Wading Boots
THE Reeling & Healing Midwest WADING BOOTS
These boots were made for walking! And Reeling & Healing Midwest has them walking in honor of women battling cancer!
Originally worn by the Pink in Waders Team (some R&H Midwest fishers) these boots have tallied miles in a number of cancer walks to promote awareness and raise monies for research. Now known as the “Reeling and Healing Midwest Boots”, their mission is to walk with our community of survivors and volunteers and help to renew hope and spirit to survivors.
We invite YOU to walk with them. Help add miles to the boots and promote cancer awareness, raise funds for research and your personal fundraising goals, plus share the Reeling and Healing Midwest retreat programs with your community. Email or phone us at 616-855-4017 to reserve a walk date for the boots.
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STORY BEHIND THE WADING BOOTS
About a year after I began instructing fly fishing for the Orvis Company, I put my employee discount to use and purchased an extra set of waders and a light-weight pair of wading boots.
The purpose of having these on hand was two-fold - as back-up for me if needed, or to outfit a friend who would want to fly fish but not have all the equipment available. I had instructed and met quite a few women eager to learn more about the sport, but short on the time to fish or even to shop for equipment due to family obligations or work. I decided that if timing worked that a road trip to fish may occur, I may as well have the gear so we could flee the city, rig a rod and throw flies for trout.
And so, my extra waders and boots sat in the front hall closet waiting for their first expedition into a river.
It took almost two years for schedules to sync, but eventually my friend, LC and I had the opportunity to fish for steelhead in Southwest Michigan. We didn’t catch any fish, but we certainly made an impression with all the fishermen we introduced ourselves to throughout the weekend. And the boots were baptized in the St. Joseph River.
Next in line for the boots was a Reeling and Healing Retreat at Gate Au Sable Lodge in Grayling, MI in 2002. These boots were destine for true trout waters - the Au Sable River. I wasn’t certain who would be wearing the boots. In fact, I pulled them out of the closet at the last minute, just before hitting the road for my eight hour drive from Chicago. My intuitive side told me they’d come in handy. And they needed to be in a real river.
I arrived at Gates Lodge and was immediately pulled into the set-up committee to help the other volunteers welcome and assist the participants as they arrive. You know, hand out name tags, give the lay of the land, go over the schedule, show them the river, etc.
One of the woman was in the throws of her cancer battle and her medication had induced many side effects. One, that was especially painful, was swelling feet. She was unable to fit into the regular waders and boots that were provided or into the larger sizes as they were WAY TOO LARGE on her petite frame. Having overheard the struggle, I offered my extra boots - why not give them a try?
I pulled the boots out and she tugged them on with ease - then made her way , rod in hand, into the river.
She waded with the poise of a pro guide who knew the river well. She laughed, soaked up the sun and caught two small brook trout. She felt as she belonged to the rest of the group - all in waders that fit - not make her look or feel uncomfortable. She was so thankful to have use of the boots, I tried to give them to her. It was then that she told me in a calm and warm voice that she didn’t believe she would be around next summer to fish again. Her cancer was not letting up its hold on her body.
I was speechless.
So, the boots made their way back home to Chicago. They were cleaned, air-dried on the balcony, then placed back into the front closet. There they stayed another year.
The woman who had worn them passed away quietly with her family by her side. When retreat season rolled around again for Reeling and Healing, I find it too painful to pull those boots out again.
Another spring passed and as the summer grew nearer, I learned of another woman whom I had become friends with from Reeling and Healing. She was being moved to hospice and was to die soon. The cancer she had been fighting for seven years wasn’t about to go into remission again - it was going to take her soon. She had stopped her drugs, stopped eating and didn’t want visitors. Oh how she loved the river and fishing.
A couple of weeks went by and I received the news via email that she had passed away. I remember sitting there at my desk reading the words on my computer screen. A flood of feelings boiled inside of me. I had guided her at the retreats a number of times and truly enjoyed her company. She was quite a pistol and I admired her strength, fortitude, humor and mischievous wit. How was I to honor her spirit?
After gathering my wits, stifling some tears and making it through the day at the office, I arrived home and opened the front hall closet. As I glanced down, I saw the boots. With that memory of the boots, I was driven to pull out a fly rod and reel and then ride my bike to North Pond in Lincoln Park. I rigged up the rod and cast in honor of my recent friend’s passing.
And as I casted the line, I remember thinking how I felt when I realized that I would never have the opportunity to fish with her again - and it hurt. I was never going to hear her laugh echo across the flowing river. And that burned. But as I continued to cast, rhythmically, noticing the beauty and grace of nature, the sounds of the city dissipating, I knew she’d rather have me continue to find joy while fly fishing.
With that I decided the boots needed to come out of the closet, stop hiding away and begin honoring her and the other women battling cancer. And so the walks began…
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