For years, my main hobbies have been hunting and shooting. Oh yea, I fish too, but not near as much as I shoot.... specifically, rfiles. As I grew older, I re-discovered the pleasures of shooting rimfire .22's....
My late Dad had gone thru open-heart surgery, in 1986.... and that was pretty much the end of his 40+ year fanatic love affair with squirrel hunting; deer hunting and traveling the world fishing in places like Florida, and British Columbia (Canada). Not being one to "sit in his recliner and die".... he took up the new sport of BR-50, which was a world-class rimfire benchrest shooting competition. That was in 1990. But that's another story.
When I lived in Columbia, Missouri... Dad used to come down from northern Illinois (where he lived and taught school at the time).... and we would go squirrel hunting together. After his surgery (which he never really fully recovered from)..... he would still come down and visit, often bringing me some Eley rimfire ammo, or a new scope. That was around 1986 to 1989. During that same period, my ex-wife (with whom I had two young sons).... up and decided she was in love with someone else; told me so, and within 2 days.... had moved all her stuff out of our farmhouse. On her last 'trip' to get linens, etc..... she suddenly tells me that she is leaving the boys with me. I was in shock.... but I knew she had, for whatever reason, "gone off the deep end" emotionally... so I was glad the boys would remain with me, and in their known home.
Well, having full-time custody of the boys was a blessing, really.... tho hard sometimes. I had to take a second part-time job... in order to afford the day care for the 'day job'. A very kind, older lady from our church, watched the boys for me on the afternoons and evenings I had to work the second job. She did it for free, to help me 'get ahead'. And on the week-ends, my sons needed time with 'Dad' and needed my love and attention. As a side note.... those two little guys (ages 2-1/2 and 10 months, at the time)..... taught me more about unconditional love... than I ever imagined I could know. Still, my hunting and fishing hobbies, were basically put on the back burner, as they say.... cause my boys needed my time, and quite frankly.... I was too dang tired most days.
On one of his visits, my Dad and I were discussing how much he missed getting out on the lakes, and out in the woods. I told him how I "couldn't afford" to go much at all, either.... with the boys there (alone), tho I did take them fishing and swimming when I could. My Dad, out of the blue, says "Why don't you sit here, and write!?" He reminded me, how years earlier at age eleven or so... I had written an award-winning essay about Martin Luther King. Funny, I'd forgotten all about that. He told me he always thought I was good at it, and pointed out that, it was something I could do...... right here from my couch or at the kitchen table, after I put the boys to bed.
A couple of weeks later, I was going thru some stuff in one of our BR closets, and found three or four loose-leaf spiral notebooks. It reminded me about what Dad had said.... and so, I took one of them (and a beer) and went to the table, to 'write'. Well, I sat there a long time and after nearly two hours (and two more beers)... I realized, I didn't know what to write about. So I just got undress, and went to bed.
(Continued below)....... a sample of my 'work' in post #5
My late Dad had gone thru open-heart surgery, in 1986.... and that was pretty much the end of his 40+ year fanatic love affair with squirrel hunting; deer hunting and traveling the world fishing in places like Florida, and British Columbia (Canada). Not being one to "sit in his recliner and die".... he took up the new sport of BR-50, which was a world-class rimfire benchrest shooting competition. That was in 1990. But that's another story.
When I lived in Columbia, Missouri... Dad used to come down from northern Illinois (where he lived and taught school at the time).... and we would go squirrel hunting together. After his surgery (which he never really fully recovered from)..... he would still come down and visit, often bringing me some Eley rimfire ammo, or a new scope. That was around 1986 to 1989. During that same period, my ex-wife (with whom I had two young sons).... up and decided she was in love with someone else; told me so, and within 2 days.... had moved all her stuff out of our farmhouse. On her last 'trip' to get linens, etc..... she suddenly tells me that she is leaving the boys with me. I was in shock.... but I knew she had, for whatever reason, "gone off the deep end" emotionally... so I was glad the boys would remain with me, and in their known home.
Well, having full-time custody of the boys was a blessing, really.... tho hard sometimes. I had to take a second part-time job... in order to afford the day care for the 'day job'. A very kind, older lady from our church, watched the boys for me on the afternoons and evenings I had to work the second job. She did it for free, to help me 'get ahead'. And on the week-ends, my sons needed time with 'Dad' and needed my love and attention. As a side note.... those two little guys (ages 2-1/2 and 10 months, at the time)..... taught me more about unconditional love... than I ever imagined I could know. Still, my hunting and fishing hobbies, were basically put on the back burner, as they say.... cause my boys needed my time, and quite frankly.... I was too dang tired most days.
On one of his visits, my Dad and I were discussing how much he missed getting out on the lakes, and out in the woods. I told him how I "couldn't afford" to go much at all, either.... with the boys there (alone), tho I did take them fishing and swimming when I could. My Dad, out of the blue, says "Why don't you sit here, and write!?" He reminded me, how years earlier at age eleven or so... I had written an award-winning essay about Martin Luther King. Funny, I'd forgotten all about that. He told me he always thought I was good at it, and pointed out that, it was something I could do...... right here from my couch or at the kitchen table, after I put the boys to bed.
A couple of weeks later, I was going thru some stuff in one of our BR closets, and found three or four loose-leaf spiral notebooks. It reminded me about what Dad had said.... and so, I took one of them (and a beer) and went to the table, to 'write'. Well, I sat there a long time and after nearly two hours (and two more beers)... I realized, I didn't know what to write about. So I just got undress, and went to bed.
(Continued below)....... a sample of my 'work' in post #5
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