“There are Children in the Water”
Joe Miley, James Fullerton and his wife, Carol, were headed to a fishing hole 35 miles out from Hudson. With Miley at the wheel, InTheCooler sped along at 24 knots. After more than an hour pounding over the waves, Miley stopped to give them all a break. Idling, the boat acted like it had picked up some sea grass. As Miley checked the prop, the boat drifted south.
When he finished, he glanced to the horizon. Something was moving. It was just a speck. Birds diving, or maybe sea turtles. That could mean a reef. And reefs meant fish. “You mind if we go downrange a couple of miles？” he asked Fullerton.
Fullerton was reluctant. “Man, we've got a ways to go.”
But, if they found fish, Miley said, they wouldn't have to go any farther. They decided to check it out.
Drawing closer, the movement looked more like debris floating on the water than birds or turtles. But Miley pushed on. Maybe that white thing hopping up and down in the air was a bird after all.
Closer still, and he thought for a second that it looked like people out there. But it couldn't be. “Oh, my God,” cried Carol Fullerton. “There are children in the water.” Now they could hear shouting and yelling.
Tears welled up in Doolin's eyes as the boat pulled alongside them. The people on deck helped get Michael and the other two kids into the boat. Then he and Pollock climbed aboard. A woman wrapped his son in blankets and towels, while the men powered the boat toward shore.
Over and over, Doolin, Pollock and the boys thanked their rescuers.
What to make of Doolin's dream？ Was it a premonition？ Coincidence？ What we do know is that Michael and the others survived, healthy and with no lasting effects. We know that they all owe their lives to a big cooler that kept them afloat, a little cooler that flew like a bird, and three fishermen aboard InTheCooler who found them adrift in the open sea.
Joe Miley, James Fullerton and his wife, Carol, were headed to a fishing hole 35 miles out from Hudson. With Miley at the wheel, InTheCooler sped along at 24 knots. After more than an hour pounding over the waves, Miley stopped to give them all a break. Idling, the boat acted like it had picked up some sea grass. As Miley checked the prop, the boat drifted south.
When he finished, he glanced to the horizon. Something was moving. It was just a speck. Birds diving, or maybe sea turtles. That could mean a reef. And reefs meant fish. “You mind if we go downrange a couple of miles？” he asked Fullerton.
Fullerton was reluctant. “Man, we've got a ways to go.”
But, if they found fish, Miley said, they wouldn't have to go any farther. They decided to check it out.
Drawing closer, the movement looked more like debris floating on the water than birds or turtles. But Miley pushed on. Maybe that white thing hopping up and down in the air was a bird after all.
Closer still, and he thought for a second that it looked like people out there. But it couldn't be. “Oh, my God,” cried Carol Fullerton. “There are children in the water.” Now they could hear shouting and yelling.
Tears welled up in Doolin's eyes as the boat pulled alongside them. The people on deck helped get Michael and the other two kids into the boat. Then he and Pollock climbed aboard. A woman wrapped his son in blankets and towels, while the men powered the boat toward shore.
Over and over, Doolin, Pollock and the boys thanked their rescuers.
What to make of Doolin's dream？ Was it a premonition？ Coincidence？ What we do know is that Michael and the others survived, healthy and with no lasting effects. We know that they all owe their lives to a big cooler that kept them afloat, a little cooler that flew like a bird, and three fishermen aboard InTheCooler who found them adrift in the open sea.