Excellent 970 words. A Hammie story, titled: They's Goin' Drown. Hammie & Sarabeth C~7 by papa55mike

It's early Spring, and time to check all of the bolts on the playground. The sun feels warm on the back of my neck. I pull up with my tools in the new John Deere XUV the state bought for the Rangers here at Pinson Mounds. It has everything we need for any job here at the park. There is a quiet beauty that exists here. It happens to be one of my favorite things about the place. I believe the more you're in nature, the closer you are to God. I do see one car in the parking lot. A family went hiking towards the boardwalk. The wooden walkway leads to the Obion River, but it's closed for possible flooding. The water is always high and fast this time of year. I put a 3/4 socket on the rachet, and reach to tighten a bolt when suddenly I hear a voice I will never forget. It hollers, "Dey's goin' drown, Ranger Bob. Dey's goin' drown!" "Hammie," I drop the ratchet in the gravel. "Calm down, son, and tell me what's happening." "Dem two boys dat wid they's family on de trail, says dey's comin' back heah, but went tuh de wooden trail," Hammie catches his breath. "After dey's hopped de gate, went down tuh de river, thinkin' of goin' swimmin'!" "Oh, no!" "We got tuh help 'em, Ranger Bob. I goin' back, but come a-runnin'!" A ray of sunshine envelops Hammie, and he's gone. I'm standing here in a state of shock, wondering if it happened. Reality slaps me, and I grab my radio. "All units! All units! We have a possible drowning at the end of the boardwalk!" There are two other Rangers on duty, and Cathy is working in the museum, monitoring the radio. "What's up, Bob?" asks John Paul. "The two boys from that family hiking got a bright idea to go swimming in the river," I'm flying down the main trail. "The parents are on either the Hawk trail or Eagle trail, go find them then head to the river." "Office to Bob," Cathy chimes in. "What do you need, sweetie?" "Go ahead and get Henderson County Rescue on the way along with an ambulance. Call the AirMed helicopters and put them on standby." "Gotcha, Bob! Consider it done." "Thanks, Cathy." "Bob," Chip calls. "I'm on the Eagle trail service road, ETA five minutes." "Roger that, Chip. I'm at the Duck Pond and circling back to the river. I should be there in a minute." The XUV is bouncing over the cypress tree knobs sticking up everywhere. Reaching the river, I see Hammie struggling to get across the river with one of the boys. Slamming on the brakes then jumping out of the XUV, I do a crazy thing. "My wife is going to kill me!" Taking two giant steps, I leap into the raging waters. When I surface, I'm at least twenty feet away from Hammie and start swimming with the current. Hammie is heading against the current and is barely able to keep the boy's head above water. "He's still uh breathin', Ranger Bob." I reach out and grab both of them, and with all my might start dragging them against the current. Struggling for the shore, I suddenly feel a hand grab my arm. I look up and see Chip pulling us in. He grabs the young man under the shoulders. The young man begins to cough up half the river - a good sign. Hammie pops up out of the river and says, "Dey's one caught in some trees, downriver." A surge of energy flows through me. "Let's go, Hammie." We both throw ourselves into the current. The murky water swirls around me when I surface. I see the young man about fifty yards away, but his head isn't above water. We have to move fast. I reach the boy first and untangle him from the trees. Starting back upstream, I cry out to Hammie. "I've got him, son. Head back and tell them we need a rope. This one is not breathing." I've never seen anyone swim that fast before. A few more strokes, and I see a yellow nylon rope floating my way. I grab it and wrap it around my free arm. Giving it a jerk, we quickly start upstream. Fifty feet away, I see the Rescue unit has arrived. Chip, John Paul, and another man are pulling us towards the shore. Twenty feet away, I see the other boy sitting up on a stretcher. There's a woman with her hand over her mouth. Tears are streaming down her face. Suddenly, two of the rescue team jump in and grab us both. "I'm okay, take him, he's not breathing. But there's a faint pulse in his neck." With my burden lifted, all of the energy drains in my legs. I feel myself slipping into the current. An arm swiftly wraps around my waist and quickly helps me to shore. Hammie smiles and says, "We can't have yuh slippin' away, Ranger Bob." "Thank you, Hammie." My gaze quickly turns to the stretcher, and I join in everyone's prayer. After a tense moment, there's a cough from the stretcher and a sigh from everyone. "We got to move, people. He's barely breathing," one of the paramedic's hollers. They load the young men on their off-road vehicle and race up the trail. John Paul ushers the parents in his XUV and follows. Chip walks over to me and asks, "Where did the other boy go to, Bob?" "Hammie is a little shy," I smile. "Help me up, Chip. I think you need to drive." After we get strapped in, Chip asks, "What makes a man about to retire, jump in a river twice to save two boys?" "I knew God was on my side." Author Notes May we always know that God is on our side. Many thanks for stopping by to read! Have a great day, and God bless. mike

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