Raft

“Remind me whose bucket list this was on!” Jim screamed as he held a death grip on the raft that felt far more like a coffin than a flotation device.



“Mine!” Will screamed over the crashing sounds of the rapids. He had wanted a touch of danger, a reminder of what it felt like to be alive again. One more time, he needed to feel that do-or-die sensation. Age may slowly suck life out of a body, but the spirit still desires breath.



“I hope attend ‘your own damn funeral’ was next on your list!” Jim released his death grip to try to grasp onto anything that would give at the minimum a false sense of security – a branch, a rock, young Robert’s head.



What had they been thinking bringing the boys along? Bonding with the younger generation is not the same as endangering their lives. And that guide . . . what was up with him? He looked as interested as an uncle at a three-hour dance recital. Did he not hear the screaming of grown men? Or perhaps it was drowned out by the continual battle cry of the water? “Drowned” out . . . not a good choice of words to come to mind right now.



“Dad, this is just like Niagara Falls!” Scott bellowed with an expression that read amazement, fear, and excitement all at once.



“No, you idiot! Niagara Falls would be a quicker death than this!” Scott’s brother, Billy, had assumed the emergency position you would take in an airplane with his head between his knees. Will wasn’t sure but he thought perhaps his son was crying.



“Hang on, boys! We’ll get through this. I think I can see calmer waters up beyond the bend!” It was a lie. Will couldn’t see anything. His glasses were blurred with water and fear kept him from focusing on anything for too long.



Make it through, they did though, a little bruised, shaken, and confused, but alive – all of them. Silence permeated the surroundings as the men and boys concentrated on breathing unsure whether to holler in celebration or hold hands and prayer ending with a heart touching rendition of Kum-ba-yah. Scott’s voice broke the tense air.



“Oh my God, Dad! That was amazing! You and Uncle Will got us through that like a freakin’ Indiana Jones. You guys are heroes!”



The men looked at each other and smiled. “That was on my bucket list,” they said simultaneously.