By Danny Maybin
Technically, you could say we’re a good, dependable, community minded family and if there were rules of civility to gain a heavenly home, my bunch would get in on technicalities.
Over the years, “Living on the edge” and its sister “The ragged edge” have become catch phrases. If you can imagine your total social circle as a large platter with jagged edges, and if you looked outward to see something like a firecracker fuse, dancing and popping along the edge, you have just met my boys.
At times, they may seem haphazard, wild or dangerous. {My wife and I have heard all the adjectives.} But behind all this, there is honestly method and deliberate thought put into the way we have chosen to live.
I have acquired many silver strands in my once curly, brown hair, as I allowed these two boys to take on all they could handle and try to appear “matter of fact” in whatever situation they had conjured up.
Some of the sound bytes that give that “salt and pepper” look are, my wife calling me at work to tell me that my seven year old just got pecked in the eye while teasing the chickens. And then there are my favorites like “I think I smell smoke at the boathouse” or “the golf cart’s in the lake again”! I’ll never forget, while fishing below the lake at our house, my youngest yelling from behind a sandbar “Dad this darn gator won’t leave my lure alone!” If you want to sprout a little silver, arrive home late for an introductory meeting with the new game warden only to find your ten year old has had his rapt attention for the last twenty minutes!
We have taught our boys manners—and they know how to use them. They are not hoodlums or bad kids, they’re just out there on the edge because that is home to them. Incidentally, this is where memories are made.
My wife is in total agreement with this method of raising our sons. If anyone is deserving of guaranteed passage, it is she. We’ve lived in countless locations, from the Georgia swamps to the mountains, and from lake houses to one room cabins, and one six month stint in a Holiday Rambler, her pregnant, with me and the boys, always in pursuit of the outdoor experience.
Yes, we’re right out there with them, trying make sure they do say “yes ma’am” and “please” and “thank you.” They think I’m leading but honestly, sometimes it’s like when grandpa’s horse would take the bit and run until you thought you would fall from exhaustion.
Sure, some folks might look at us funny and maybe sometimes, they should, but these boys are at home where few seldom venture and can come to the inner circle without effort when need be. It’s not the life for everyone but it works for us, and who we are. I would that everyone could find their spot on this great big circle and reach out.
Danny Maybin’s family has fished and hunted in the area of Lake Summit for at least six generations. He is a state firearms instructor, blacksmith, musician/luthier and his favorite, a fishin’, and hunting resort facilitator. He also does voice acting, copywriting, and short story humor.