JESSE'S ROD
September is an in between month. Summer tends to hang on a bit and fall begins to let you know it is not far away. And when you are 24 and single and your ride is a Harley Davidson Fat Boy, life seems pretty good. Or at least that’s what Jesse Maulder thought. No one, not even Jesse could have known that as he left his home in Granger Iowa on that morning in September 2006, would be the start of some tough and anxious days ahead for not only Jesse but for his mom Vickie and the rest of the family.
Jesse said he never knew what happened and to this day doesn’t remember anything about the accident. What did happened is that he was hit from behind while waiting at a stop sign just a few miles from home. The driver, who hit him, was on his way to a new job; not familiar with the area he took his eyes of the road to read a map. According to the accident report, Jesse was thrown thru the air and landed in the highway. First responders on the scene didn’t think the helmet that Jesse wore would be enough to save his life. Jesse lay in a coma the first ten days after the accident. Those were heart wrenching days for Vicki, Jesse’s mom. He wasn’t expected to live and if he did, he would be no more than a vegetable. But they didn’t know Jesse. After ICU he spent the next two months in the hospital and the next ten in a rehabilitation facility. Such simple things, like eating and talking had to be learned all over again.
I first met Jesse in December of 2008. The Central Iowa Fly Fishers/Ed Powell Chapter was conducting a fly tying class sponsored by the Polk County Conservation Board. As I was entering the building, a van pulled up and Jesse’s mom got out and helped her son into his wheel chair. They asked if they were at the right place for the fly tying class and I said you bet. During our program, Dale Sanders (iaflyfisher) from CIFF told the group about our annual Cabin Fever Retreat that was being held at Springbrook State Park later in January. Jesse came to the retreat. Some folks new to fly tying have a hard time mastering some of the skills required. And Jesse was no exception. I spent some time with him and we worked on adjusting the vise for the size hook you want to tie and how to start your thread and eventually turned out some Woolly Buggers. It was evident that his motor skills, especially in his hands were still weak. But I was moved and impressed by his determination.
Not long after that, I was perusing Flyanglersonline.com and read a thread that a young man had posted. He wanted to build a fly rod for some deserving kid. It seems that back when he was a teen ager an older gentleman had taken him under his wing teaching him to fly fish, tie flies and eventually, build rods. So he wanted to give something back. And was asking members to post the reasons why a particular kid they knew deserved the rod. Although not a kid anymore, I felt compelled to tell Jesse’s story. I was shocked and taken back when Jonathan Sherwin from Bellingham, WA contacted me and said he wanted to build the fly rod for Jesse.
After several personal messages had been exchanged, we both agreed that the right rod for Jesse should be an 8½’ 2pc. Jonathan would pick out the blank from Rain Shadow. He gave me the choice of reel seat, grip, guides and color of thread for the wrap. Once he got started, Jonathan would send me pictures over the computer as the rod progressed.
Soon the rod was completed and shipped. Even though it didn’t belong to me, I felt like a kid on Christmas morning as I took the rod case out of the box and opened it. After putting it together and giving it a few wiggles, I had to really hold myself back from mounting one of my reels and taking it out side to do some lawn casting. But this was Jesse’s fly rod not mine, so back into the case it went.
We were hoping to have Jesse come to one of the Central Iowa Fly Fishers meetings so we could present him with the rod. From the very beginning, I wanted this to be done on behalf of the Central Iowa Fly Fishers in conjunction with Fly Anglers on Line and not Dave Rosset. Unfortunately, Jesse’s schedule always seemed to have a conflict with when we met. So one evening after work, Dale Sanders and I drove out and presented the rod to Jesse. To go along with the rod, Dave Oliver (djo) a member of both FAOL and CIFF had generously donated a new Ross reel. And we were able to provide some line, backing and a leader. The look on Jesse’s face tells the whole story. With tears rolling down her checks, Vicki said no one has ever done anything like that for him.
The great news is that Jesse has progressed considerably since I first met him. He has gone from wheel chair, to walker to now using a cane with four legs. The night we took him the rod, we managed to get in some lawn casting. Both Dale and I worked with him on the basics of fly casting and we are both confident he’ll be a competent caster in no time.
Epilog – This summer I received a card from Jesse’s mom. He no longer uses a four legged cane but still needs a regular cane for support. Not able to stand for long periods of time, he is teaching himself to cast sitting down.