Matt, I know the feeling. My uncle Phil was my hunting and fishing buddy since I was around five. He was the consummate bird dog man and an all around great outdoorsman. Long drives to old family hunting grounds were always filled with great stories about our family, hunting adventures and the such. When he died a few years ago so did my desire to hunt. However, shortly before his passing I had started hunting with a couple members of the PGCA. He thought I was the luckiest guy on earth. It turned out he was right. I found and connected with men of similar natures and the hunting spirit was rekindled within me. All those experiences and lessons learned with Unk come back to me today and give me a much richer sense of satisfaction. Had I given in to the melancholic sense of loss I was feeling I would have missed some of the greatest adventures and best people in my life. You never know what the future might have in store for you. If you want to go hunting, I don’t live that far from you. I would be happy to help you try and bag those last two grouse in Ohio. Just PM me sometime if you want to.
|