| Some years ago a girl gave
me a round "to-it," which I am sure most of you are very familiar with. It was
just a round piece of paper called a "to-it". I have always thought that was a
clever way of describing how we all put things off. When
I was in college, I remember taking a history class on the things of the past and how,
decisions that were made way back when are still affecting the way each of us live today.
I also remember a teacher talking about learning how to tell time when we were young and
how hard it was for some kids to learn because of the vagueness used to define a second, a
minute, an hour, and so on. We say, "I’ll only be in the store for a few
minutes, I’ll be right back in few seconds, I’ll only be gone for a little
while, I’ll be right back in just a jiff," and so on. As you can see, it can
become quite confusing when your teacher tells you 60 seconds make one minute and 60
minutes make one hour and your mother or dad tell you a few minutes is an hour and a
second is 25 minutes. It seems a second, a minute, and an hour today is moving much faster
than even five years ago. I just don’t seem to have the time anymore to get around to
it like I used to.
Some years ago I made up my mind not to put off the things
that were important to me and not to let time and money be a deterrent of my dreams. I
decided to do the things in my life now, while I can and am able to. Now I know that we
must keep in focus all the things that we are responsible for. A man’s word should be
his bond. But the dreams in our minds should never fade away. Too often we end up in the
same rut in the road that takes us back to the same mud hole.
Now I’m not what you call a rich man. I have six
children, a good wife, and for most of my life I’ve lived on $30,000 a year, but
I’ve said many times that I’ve been places and seen things in my life that
millionaires only dream about.
I remember around ten years ago I was eating lunch with two
very rich men (that is rich as far as counting money goes). Both were millionaires and I
knew they could buy and sell me 1,000 times over. They asked me how much money I had in
the stock market. I said, "None." Wow! Not good. They asked me how much money I
had in savings. I said, "None". Wow! Not good at all. They asked me what I was
planning to retire on. I said, "Work." Then they went on to say that I should
not spend so much time and money hunting, fishing and being out in the mountains, when I
could be earning lots of money so at 65 I could enjoy the day with friends and family
catching brook trout; spend the whole week hunting mule deer in Mother Nature’s best
backdrop with family and friends; run, jump, and climb anything that comes your way; sit
around a campfire with the best people in the world and eat dutch oven steak and taters;
and listen to the hunting and fishing stories that a man never tires of? Have either of
you millionaires done any of these things? "No". "Do you think you can do
them now? Do you have any family or true friends that you can call on the phone and say,
"Let’s go fishing up at such and such a lake?" When you get there with all
your money, do you know how to unload the boat, how to run the motor, where to go, what to
fish with, how to even tie the right knots, how to take care of the fish, and how to land
the boat to go home? Are you going to do all these things and learn all of these things
after you retire and have the money? I don’t think so!" I think I’m living
the better life style. Been there, done that!
 What I’m trying to say is that we must never put our lives on
hold, especially with family and friends. We must create good memories with our sons and
daughters and friends to keep our dreams alive. A true fact of life is that the things we
enjoy and love to do are the things we are good at doing, and those things were taught to
us by someone who loved us enough to take the time to show us. We must, as hunters,
fishermen, and lovers of the great outdoors, take our sons and daughters, friends and
neighbors down the street with us and pass on this great legacy. I love the song "The
Cat’s in the Cradle". Do you think you will keep your children coming home to
enjoy them and your grandchildren if you never get around to it? Take just a second or two
to be their best friend, to give them the best memories of their lives, and to teach them
a love for something that will always be a part of their and their children’s lives.
I have always told my children that a man can live his
whole life and not remember very many days. What did you do last Monday, two weeks ago,
yesterday? Most of the time you can’t remember. It’s just there somewhere. But
can you remember the day you called that big old tom turkey in and got him, caught all
those fish, or killed that big muley buck 10 years ago? Yep! I can remember everything
about that day just like it was yesterday. If a man only remembers a few good days in his
whole life, why don’t we add a few more? If not me, who? If not now, when?
One of the reasons that I still guide a few people every
year is because I love to see the look of joy and excitement on a man’s or a
woman’s face in that one moment in time when they become successful in their quest;
and I enjoy the new friendships I make every year with people I never knew before. You,
with a love of the great outdoors, I love you all. Keep your dreams alive. You are still
the best of the best in my book.  |
