their Warrior Heros would have a place to relax away from the elements should the weather had turned for the worse. And let us not forget Dan and his crew at Observation Knob, Sullivan County campground who always watches over our Tenn'Clave weekend encampments and unselfishly provides a much needed resource at the last minute.
None of our success this weekend would have happened without the efforts, dedication to this annual event and caring for those who attend than given by my best friend and loving wife Betsy. She's the spark that energizes these claves and felt very special this year meeting her new Vet life friends as well. Moved by the weekend's faceted Healing Waters experience she looks forward to organizing our first Healing Waters Ladies Auxilliary in Tennessee, self-initiated to bring a new dimension to volunteer efforts and to further the good work of the Healing Waters Project. Betsy looks forward to hearing from the Program's and Vets' ladies with their ideas and suggestions. More to come on this new initiative soon.
If you are unaware of Project Healing Waters and what they are doing in your area do read the organization's success stories through fly fishing they have quickly achieved in the past four years since their inception. Give a day to a disabled Vet through this program as a volunteer, its a life reward.
If you can't find a local chapter then call or contact me and we'll get you pointed towards a Healing Water Chapter near your home. If you can't volunteer but want to do your part for this noble cause, we'll suggest a number of ways that your efforts, skills, interests and willingness can be put to best use to benefit our Veterans now.
Navy Master Chief Petty Officer Will Wilson, a below the knee amputee, said it best when he e-messaged me following the event and encouraged us all to continue the fine work he witnessed. A trout virgin Friday and a trout Veteran Sunday during Tenn'Clave, he asked that we carry his motto throughout all of our future Healing Waters activities.
"Unda Anhelo Vita". Latin for "Water Breathes Life".
This works for us. I hope it does for you.
Ben and Betsy Benoit
Ben@phw-tn.com
Tennessee Healing Waters Coordinator
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