FREE ESSAY ON THE RIVER HAS NO CONSCIENCE

THE RIVER HAS NO CONSCIENCE

The River Has No Conscience
It was early on a Sunday morning. My Mother was in the kitchen cooking breakfast for my
sister and me. We were getting ready for our day on the Delaware River. My Mom and Sister
were going skidder tubing with some of their friends. I was going canoe fishing on the
River with a close friend of the family. Little did I know at the time, what would lie
ahead in the way of danger.
I was really excited about the day ahead as I had never been on the Delaware before. The
swiftness and height of the river made it seem even more adventurous. I felt like a real
outdoorsman!
As we packed up the last of our gear in the little white pick up truck, my heart pounded
with excitement at the thought of pulling one of those walleye out of the river. I had
been fishing once at an old man's house that lived on the Pennsylvania side of the river.
Ever since I saw him pull that walleye out of the river, I couldn't wait to do it myself,
but today was going to be even better than when I watched from the side of the river. I
would be on the River right there with the fish.
Once we got to Long Eddy, we unpacked the truck. My mother and the other people went
their way and we went the other. My mom yelled back one last time,  Be careful Joey...
don't take off that life jacket and steer clear of the rapids. The river is high today
because the gates are open. My mom had a friend who did river runs with tourists for
trout fishing and had called them that morning to find out if there was anything else we
needed to know regarding safety on the river. I felt confident the day would go well. My
Mom's friend that took me fishing that day had a lot of experience on the river. My
mother was still really worried about me going because I was inexperienced and nieve to
the real dangers of the river. She would have preferred, I went with her and the younger
children, but as usual, I got my way. 
Finally, there I was floating down the Delaware, fishing pole in hand. We had enough bait
to feed an army. It was a dream come true soon to become a nightmare.
As we headed around the bend in the river down towards Hankins, the river picked up
speed. All seemed safe and easy to handle. As we got to the other side of Hankins there
was another bend in the river. The water became swifter and louder as we continued down
towards the bend. My partner said that we needed to divert from the large pockets of
white foamy water. I observed that he was becoming a little nervous. When I asked Jim
what was wrong he said not to worry just to make sure my life jacket was on correctly and
to hold on and to listen to his instruction exactly. 
Being young and always anxious for an opportunity for excitement, I saw the chance to
have a thrill without seeing beyond the nose on my face. I thought it would be quite
adventurous to steer a little closer to the white-foaming water rapids. The roar of the
white foamy water hitting the rocks was enough to get me excited to the point where my
heart was pounding and beads of sweat were running down my forehead. I paddled towards
the white water without realizing that my partner was already struggling. The canoe
pounded onto a rock and propelled me out of the boat. My partner yelled, Keep swimming
Joe...keep swimming to shore and don't look back...just keep swimming.... This time I
listened. I never swam so fast in my entire life. 
When I reached the river's edge, I was exhausted and out of breath. I looked towards
where the canoe capsized. My partner was being ripped under by the canoe, which was
spinning uncontrollably in the white water. I was later to find out that his life jacket
had snapped and got wrapped around the bench in the canoe and with each turn of the boat,
it tightened around his neck.
Miraculously he broke free. I still cannot explain how that that felt watching a grown
man being tossed around like a ragdoll. I really believe, as does my partner, that it was
a miracle of God. There were a couple of other fishermen who saw the whole thing and
could not believe that either one of us made it. I am very fortunate to be able to tell
you this experience today.