Seeking Professional
Help:
The River Guide
Rudy entered
the Cross-Eyed Saloon and approached the man hunched over a map spread
out on the bar. “Say friend,” he asked, “Did the prospectors hire you to
move some supplies up the river to their camp?” “Yes they did,” the
stranger replied, “I’m Carl, do you want to study our route before we
go?” “Naw, they’re down river from here about 20 miles,” said Rudy, “It
shouldn’t be too hard to find them and the sooner we leave, the sooner
we get paid.” Carl made a few more marks on the map and sealed it in a
plastic pouch.
Rudy led the way to the dock where there were two canoes piled high with
freight. He untied the lines to the nearest one, jumped in and paddled
off. Carl spent a few minutes securing the load in his canoe. He put on
his gloves and life jacket, surveyed the sky and pushed off. It didn’t
take long to catch up to Rudy who was zigzagging from bank to bank. “Hey
Rudy, would you like a few tips?” yelled Carl. “Naw, I’ll get the hang
of it, you go on ahead,” Rudy shouted back.
Carl steered his canoe into the middle of the river where the current
was strong and steady. He pulled out his map and looked for the first
set of rapids circled in red. About an hour later he came upon an island
with rapids to the left and a clear channel on the right. He knew Rudy
would have trouble there and decided to land on the island and wait for
him.
By now Rudy was pretty frustrated. After he’d bottomed out a few times
water began seeping into the canoe and soaked his runners. He’d scraped
his forehead on a sweeper hanging over the river near the shore and a
few packages had fallen into the water. As he approached the island he
decided to let the current choose which way to go around it. His hands
were blistered and he was simply too tired to fight. By the time he
noticed Carl waving it was too late to change course. The canoe sped up
and rocks jutted out of the water ahead of him.
Carl arrived on the scene a few minutes later. Boxes were strewn along
both sides of the channel. Though Rudy had made a valiant effort, he was
now dragging his near empty canoe onto the island. After ensuring Rudy
was uninjured, Carl gathered up the remaining supplies and placed them
in the canoe. He knew it was better to keep busy than to talk.
After awhile he sat down. “You know Rudy, if we travelled together I bet
we could make it to the camp without any trouble. It wouldn’t be as
lonely either.” Rudy frowned but said nothing. His pride was bruised
more than anything. After awhile he spoke softly. “Wow, this is sure a
lot harder than I thought. Once the canoe gets going, it’s not easy to
change direction, especially if you are in the current.
“Yeah,” said Carl, “I learned that lesson the hard way a long time ago.
That’s why I studied the map and always wear a life jacket. Come on,
your canoe isn’t that badly damaged. Why don’t we load it up and go when
you’ve dried off?”
With Carl’s help, Rudy learned to read a map, paddle properly and take
advantage of the current. He listened for rapids and looked for
sweepers. The rest of their trip went smoothly and a new friendship was
formed.
