Fun and Fish Hooks

I knew June Brown when I was a missionary kid, and she was "Aunt June" to me.

Our family (Dad and Mom Baker, my 2 sisters, Joyce and Annette, and I) was very fond of and loved Aunt June. Aunt June was quite the athlete, and I remember (as a young boy) of hearing about her being in the military (that's how she got the nickname "Sarge") and being on one of the top women's softball teams. That really impressed me !

When she was at Centennial Secondary School there in Mattru we had a tennis team that June, my dad and others were on. I was a 9th grader doing correspondence courses and was the youngest member of that team. That was a lot of fun, and Aunt June was a lot of fun, too.

I can also remember going out at night on the Jong river spear fishing during the dry season. We had a small wooden boat with a squared-off, flat front end that two people could stand up on. One person on the front would hold the bright pressure lantern just out over the bow, and the other person in front had the long-handled spear. The third person would be in back of the boat running the motor. We would find shallow areas in the river and try to spear fish that were somewhat blinded by the light. Occasionally one of us would fall in which was always a laugh. We got some fish that way, but we probably would have been malnourished if that's all we had to eat!

Years later, now married to Jane with our 2 yr. old daughter, Jennifer, I went back to Mattru Jong to serve the Lord as a missionary doctor. Again, Aunt June was there, but now was teaching at the Bumpe High School about 35 miles away. I didn't get to hunt very often with June but did get her to go on some fishing trips. We, along with others, would go down the Jong River several hours out into the large bays that open up into the Atlantic Ocean.

I remember one of those trips in particular where June and several other missionaries were along. We were trolling with some big artificial plugs off the back of my small fiber glass boat when June hooked into a big barracuda. She finally reeled it in to the boat after working the big fish and tiring it out. We were able to then haul it into the boat (I think we had a gaff hook), but it was still very much alive and not happy about being out of the water. It started flopping around with this large artificial bait in its mouth with 3 gangs of treble hooks dangerously flailing around.

June let out with a yell. Poor June! 1 of the treble hooks was embedded into the calf of her leg. Being very sensitive, I said, "Hey June, hold still, I want to get a picture!" Needless to say, June was not in the mood for a photo op. She yelled something like, "Ron, just get this thing out of my leg!" Others in the boat held the big fish down while I cut the hook off the lure - June was free from the fish but still had the hook embedded in her calf. We got right back to shore, and praise the Lord, I had brought a medical kit with me. In the kit, I had a small sterilized instrument set along with an injectable anesthetic (like Novocaine). We anesthetized the area where the treble hook was embedded and were able to remove it...much to June's relief.

There was never a dull moment with June Brown around!