Paddling with an Old Friend, In Old Boats, On an Old Favorite River

Hey, they're not making 'old' friends like they use to, at least as the older I get. So when I got a phone call, not a text or an email, an actual phone call, to go paddle the Sacandaga River, I jumped at the chance.
This old friend showed up one late night on my door step decades ago. Back when we lived in a trailer next to the river.  He had paddled by and from the river saw our kayaks loaded on the roof of our van. By the time he got to his car and drove back to where he thought we lived it had gotten pretty dark. Persistent he is, and after driving some back roads he finally stumbled upon our home and knocked on the door. Now not too many people ever come out our way unannounced so we thought someone was in trouble. But our future old friend explained it was his first day out with his Dancer and he was looking for someone to paddle with or take him paddling. We agreed to take Dancer out and show him some local rivers and give him a couple pointers. But we really thought he would be like most beginners and get tired of swimming or get too busy with life and eventually quit. But Dancer kept with it and developed into a competent, independent and safe boater with class V skills.
Life gets in the way but fortunately the river was still there waiting.