"Perseverance" Story

[missed mallards]

A little story. Got some editing to do. it's long, read on.


I’m guilty of tunnel vision. I see the outcome for which I want, and zone out the rest. I work vigorously toward the outcome and often times measure my success with either obtaining that goal, or simply not. I often times miss judge my success by being so Intune on the end result, the rest just goes unnoticed. In simple terms, it’s kind of like cooking a premium cut of beef to one’s choice. Myself, I enjoy it medium rare. I judge the evenings cooking by simply that, whether or not the steak meets my expectations. I judge a meal solely on how the steak turns out, or measure the success of that meal. There’s quite a bit more than just throwing a cut of meat on the grill though.

December 30, 2013. As the journal reads; a cold front was hovering over the delta. The north wind nipped at our backs, necks, and exposed trigger hands but didn’t slow our desire to fool the wary migrators. The cloudy morning made for an especially warranted trip to the south ponds, and all 4 shooters managed to tag out. Limits of Wood duck, teal, and gadwall hung from the heavy strap as we made the journey back north to our awaiting vehicles.

Funny thing about that hunt, and I guess why I feel the need to put ink to paper, a lot more happened.

The hunt was scheduled for Tuesday morning. It had all been planned that my brother, my girlfriend, & I would meet my buddy and his wife at our headquarters at 5:30 that morning. When we arrived, we did the same dance for which we had done most every morning that week. It’s always a three ring circus getting ready; unloading ATV’s, pulling wet waders on, keeping up with the dog, and getting all of our gear and people into the ranger for the trip south is always a challenge. Surprisingly, when we arrived at the south pond, all of our gear and people had made it.

The south pond is bordered to the north with a drainage ditch. In order to get to the small brush for which we use to conceal our silhouettes’, it’s got to be crossed. This ditch is 2 feet deep, to 10 feet deep, depending on where you wish to cross it. The water is usually no more than thigh deep, but the sides are near vertical. I’m going to blame dumb luck on where I stopped the convoy that morning. In the pitch black darkness, I grabbed gear and slung it over the obstacle. I managed to get the decoys, chairs, and blind bags clear of the water but the people, well that’s another story. By the time my brother and buddy arrived back from parking the ATV’s, I had realized we had a problem.

Team work came into play more so than any morning before hand. My brother was pushed up the slope by myself and my buddy. In return, my brother hauled up hunter after hunter with a mighty grip and a whole lot of grunting. First, my buddy’s wife, and then my buddy, and as my girlfriend began to make the journey up the incline, a duck hunters baptism happened. In one slip of the boot, and a slip of my brother’s hand, my girlfriend made her debut. I’m not going to lie; it wasn’t the least bit graceful. A splash, sloshing of the water, and after a mere second or two of fighting the water and me, she was back vertical and on her feet. At that moment, I was looking for a grizzly bear to fight, as I knew what was about to happen. Looking back, I think I’d of done better with the grizzly.

Nonetheless, we had a hunt we were just minutes away from starting. After much talk, and I’ll just be as politically correct as I can be by using talk, me and my girlfriend made our way toward a crossing a few hundred yards away. My brother and buddy managed to place the gear, setup the chairs, and were sitting on go! I, well, I was getting the tongue lashing of my life. My own dog even knew to stay away. I was on my own. I had taken all I could and began to express my concerns over the whole situation. By the time we had made it across the ditch, and walked the 20 yards through the tangled mass of briars, vines, and other face slashing brush, the argument was nearing the boiling point.

I often wonder if my brother took that lone drake out to shut us up, or help me out of a sticky situation. I will not say he shot it out of pure desire to kill, as he just wouldn’t do that. I can say that it was music to my ears. When my focus turned from the fight at hand to the sky, the whole argument meant nothing. In fact, I didn’t even think about it until I heard the splash only a human can make. Looking back, I saw her fighting her way back to her two feet, again. That’s when I saw her determination come out. She didn’t say a word, and although noticeably upset, she pulled herself upright, and told me to cut a path. She had fought a climb, 2 falls, and walked 200 yards through stuff a deer would avoid. She made the journey through it all and after tears, blood, and sweat, made her way to her place on the north levee.

We often talk about how her desires to hunt are mindboggling. There aren’t too many women whom enjoy the hassle for which it takes to be successful. She tracked with us through it all this past season. She made friends with my dog, got her first mallard, and managed to pull duck after duck from the air time and time again. As we talk about hunts past, she always brings up this hunt. A hunt, were she had the most miserable experience a duck hunter could have. To my surprise, it wasn’t that she had managed to take 6 ducks from the sky. She had fought for her limit. She had persevered through it all. She had been in a situation to give up and turn back and kept strong and moved forward. As she said, the success wasn’t the birds. She doesn’t even remember the day’s bag. It was the obstacles overcame. The passion to push forward, and the acknowledgement of knowing she didn’t give up!

I often forget the big picture. I get so zoned in on the small things that I forget the journey is as much a reward as the outcome. The smiles, stores, and adventures are what really stand out from this past season. My goals this past season were to put loaded straps around my friend’s necks. To me, that was the success and a goal I accomplished many times. I’m starting to think the journey to get there is as just rewarding as any strap I hauled out. December 30, 2013: I got a life lesson on perseverance.

[novacaine]

Excellent story and most excellent hunting companion!

[ShotgunSP]

As always, great read.