"Reflections on the Mill Pond"

You’ve all heard the saying "The ole gray mare just ain’t what she used to be." This week’s Rollin’ Down The River feature is about Merritt’s Mill Pond and that saying could well be said about the Mill Pond. It just ain’t what it used to be.
When spending time on the Mill Pond now, with all the hydrilla and algae, I find myself sounding old and a little cynical when I think that it just isn’t as pretty as it used to be. I think back to the many fond memories I have about the ole gray mare. My family briefly owned a house on the Mill Pond and I recall first swimming there when I was five or six years old. In my teenage years we used to spend time out there swimming, fishing and just kickin’ around. On some nights, especially when the moon was full, we would head to the Mill Pond after summer football or basketball practices for a moonlight swim.
In 1978 my parents bought me a 14 foot aluminum Jon boat with a 9 horse Montgomery Ward motor for my high school graduation. It wasn’t anything fancy and I’m pretty sure the motor was older than I was. You could sneeze wrong and the motor would shear a pin. You had to take the top cover off the motor half the time to rewrap the cord to get it to crank. But it was mine and I was captain of the ship. Many a carefree day was spent in my late teens and early 20’s serving as captain of the ship on that boat at the Mill Pond.
I remember the day that I was cooling off in a tube by the boat. My then girlfriend and now wife commented that there was a big snake in a tree not far away. Being the outdoorsman that I am, I kicked back in the tube and told her it was no problem. She then screamed as the snake made its way towards our boat. After scrambling to get aboard, I realized the anchor line was tied to the front boat handle, which was right at the water line and right where the snake was headed. I fought off the snake with a paddle and finally managed to get the anchor pulled up and we motored away.
The memories are too numerous to print. But the older I get the more of them I seem to recall. And I am still making memories on the Mill Pond as it is still one of my favorite places to spend time. And I find that my sons are making there own memories on the Mill Pond as the cool clear waters beckon them as well to come and enjoy the Mill Pond. So while the ole gray mare just ain’t what she used to be, Simply Put, the Mill Pond is still a treasure to be enjoyed by all.
From the front porch: Coach said there are no shortcuts to anyplace worth going.