The Porn Circuit | Covenant Eyes Internet Accountability and Filtering

XXX
Chapter 3:
Stuck in a Rut
Carving Paths for Addiction
As a young boy growing up on a farm, I kept a fishing hook and line under a rock near our
pond. Set in a southern Kentucky valley between two wooded hills, this pond was fed by a
winding creek and a natural spring, and it teemed with bass, catfish, and blue gill.
Using my trusty pocketknife, I would strip off a branch from the nearby woods and tie on my
line just like Huck Finn. Under rocks and logs I found worms and grubs that I used for bait.
My favorite spot to fish was near the pond’s dam, where water overflowed and the creek
continued weaving its way across the valley to other farms. The creek followed a narrow pass
between the banks of two steep hills where sycamore, cedar, and oak trees lined its banks. The
fishing was good and in one particular afternoon I caught 22 for a family fish fry.
When I was in fifth grade by dad bought a second house in Florida, where I attended school
far from my old Kentucky home. I recall that we returned to Kentucky for the summer one
particular year, and I ran through the woods toward my familiar fishing hole. The path through
the woods was grown over, but I remembered the way. When I arrived at the pond, I found it
shallow and covered with algae. Meanwhile, the creek bed that led away from the pond had
doubled in size.
Over time, the overflow of water had eroded the dam to its base. With the continued flow of
water the creek had grown wider and deeper. The hills on each side of the creek were deeply
gouged by erosion and 50-year-old trees were toppled. The once shallow creek bed was now 15
feet to the top of its bank, and yet the water washing through only covered my shoes.
If the initial damage had been found early, the ever-deepening cut in the hillside would not
have been so severe. But neglect had carved its path. Refurbishing and restocking the pond
would take work and determination… and plenty of it.
The Porn Circuit | 14