Over the Memorial Day weekend, my family had an adventure with a runaway boat on a body of water.
OK, so it was my 6-year-old nephew’s remote-control boat on a golf-course pond, but the drama was real.
He was so excited to show his Aunt Tammy his new boat, and after supper at the country club, his mother drove us in the golf cart to what Seb calls “the lake pond.” His dad and his Uncle David met us there.
Seb quickly set the boat in the water and started working the controls on the remote, only to realize he’d forgotten to turn on the switch on the boat, so it was adrift with no way to control it. He went from happy to hysterical in two seconds.
From his point of view, this wasn’t just a $16.99 boat from Target; it was his favorite toy on Earth at this moment, and he might never see it again.
My sister-in-law yelled to my brother, and he told her the golf-ball-grabbing pole was in the cart. She couldn’t reach the boat with it. I offered to put on my trusty rain boots, which were in my vehicle, but my sister-in-law pointed out the water was too deep.
My brother rolled up his pants to wade to the other side (a sign of love for sure, because he is deathly afraid of snakes) because the boat was drifting that way. My husband, though, was wearing shorts and went across the shallow part, slippery with algae, and he almost fell.
He couldn’t reach the boat with the pole, either. Then all the ideas started flying.
My brother threw a big rock to try to make waves to push the boat to my husband’s side of the shore. “Watch me just like smash the boat,” my brother said, jokingly. Seb took him literally. “DO NOT SMASH THE BOAT!” he yelled as loudly as his 6-year-old voice could.
In the meantime, I fell back to my comfort zone: “We can buy another one,” I told Seb. It was not my best moment.
My sister-in-law had one of her little flip-flops off and was splashing water to make waves to get the boat to move. My brother got the idea to get a fishing pole to hook the boat, so off he went to his house nearby.
In the meantime, my husband stirred the water back and forth with the golf-ball retriever, and the waves finally got the boat closer to our side of the pond. My brother — back with a fishing pole — cast the line and didn’t land it where he wanted.
My nephew, in the meantime, decided Target had some fault in this incident. His mother asked him how he figured. He said, “They should put a sticker on there saying, ‘Remember to turn the switch on the boat on.’”
I predicted law school in his future.
My brother cast the line a second time and got the lure on the other side and reeled in the boat.
Seb said, “Daddy, you did it! I love you, Daddy! You’re the best!” My brother said he should thank Uncle David, too.
“He’s the most important one! I’m going to give him a warm hug,” Seb said, running to Uncle David. “I gave him a warm hug, because he’s a superhero now,” he said. “Daddy’s a superhero, too,” Seb said, hugging my brother.
At this point, the air was thick with bugs, and it was getting dark, but Seb turned the switch ON, put the boat back in the water and took it for a spin around the “lake pond” for a few minutes.
All was well in a little boy’s world, and lessons were learned about perseverance, paying attention and working together.
Well worth $16.99.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.