Now that I'm a dad myself, I often reflect on my childhood- and hope that my boys (now 5 and 3) remember their younger years as fondly as I do. When I think back on my childhood I'm amazed at how much time my dad and I were able to spend together. It's only now (now that I'm a dad myself), that I realize how lucky I was. Some of my most vivid memories center around our favorite pastimes... hunting and fishing.
I still remember dad's constant cadence while teaching me to handle a fly rod- "Ten and two... ten and two... make sure you pause on your back cast- you have to get the slack out of your line." I also remember his warnings based on first hand experience, "watch that fly- you don't want to bury it in your ear". As any fly fisherman knows, you will catch yourself from time to time, but more often than not when I'm fly fishing I catch myself thinking about dad's many lessons.
Hunting with dad was always an experience. Usually we'd head down to The Big Hole, just outside of Jackson Montana. November in The Big Hole is cold mind you...really cold. Most of the time we'd spend the night in the back of the pick-up truck. I'd be up all night, usually freezing, and listening to dad's other (night-time) cadence... his snoring. We'd literally wake up to an igloo. The inside of the truck topper caked with ice, we'd muster out of the truck, get dressed, eat a granola bar- and get to hunting. Our trips were always no frills... only the tough need apply.
My dad turned 70 this month, and I just know he's getting ready for bow season to start. The elk should be getting ready to bugle in Montana right about now, and surely dad is feeling the fever. My hope is that my kids feel my fever. That they remember my cadence, and my life lessons passed down from my dad. "Ten and two... ten and two... be patient on that back cast... and watch your ear!!!".
