School is important but quail hunting is importanter

[Dave Moore]

When I was 9 or 10 my dad took me with him to a exclusive quail hunting club in central California. There was a member who was about 60 at the time and was a lover of quality SxS shotguns that was hunting with us. For the first part of the day I walked behind my dad and retrieved birds for him. At lunch, this man came up to me and my dad with a Ithaca Flues 16 in field grade and told my dad this young man needs a shotgun if he is going to hunt quail with us and handed me the gun and said you are going to hunt with us this afternoon. I was so excited and I got to hunt as an equal that afternoon. About an hour later we came into a covey, they rose and I swung and knocked one down. My mentor told my dad “if he keeps this up he’ll be the best wing shooter to ever come down the pike” I had never been prouder of anything in my life.
50 years later and I still remember the day like it was yesterday. That is far more important than another day in school.