Chip off the Ol’ Block!
A Bowhunter’s Legacy
*As published at www.GlobalOutfitters.com
ByKevin Reese
We snuck around the outcropping of mesquites then froze in our tracks. I looked back at my huntin’ buddy and put my finger to my lips. Shhhh. Slowly pushing through the briars brought us to a clearing where our prey its destiny. My buddy stayed behind me, holding onto my shirt to keep his balance. I steadied my bow and came to full draw. I could feel my buddy’s excitement building as he wringed the back of my shirt. Thwack! The jackrabbit ran frantically through the briars but escape was futile; he piled up a short 15 yards away. I turned and fell to my knees as my buddy rushed in for a high-five, “Congrats, dad!” The hug that followed was a reminder of one of few bigger-than-life reasons we fight so fiercely to protect our outdoor heritage.
What were you expecting, a bunch of guys hunting trophy whitetails? A day in the woods with my son is much better than that! A mountain of memories has been piled upon that distant day yet the details are no less vivid. Whether remembering the first time he watched a buck clear a barb-wire fence or the day he conquered his fear of heights by conquering my treestand, the memories never fade – only fuel my desire to share more with him; watching him develop his own appreciation for the outdoors while thanking God for its splendor is a blessing in its own right.
At home, we sit in the deer-stand (our couch). With his bow (and suction cup arrows) at the ready, we silently sit in wait for the trophy of our dreams to trek across our television screen. I watch him draw his bow, then release. His arrow finds its mark on our television screen with a puck. He’s harvested some incredible trophies!
Not long ago, as I tucked him in, he asked the question that truly validates the effort and time we’ve taken to begin building his legacy, “Daddy, can I have your truck?” Puzzled, I asked him why but wasn’t prepared for his answer, “So I can take you hunting when I grow up.” I came dangerously close to opening a floodgate of tears. “Yes, you can have my truck when you grow up.”
I share the same joy as him, perhaps more so, I suspect. For me it’s not as much about the fun as it is about my legacy and our outdoor heritage. When I see him smiling back at me, I think, my son is the future of our outdoor heritage. I think about the legacy I hope to leave him and the lessons he continues to learn such as patience, discipline, self-control, self-reliance, confidence, ethics, reasoning, decision-making, respect for our natural resources and appreciation for the miracle of life and permanence of death; however, the most important lesson he is learning is how to build that same legacy or better in a concerted effort to guarantee enjoyment of our outdoors and the teaching of those same invaluable lessons for generations to come. I look forward to the day when I can honestly say he’s a chip off the ol’ block. What could be better than that?
Hunt hard, hunt often.
Kevin can be reached at kevinr@just-hunt.com for questions and comments.
Tags: Bowhunting, daughter hunting, family outdoors, hunting, hunting family, hunting heritage, just-hunt, legacy, outdoors, pass it on, son hunting, teaching hunting, teaching outdoors, youth hunting
Saturday, January 7th, 2012 at 9:57 am • Hunting, Outdoor Writing, Uncategorized • RSS 2.0 feed • leave a response or trackback