SECTION THREE
I thought of the concerted effort by some of
today’s politicians to sell our public lands and I
wondered if someday we would find ourselves
unable to hunt and fish because all the land
was owned by our “betters.” That thought was
interrupted by the wail of the loon, calling to
locate its partner. Loons live for decades – up
to thirty years – and some mate for life. They’re
also territorial, and a lake the size of Chaney
likely supports only pair – they would defend
their territory from other loons. When the pair
becomes separated, they call to each other as
this one was doing now, trying to locate its lost
mate. I thought of my Aunt Elaine.
Cedars and birches rimmed the shore with the
morning sun casting a glow over the trees on
the opposite shore as I paddled down the lake,
not wishing to disturb the loon. In the shad-
ows of the faint ripples on the water, I almost
missed seeing the other loon ahead of me, the
lost mate. It called out, and its partner flew to
it, spreading its wings out as it landed. Re-
united, they floated and fished, one keeping a
lookout while the other dove, then switching,
making their way down the lake.
I turned the kayak around and paddled back
to the cottage; I’d been away from home for
almost a week and I missed my wife. I packed
my gear, made a cup of coffee and heated one
of my mom’s homemade pasties for breakfast,
then got back on the long road home to Ann
Arbor.
With the windows down and the moon roof
back, a bald eagle flew overhead as Eddie Ved-
der and Beyonce sang Bob Marley’s “Redemp-
tion Song” on satellite radio.
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Volume 02 No. 03 | 2018