WHAT IS A LEGEND?

According to the dictionary, a legend may be:

a collection of stories about an admirable person

a person who is the center of such stories: he or she became a legend in his/her own lifetime

We all have historical figures in mind; George Washington and Abraham Lincoln come to mind.

In the sports world, we may think of Babe Ruth and Dale Jr.

In music; Elvis Presley and the Beatles

In motion pictures; John Wayne and Marilyn Monroe

In Politics; John F Kennedy and FD Roosevelt

Old Trunks wonders if each generation has their own worldly like legends mentioned above.

Let's think about a legend as someone you know personally that may have come into legend status in YOUR life. YOUR life, not a celeb or a figure from the movies or newspaper. Think beyond your family if you can and find a figure. For some it may be a teacher or a leader of some sort. We have many, just give it some thought and say KUDOS to them.

This isn't a story about my legend. It is a story how a person named Jake came to make my Sweet Thomas, a legend. Jake was about thirteen when he mentioned to his grandfather at the lake that he would like to learn to fish "like Tom does". At the time, Tom was throwing heavy plugs and a thousand casts to hope to lake a muskie. He would fish for hours on flat water in the hot sun, sometimes only to see one follow the lure to boat side before it would turn away. Even when he could see the boil of the water behind the lure there was no guarantee it would hook up. Jake had heard stories of this fish, often greater than 50" long from his grand father. Tom took Jake muskie hunting many times and thought him how to cast and cast and cast. It began several years ago and lasted until Jake got a job and didn't come to the lake in the summers.

At the time Jake was fishing with Tom, a little boy named Logan was listening to stories about Tom and the great muskie hunts. Tom had stopped fishing for the Esox, it was hard work and the flat water and the heat was a little more than he could tolerate; he had become a bass fisherman and everyone in camp knew it, including Logan.

Logan at thirteen is not a shy child. He is well mannered and stays with his relatives and helps out at the lodge. He was spin casting off the dock catching mini crappies and sunnies. He mentioned to Tom he would like to bass fish.

Tom fit him with a casting rod and some lures to practice casting. A few days later, he asked how it was going? Logan is among other things, honest. He stated it wasn't going very well. Tom spent a couple hours with him and felt he was ready for a boat trip to the slop to cast for bass, then again later in the little boat to a little lake to at least buzz for pike.

Because Tom reached out to teach Jake to cast for muskie, he became a legend to Logan.

We can not declare ourselves to be a legend. It must be declared for us. And when we are, we only did it because we saw a need and made an opportunity to make it happen. It was a natural set of events.

I learned at a funeral about someone who has been affected and encouraged by one of my children. Bud did not reach out for Kudos, he simply saw a need and met it.

Now we know what a legend is. Think about who has affected you and made something happen in your life.

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