—Ralph Waldo Emerson
It is not yet 11:00 a.m., less than an hour into our float, and Rose (not her real name) is hauling in the trout. A teenager with long brunette hair and a happy, resolute face, she stands in the bow of the drift boat wearing big pink sunglasses and casting a double-nymph/indicator rig with her 6-weight fly rod. Our ace young guide George Zumberge gives advice on mending and setting the hook, which she follows precisely, with laser focus on her indicator, while at the same time answering my questions.
She is sixteen and lives in Mississippi at Palmer Home for Children. Her birth mother, whom she has not seen in ten years, struggled with drug addiction. Her father raised her with a stepmother. Two years ago, when the stepmother became abusive to Rose’s little sister, the father turned both girls over to Palmer Home, and they have flourished there. Rose graduated this year from high school, her academic performance so outstanding she was allowed to take courses offering both high school and college credits.
She catches another fat rainbow. “So what’s next for you?” I ask while Zumberge releases it.
In our short acquaintance, I already know I can expect a thorough answer, and so it is. Join the army. Let the army put her through college. Become an officer. Helicopter school…
“Helicopter school?”
She looks at me through the pink sunglasses. “I am going to be a helicopter pilot.” And the look and the way she says it allow no doubt she will be.
Psychologists say that helping children overcome abuse requires multiple “protective factors,” including building in them confidence, demonstrating support, establishing connections, and allowing them to express their feelings.
