Hank Cherry: The hand of a champion

âI believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they arenât trying to teach us.â â Umberto Eco Dateline: October 2012There stood in line, a big strong man, and a tiny young child.And they were holding hands.Iâm at the Toyota Tundra Ownerâs Tournament somewhere where it is still warm during the day with a cool sea breeze at night. Not sure the state, but in this story that doesnât matter.There is all around me a sea of Tundraâs and those who drive them. It is a bass fishing tournament, I forgot most of it, except one part, one image burned into my brain.A big strong man, a tiny child, holding hands at the tanks of the weigh-in line.I do not know who they are or where they are from, but standing some 30 feet away I do, in my heart, know this about themâ¦they are Father and Son.I know that by how the child looks to the man holding his hand.

âHe didnât tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.â â Clarence Budington KellandThere are fishing stars all over the place here, other folks who come up to say hello, fans of the game, wanna beâs in the game.And yet as if oblivious to all of that, a big strong man, bends down and opens up his bag so the young child can get up on tippy-toes and peer insideâ¦

<p>â¦and as the child looks at the fish, the man holding the bag smiles, not about the weight it holds, but about the fascination that grips the boy peering in.<br><br>In time though I have to move on, boats are coming in, Tundraâs are being shinned, dinner plans are being made, but something, something inside of me, something chiseled and learned after a quarter century of being a reporter whispers to me that even though the story of the tournament isnât this big man and little child in line, something tells me to move to zoom the camera in and take one last shot before I move on.<br><br>Take a picture of the name on the back of the jersey of this man with his child, and so I raised the camera and took this photo:</p>

â¦and as the child looks at the fish, the man holding the bag smiles, not about the weight it holds, but about the fascination that grips the boy peering in.In time though I have to move on, boats are coming in, Tundraâs are being shinned, dinner plans are being made, but something, something inside of me, something chiseled and learned after a quarter century of being a reporter whispers to me that even though the story of the tournament isnât this big man and little child in line, something tells me to move to zoom the camera in and take one last shot before I move on.Take a picture of the name on the back of the jersey of this man with his child, and so I raised the camera and took this photo:

âOf all the titles Iâve been privileged to have, âDadâ has always been the best.ââ Ken NortonI have always dreamt of having great success and boundless happiness, but not for me, for my children.I strive to not let go but to ease up on the clinging.I strive to smile at pink hair, tattoos, and not follow to close on Twitter.I hope to not be the shouts they hear, but the soft whisper in their head.âA father is always making his baby into a little woman. And when she is a women he turns her back again.ââ Enid BagnoldAs for the big strong man in line, and the young child holding his hand, I do have another picture of them taken 8 years from when I took those first shots.They are still together at a fishing tournament.But not holding hands.Instead, the young boy, Christian, is now in his fatherâs boat.And it is he who is holding the American flag as his father, Hank Cherry takes a victory lap with his whole family after winning his 1st Bassmaster Classic in 2020.

<p>Happy Fatherâs Day.<br><br>db<br><br><br></p><p style=

Happy Fatherâs Day.dbâWhen my father didn’t have my hand, he had my back.ââ Linda Poindexter