For me it all started over 30 years ago, I wanted to go to Wyoming and hunt Mule Deer and Pronghorns. I tried for several years to get my brothers to go along, they would agree to go and ten some thing would come up, so I just gave up on them. Then my father had a heart attack, he was only 61 years old and had just realized his life long dream of becoming a pilot. He waited his entire life to get his pilot license, as a teenager he was the first employee of the York airport and helped to turn the old potato farm that he worked on into an airport. Then the war started he enlisted in the Navy, stayed in for the duration, got out went to work, started a business of his own, got married, raised a family and kept coming up with one excuse after the other not to become a pilot. At 60 he decided it was time, he went into it full bore got his license, bought a plane, was flying all over the place and wham a heart attack and mandatory surrender of his license. Well I took one long hard look at his situation and became more determined then ever to get to Wyoming to hunt. Only problem was I had a wife a mortgage, a couple of young kids and all of the other bills that go along with being a family man. As luck would have it I attended a class reunion and was sharing my story with a few old friends, long story short the next fall 3 of were in my buddies pick up truck headed out to make a dream a reality. I got hooked on traveling to hunt and for the next 20 years or so worked 2 and some times 3 jobs to pay for the trips. On all of the trips I went on finding someone to go along to share the experiences and the expenses was the hardest part. I hunted all over North America from one end to the other always telling myself that one day I would get to Africa to hunt, only trouble was none of my friends had any interest in going. Then in 2009 I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, surgery was my only option because there was no cure for it. With the surgery I was given a 25% chance of survival, well it all worked out and I was pronounced cancer free a year later. After that I started getting real serious about a safari in Africa but no one was interested in going along, not even my wife. Then in early 2011 while hunting in south Texas I started having chest pains, I did what any other hunter would have done, I ignored them and finished the hunt. I told my wife about the pains when I got home and the next thing I knew I was in the hospital getting an emergency stent placed and setting an appointment for open heart surgery. During my weeks long recovery period I used my time wisely and booked my first safari, telling my wife the hell with everybody else I am going even if I have to go alone. Well my family didn't want to see me going by myself so my son, my youngest daughter and wife decided to go along. We went to Namibia on a PG hunt for 10 days and had a blast. The following year my son and this time my oldest daughter went to Zim on a buff hunt and had a wonderful experience. Now I don't have to look for hunting buddies anymore, my kids are just as hooked as I am and have jobs where they make good money and have plenty of vacation time. I guess I was never smart enough to have a job like that.
Any way what the moral of this story is don't wait make your dream hunts come true, you never know when it might be too late. Sorry for the ramble.
I'm told I'm too miserable...
...twitch....twitch...snicker!
