Okay guys, so today is the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 Terror Attacks. Today can be a day of remembrance for a lot of us. I know last year I put out a tribute chapter. But this year I'm going to put out a regular chapter, because there may be some people out there who because of the morbid nature of this date may not be feeling the best. And don't get me wrong, we should never forget what happened. But we should also look for joy in our everyday lives. We should never forget all the Americans we lost on that day, but we should also live each day to the fullest for those who can't.

344 Firefighters

71 Police Officers

2977 People (2605 Americans and 372 Foreigners)

Never Forget.

Jem and Winter

Jem had found a small boat to rent so he could take Winter out on the lake. Despite her protests about going fishing. She didn't seem to mind when they actually got on the boat. He looked over to see her looking at the fishing rod like it was an alien artifact. He chuckled a little as he saw her trying to figure out how to use it. He knew she was a rich girl growing up, but he figured it should have been common sense.

"Need some help?" He asked as she looked frustrated.

"No, its simple, you just throw the line out and reel back in right?" She said as she cast her line out.

"Well yeah, but you have to put some bait on first." Jem pointed out her hook had nothing on it.

"Ah...I...I knew that!" Winter felt her cheeks go red as she realized she threw out an empty hook.

"You alright? You seem nervous?" He asked as she reeled it back in.

"I've never done this before." She admitted as she really had no idea what she was doing.

"Here, I'll help, don't you worry." He reached into a tacklebox and pulled out a red crawdad lure and began to tie it on.

"This is just a simple crankbait. Cast it out, reel it back in, not too fast, not too slow, just at a nice steady pace."

Winter made her second cast with the lure on and heard a satisfying splash as she took Jem's advice to go at a nice steady speed rather than reeling it in like a crack head.

"So...when do I catch something?" She said as she was reeling it back expecting anything to bite within a moments notice.

"You got to be patient Winnie, they're not going to bite right away." He said as he threw his line out again.

"Doesn't it get boring just waiting?" She asked as he shook his head.

"Just look around you." He said as she was confused.

She shrugged and went back to focusing on her line.

She repeated the cycle a few times, casting out and reeling it back in. No bites, and she didn't understand how Jem could find this enjoyable. It seemed repetitive and boring. She took a long sigh as she took a second to look up from the water.

And now she understood why Jem told her to look round.

She saw an American Bald Eagle swooping down to catch a fish that was just feeding on insects on top of the water. She turned her head to her right and she noticed that the trees were blowing softly in the wind as you could see multiple squirrels and birds coming in and out of the trees. She looked over to her left and she saw folks pedaling on the bicycle path and deer running in between trees.

It was very serene and almost like something out of a lifetime movie.

REEEEE

"OH!" She said as she felt something bite down on the lure as the reel has something dragging on it.

"Hey you got something!" Jem said as Winter furiously reeled it back in.

"How?" She asked as she could see the fish swimming just beneath the waters surface, but she couldn't make out what it was.

She wouldn't know what it was anyways, but that wasn't the point right now.

"I'll tell you when you get him in. Now reel him in!" Jem said as he got to the side of the boat ready to pull it in.

Winter continued to reel it back in as she could feel herself getting more and more excited the closer it got. She didn't understand why she was so excited, but all she knew was that she wanted to see what her prize looked like. Finally she got it within a few feet of the boat and Jem got into position.

"Alright, now just bring him home." He said as she pulled it in a little closer and he lipped it.

"Ah, there we go, check it out, your first largemouth bass." He said as he held up a little 8 incher.

He wasn't the biggest fish she could have gotten, but it was her first fish.

"Okay I'll admit that was fun." She got a small rush of adrenaline from that.

"Alright now hold him."

"...What?" She asked as Jem held out the fish to her.

"Well you got to hold him, I'm gonna take a picture." He said as she went silent.

"Uhm, could you do that?" She said as Jem chuckled.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of holding a fish?"

"No, I'm just...I'm a lady!"

"A lady who slaughters creatures of evil for a living."

"Is it...slimy?"

"Just grab him right here by the lower lip."

"In its mouth?!"

"Relax, you'll be fine." Jem was having a laugh at Winter's expense.

Who would have thought the tough as nails Atlesian Specialist would be squeamish about holding a fish.

Winter reached out her hands like she was touching something that would break if she wasn't careful. She felt a little weird when she put her thumb in the bass's mouth and pinched it between her index knuckle. She felt the small prickly sensation of what she thought were its teeth, and immediately she felt squeamish but also at ease as she realized she had a firm grip.

She would be lying if she said she didn't jump a bit when the fish flopped around in her hand.

"Don't worry, he's fine, now take your other hand and put it underneath his belly to help hold him up." Jem said as Winter did as she was told.

She felt the slimy texture of the scales against her palm, but it wasn't nearly as bad as she thought. She propped her little fish up as Jem got his camera ready.

"Okay, three, two, one." The flash on his phone went off as he took a few photos of Winter holding her catch.

Winter breathed out a sigh of relief as she went to give the fish back to Jem.

"No, you can let him go yourself, don't worry, its easy." She meeped a little as she went to the side of the boat.

"Don't throw him in, slowly lean down and put him back in." Jem preferred to gently put his fish back in the water rather than throw them in.

Winter leaned over the side of the boat as she took her thumb out of the mouth of the bass. Her hand under its belly was the only thing supporting him now as she lowered him into the water. At first he didn't do anything, he just stayed in her grip for a bit as she slowly loosened up her grasp so he could get away. For a minute, Winter thought something was wrong until he shot off like a bullet from a gun.

"Alright, thats one fish down, ready to catch some more?" He asked as she smiled and nodded.

That wasn't bad at all.

But she still had one question.

"Why did you tell me to look around?"

"Simple, fishing while it can be fun when you get a bite and you start to bring them in, most of the time its about sitting and waiting for something to bite. So its best to look around at your surroundings and take it all in, because being out in nature is one of the best parts about fishing, you don't want to just stare at the water all day, not just because you'll get frustrated or trick yourself into thinking that every small shadow or shimer is a fish, but also because you need to appreciate the beauty of nature." (1)Jem said as there was no better feeling than being away from the rat race of modern life.

Winter knew he could be insightful when he wanted to be, but she wasn't expecting it to be about fishing.

"Now, as I said before, are you ready to catch some more?" He asked as he handed her rod back.

"Absolutely!" She said with a smile on her face.

Jem smiled as he had a feeling this date was going incredibly well.

(1) A movie I recommend is "Live The Stream" Its on Amazon, the move is about Joe Humphreys who is a famous fly fisherman. You listen to the guy and not only does he give great fly fishing tips, but he's also really wholesome and a down to earth guy.

Seriously, that guy is who I aspire to be when I'm older.