Those who've followed this column likely have read over the years that four former classmates from the Harrison High School class of 1965 gather each spring for a weekend reunion on Bull Shoals Lake. This marked our 19th year.
It's an annual gathering we pledged to hold beginning in 1996 at the funeral of our close mutual lifelong friend, Dr. William B. Hudson.
The sobering message from losing our buddy early in life prompted us to value what years remained.
And so we arrived for our 19th consecutive year to the familiar floating cottage owned by retired attorney Ken Reeves. The bottle of 1965 Port we pitched in to buy 15 years ago patiently sits atop the kitchen cabinet, waiting for the last one alive to pop its cork and toast the departed.
As in recent years, this was centered far more on reflections than who caught the most and largest fish. In the early years, it was up before dawn and into the boats to flail the waters for three or four hours before returning to prepare breakfast and collapse in the recliners till our early evening jaunt. Today, no one stirs until well after dawn. First one up fixes the coffee as the others slowly stir, complaining about how early it still is.
Then we convene on the deck fronting the water and spend a couple of hours just visiting.
Since Ken, who lives in Harrison, was appointed a state Game and Fish commissioner last year, and about the same time Billy Dill, from Fayetteville, was named a voting member of the state's Board of Dental Examiners, the nature of our discussions ranged wider than old classmates, girlfriends and lost friends. Although those topics got their fair share over three days together. We talked of their three high school sweethearts (today their longtime wives) and of the 50-year 1965 class reunion in October. As the former 17-year-old senior class president, Billy had the good fortune of working with a team to help get it organized.
Don Walker of Springdale and I tried to keep things interesting in such dignified company, which included lots of talk about all four of our families, mainly grandchildren. Aging folks tend to do that sort of thing, complete with wallet and cell-phone photographs to prove our bragging.
Oh sure, we fished some each day (during civilized hours) and between intermittent showers that blew through for three straight days. Everyone but the guy writing this caught lots of fish. I've come to accept that my lot on the lake has become more of a cheerleader in the boat, the guy who mans the net and says "Wow! Nice fish" a lot.
The most exciting parts of this year's reunion were the stylishly appointed happy hours followed by impressive meals. Seems that's what we'd come to anticipate the most daily, beginning with at least two pots of morning coffee.
Well, I suppose it was pretty exciting, too, when Billy casually picked up my rod on the deck and heaved a cast, watching my new Pyramid Bass Pro Shop-purchased, "guaranteed to catch 'em" lure continue sailing unattached into the lake. He assured me the problem was, of course, that I hadn't tied it on well enough. The next day I was using Don's rod and lost his bait. Karma evens out among friends, I suppose.
Our visit ended as always. Don methodically set up his camera on a tripod. We tried to imagine a pose we hadn't struck in a location we hadn't already used in nearly 20 years. He pressed the delay shutter, and ran around to get side-by-side. A few seconds later, we heard the snap. Another reunion was in the books as the next visual reminder of why each of us (and everyone reading) should carpe diem every moment of our all-too-brief lives.
Death of credibility
I believe I wrote years back about the nature and value of credibility. But it's never been more significant than it is in today's America. That was another topic of discussion on the lake last weekend.
So many mainstream coastal media organizations, major newspapers and broadcast newsrooms alike have seen fit to staff their products with political activists and even former political operatives (turned "journalists") rather than objective news-gatherers. The bias is clear in virtually everything that they cover (and so obviously fail to report on, or dig into, to reveal fullest possible truths on behalf of objectively informing all Americans).
It shows just how naïve I was when I began my career in 1971 as a youthful and idealistic editor who truly believed my responsibility under the First Amendment was to reveal truths, especially in tax-supported government, regardless of political party. If something was found corrupt, it was what it was. I couldn't care less if the official was a member of any political party. It was irrelevant.
Contrast that gullible view with what we have today protecting and spoon-feeding information to benefit certain parties and politicians. No need to name names in this shameless politicization of information massaged into propaganda. Adults with IQs above 100 all see the sad disgrace plain as day.
And I call that gross mutation and the resulting death of media credibility lamentable for our once reasonably noble craft.
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Mike Masterson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at [email protected].
Editorial on 05/23/2015