My youngest son was in town for a spell so he came by for some fishing, conversation and to spend the night. Our activities included taking me back in time to a period long before he was born. Long before I was in college. In fact, we went back about 55 years, though time travel was not planned. It just happened. Through stories, I was able to take him with me to the time I was about 12 years old.

Saturday morning, we went fishing at some spots where his brothers and I fished 30 years ago. He probably joined some of those trips but was only about four years old so did not remember fishing in those locations. From there, he encouraged us to explore some nearby areas to find someplace new. We found a creek, but it was too overgrown to hike along it, so we headed into new areas, following a navigable trail while searching for another access to the creek.

Eventually we agreed to head off the trail and through some undergrowth to access the creek anew. We pushed through greenbrier vines (“nature’s barbed wire” as I call them), mucky grounds and other growth until we came upon the creek. While pushing through woods, we inadvertently entered a time portal and ended up in a location that looked exactly like the areas where my friends and I played and adventured along Buffalo Bayou and Rummel Creek in the days of my youth. I was almost giddy at the find.

As we walked along the creek, through more woods and undergrowth, I shared a few stories of the days when Mark, Brian, Jeb and I would venture into the nearby woods many decades ago. I watched my six-foot son navigating through woods while my memory saw other much shorter boys moving through woods, adventuring and talking excitedly about what might be around the next bend. Just as then, we found interesting stuff and identified areas that we might want to try fishing at in the future.

After a while, we decided to hike back to my truck and return home. I don’t remember being as tired after an adventure when I was a kid! The adventure was equally exciting to the old days, even more so by being able to enjoy it with my son. There were important lessons in the day.

We should seek time portals that take us back in time; we should adventure; we should share our youth with our kids, no matter what age they are; we should remain open to the type of joy we had when we were kids. And, remember naps; time travel can be tiring!