I’m home at last. I took five days one week and two days the next to get my Capitan’s license. This is a Coast Guard regulation for any one who takes paying customers on a boat. While the class was challenging and full of some great information it was the people who made the time worthwhile.

Our teacher, Capitan Bennie, was a joy. A former minister now retired who teaches this course, host an outdoor radio show and fish’s tournaments. By the end of the week Captain Bennie could barely teach because he was laughing so much. You gotta love a laughing teacher.

My table mate Russ, who is one of the finest men I have ever met. Confident, quiet and a joy to learn with. Russ works part of the year doing engineering work and the rest of the year he runs his fishing camp in Alaska. There are not too many folks in this world who know what they want, and just do it. Russ was a breath of fresh air.

Lee, who has fished all over the world was worth the price of admission. His stories and sidebars kept me in stitches.

My Sunday night dinner partner whose name I’ll with hold reminded me about life. I was honored to hear about his daughter’s battle with a terrible disease. I was reminded that we are all people and we all have a story.

Drew who helped me study Tuesday afternoon and had the confidence in me to get me to test. Sorry dude, I failed the test Tuesday night but I’ll get it next week.

There were 7 other guys who I could write about but won’t. Each of them was a joy.

As a minister I seem to be trapped with good church folks and rarely get to experience folks who aren’t church people. I’ve got to say the experience was exhilarating. Now good Church people are a joy also but this was a refresher course for me. Jesus moved among the lost, the worldly and the every day people.

I’ve got to do more of that.