He was nearly fifty years my senior. I was a young boy of about 10. My brothers were all "brainiacs", but I loved the outdoors. He was actually my great uncle and had quite a reputation in his day. My "uncle" saw something in me that caused him to realize that I needed a friend with the same interests, and so I became his responsibility to teach about "the great outdoors".
The stories that I could tell about the adventures that he and I had would fill a book! The laughter, the trials, the teaching, and the adventure still fill my mind to this day some 50 years later. The gift that he gave me cannot be measured with money, and now it is time that I pass it onto my five grandsons.
The day that my great uncle died was a difficult day. I remember taking the rifle he gave me, pulling up to our favorite hunting spot and just sitting there crying. Few deaths have moved me like his. He was my great uncle, my mentor, my hunting partner, my biggest fan, but most of all.........he was my friend.
I think that as a nation we have "dropped the ball", so to speak, by not taking time to pass along the lessons of life which will follow the next generation further than most of their classroom learning.
Welcome to Hunting
