A day on the water celebrating family and freedom.

I think yesterday was one of the most enjoyable 4th of July holidays I've ever had!

Prepping the Hobie Wave
on the shores of the Indian River.

We got to spend a day on the water with our kids, with the excitement of an afternoon thunderstorm, followed by the opportunity to see my daughter and granddaughter Maddie who's been in China for the last year, and ending the evening with the Titusville hometown fireworks show with our good friends Jeff and Julie Holton.

After having the boat sit in the yard since 2009, it took a little bit of work, but we finally got our Hobie Wave up and running. We worked all the previous weekend getting it ready, and Tuesday after work got it out onto the water for a test sail. We had a little trouble getting into the groove of putting up the 20 foot mast, but we did it. We made it to the banks of the Indian River (Intercoastal Waterway) in Titusville about 7:30pm, and managed to sail around a nearby island and get back right as it was getting dark. The temperature was in the 80's I think, and winds were about 7 mph.

Sailing is such a wonderful sport and skill to learn. When ever I go out, I always think of the early explorers who navigated the seas and tamed the elements to survive and discover new lands, being away from home for years at a time. My Dad taught me to sail before the age of ten on an El Toro dingy, and with a little practice I was able to master the skill enough to go out by myself by the age of 14 or so. I've loved it ever since, and it has prompted me to learn other associated skills such as knot tying, the mechanics of ropes and pulleys, navigation, and reading the weather. Similar to the other sport of archery that I love, a complete novice can have a lot of fun but to master the sport can take a lifetime of learning the different aspects.

On the morning of the 4th after sleeping in a bit and getting our gear, food and drinks ready Sandy and I headed out to the river again with the boat and found a good spot to launch. One of the great things about any Hobie Cat, is that you don't need to put in at a boat ramp. In fact, it it much easier to leave the rest of the boating crowd, set up and launch from any sandy shoreline. This time the winds had to be only about 3-5 miles per hour, and the sailing was pretty slow. Sitting still on any sailboat can tax your patience, so that's when good company is nice to have. An up-side of the slow moving is that we were able to see Indian River Redfish tailing, dolphins porpoising, and alligators watching all the action. We were supposed to meet our kids on another one of the barrier islands. After about an hour of moving slow as a turtle, we called our kids and had them come tow us with their motor boat. That was a little jarring to my Sailor's ego, but it was fun.

Headed out after lunch.

Right when we got to the island a storm started coming in with lightning bolts in the distance. That's when we decided we were going to be there for a while, so we tied everything down real good and enjoyed a good lunch with all the kids, while the grandkids looked for shells, snakes and bears on the tiny island. They only found shells, and the snakes and bears just turned out to be rumors.

The storm finally passed, and we were able to catch a few good breezes on the Wave again for a little while and then we headed in for good. That's when my daughter Melissa stopped by with her daughter Maddie, fresh from the airport, home from Shenzhen China for a visit. Melissa is a teacher there.

The Finale of the day was enjoying the small-town fireworks show with patriotic music in the background with our friends the Holtons, their friend Rusty and his hound pup Duke. They too have a son in the Marine Corps, so of course we talked about our boys, and all the kids, just enjoyed each others company and the spectacular fireworks show.

4-H Values Are The Common Thread

The 4 H’s of the 4-H program are Head, Heart, Hands, and Health. As a 4-H Youth Development Educator, we focus on teaching life skills that tie directly to these four words. The best document I can refer you to is Targeting Life Skills In 4-H, by M. Norman and J. Jordan of the University of Florida. In that paper they relate the H’s of the program to concrete areas of learning and skill instruction of:

HEAD – Thinking, Managing, example Critical Thinking, Goal Setting
HEART – Relating, Caring, example Cooperation, Concern for Others
HANDS – Giving, Working, example Service, Learning Useful Skills
HEALTH – Living, Being, example Personal Safety, Self Discipline

In this blog, you will continue to see a common theme of these four topics running through as a common thread. Even though my last entry was about HAVA, Honored American Veterans Afield, I feel it important to spend some time on the Heart aspect for one more day.

In the news this morning, I saw no mention of the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese Imperial Navy on the morning of December 7th, 1941. Are we individually remembering this event and discussing it with our families, students and colleagues? Are we still teaching about it in schools? Are we still flying the flag at half mast at our government buildings and homes? In that attack over 3600 people were killed or wounded, and we lost hundreds of millions of dollars in assets, not to mention the psychological damage to those on Hawaii or the ripple effect upon the surviving individuals and families. Please take time out of your day to honor those lost and share it with your children. As you purchase and post your 2010 calendars, circle it now for next year.  Here is an award winning site to remember this day by survivors and their loved ones of Pearl Harbor: Pearl Harbor Survivors.

Spotlight: HAVA, Honoring our Vets.

A few weeks ago late at night, watching the Outdoor Channel, one of the shows featured HAVA, Honored American Veterans Afield. As a shooting sports educator I was interested, as the son and brother of veterans I was pleased, but as the Father of an active US Marine I was riveted and moved at this organization’s service. Photo Credit: HAVA

HAVA is an incredible organization to raise awareness and assist disabled veterans with the healing process through active participation in the outdoor sports. - As the number of injured men and women returning from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan grew, members of the firearms industry initiated a non-profit partnership called HAVA to aid disabled soldiers as they transition to their lives back in the United States. The ultimate goal is to increase their confidence and hope for the future by reconnecting with their love of the outdoors and the American traditions of hunting and firearms. Each HAVA veteran is a national hero that has earned our respect and support through valorous service in defense of our way of life.

HAVA has also been featured in on TV in shows such as Shooting Gallery, American Rifleman, Shooting USA, and the Glenn Beck Show. It has also been featured in print, in some the NRA publications.  Please get to know HAVA and offer any support you can possible give. Our disabled service men and women deserve this. Thank you HAVA!