((music))
[Alex Ventura] Yea, and get tangled.
But all the fishing's going to be here.
[boy] We're going to catch some fish.
Yea, we're going to bring em back.
[narrator] It's the Labor Day Weekend at Lake Livingston
State Park, and the Ventura Family is encamped in style.
[mom] Esta muy fuerte.
[narrator] The adults prep the food, and a toddler annoys
his big sisters.
[boy talks in Spanish]
[narrator] Meanwhile, over at the park's marina, Alex
and his buddies have gone fishing.
[Alex] Pliers, sinkers, everything's right here I
need.
[narrator] Alex is the true angler in the group.
[Alex] Just let it go, or you can, like, hold it
and throw it and let go at the same time.
[sound of boy casting]
[Alex] Nice cast!
[narrator] Lake Livingston is known for its tournament-quality
fishing, but today in the hot August sun...
[boy] Oh, man!
My hook came off.
[narrator] ...no one is having much luck.
[Alex] Big fish, big fish!
[boy laughs]
[boy] I'm getting a little bored because I'm not
getting anything.
[boy] Look at that big spider.
[Alex] Oh, that is nice!
[boy] I can see, I can see a whole web now.
[Alex] Awesome!
[boy] Awesome!
[boy] Those are paralyzed spiders.
[buzzer]
[dad] Paralyzed spiders?
[boy] Yea, they'll paralyze you if they bite you
for three days.
[buzzer]
[dad] They will?
[boy] Yea.
[dad] I've never heard of those.
[boy] Yes.
They're off of Anacondas.
[buzzer]
[boy] They're paralyzed spiders.
[Alex] That's a banana spider
[ding]
[narrator] After lunch, Margie Brooks and her sons Darin
and Richey are doing what they enjoy most...
[Richey Brooks] I get my bike out and start riding it.
Start coming down here, going through trails.
Ugh.
That was cool.
[Darin Brooks] I know, dude.
[Darin] There's a bird watching you.
[man off camera] Really?
Where?
[Richey] Right there.
[Darin] On that stump.
[narrator] The brothers like coming to this spot in the
park, but for reasons that belie their young ages.
[Richey] There's a bench over there that you can just
sit down and look at the island.
[narrator] It was this island where their father took
them fishing, swimming, and exploring.
[Richey] Look at that boat way out there.
[narrator] The boys lost their dad to cancer about a
year ago.
[Richey] But my, my dad, he, he had a lot of tourna,
tournaments out here.
[narrator] Darin and Richey haven't returned to fishing
quite yet.
But they know life does go on...
[boys riding bikes]
[narrator] ... and the two brothers come back to the
park most every weekend.
[Richey] The best part about this is we get to make
new friends and see our old friends.
So, it's fun.
It's really fun.
[Darin] My brother tried to do it.
[Margie Brooks] It's like, the kids that they meet, when they
come back from one of their little adventures, you know, back to the campsite, it is priceless
to see their face, cause they come back with all these stories.
[narrator] And today, their mom is about to have a story
of her own.
[Margie] I have never walked up this thing.
Never.
[narrator] Margie is afraid of heights.
[Darin Brooks] Don't look down, just go, Mama.
[narrator] And in the twenty years she's come to the
park, not once...
[Margie] Oh!
[Darin] It's OK.
[Margie] Oh!
[narrator] ...has she ventured...
[Darin] You're doing it!
[narrator] ...to the top...
[Margie] This is immensely high.
[narrator] ...until this moment.
[Margie] Mercy, this is beautiful!
[Darin] I told you!
[narrator] So, with a little coaxing from her boys, Margie
has a new story to tell.
[Margie Brooks] This is breathtaking.
It really is.
We've seen all areas of the lake, but this view is just beautiful.
This is breathtaking.
(boys happy squealing)
[narrator] So much can happen in the course of a day.
And it's up to us to make the most out of each and every one.
And, if we truly are products of our memories and experiences, then this day here at Lake
Livingston State Park has been a very good one.