April 2012

I know it’s been a long time since my last post, but these things happen sometimes after season’s end. Guns go back in the safe; blogs get neglected.

Back in February, I did make it out to the SCI convention in Las Vegas to meet with the USA editor of Universal Hunter Magazine, Chantelle Enslin. UHM starts this year and will have a “challenged hunter” section so they wanted to talk about me contributing some of our stories to be put in print. Sounded like a good partnership for DHM. I got my first issue last week and one of our feature stories was in it. Looked great!

It did not hurt that the convention coincided with the superbowl either. That’s one of my top 4 times of year to be in Vegas, the other 3 being New Year’s, March Madness & the month of June during the WSOP.

One of the good things about spring is planning hunts for the fall. Dawn Z. and I joined the PCBA (Physically Challenged Bowhunters) and signed up for their antelope hunt in Gillette, WY this September when I discovered it on a message board. Funny how you find hunt ops sometimes. Dawn, our friend Tim Austin from Vortex Optics and I wanted to hunt together somewhere this year so I thought this might be the perfect place. All we have to do now is draw tags.

The big news is that we’re teaming up with Renegade Wheelchairs. I met John Rackley last weekend in San Antonio and took my first spin in one of these off-road beasts. I’m going to be promoting them in Texas and I can’t wait to get it in the woods to try it out myself over a bunch of different terrains. Hopefully, I’ll get to turkey hunt next weekend and post some pics and a review afterward. John also does a few filmed hunts for a show called North American Safari, maybe I’ll get invited to join him on a trip. (I will be at the Renegade booth at Bachman Lake Park in Dallas on June 2nd for Turning P.O.I.N.T.’s sports extravaganza if anyone wants to come test it out.)

I’m also going to be getting a Scorpyd crossbow soon to start hunting with and promoting. This is one of the fastest bows on the market and Jim Kempf (owner) is the inventor of the reverse draw technology for crossbows. I’ll have a lot more on this once I get my bow.

We’re working on getting some links up in the Rec section and more gear reviews so expect some new additions to the site very soon. Thanks for reading…

Outdoor Life 25

I was recently honored by being included in the Outdoor Life 25 which is a list of 25 people who were influential in the outdoor world during 2011.  Please go by and check out my profile on their site and put in a vote for me by leaving a comment.  Outdoor Life 25

Thanks!

11/30/2011 -

It never easy to pack up and go on the road for out-of-state hunts, especially when you come home without firing a shot or flinging an arrow, but I think it’s important to talk about because that’s what happens sometimes.  You plan for months, you buy licenses, you haul half your gear all over the country and stay in motel rooms for a week only to come home empty.  That’s not an easy thing to do, but it’s huntin’.  When you go after big deer, that’s the way it’s going to be more often than not.

The first hunt in northern Oklahoma looked promising on the drive up from Dallas.  A rainy storm front gave way to cold wind and clearing skies.  The terrain up there is mostly wide open (newly planted) wheat fields separated by creek bottoms and narrow wooded draws.  As soon as we arrived and met our guide, we went out to shoot our muzzleloaders before the morning hunt the next day.  My hopes were high that evening when I was told about what blind I’d be going to.  But it all went south the next morning when I got switched to a different location.  I was set up a hundred yards from the property line, and about mid-morning, another hunter came strolling by along the upwind side of the draw that lead deer toward us.  Needless to say, my hopes were gone after that.  I didn’t even want to go back to that blind again.

It ended up not mattering because nobody saw anything the entire 3 days we hunted, but I should’ve at least been able to hunt a spot I had faith in.  Oh well, on to Arkansas…

When we got to ‘Our-Kansas’, the south winds were blowing and it had warmed up so much that we didn’t go out deer hunting.  Dad & I hung out with Mike C and his mom & dad in Foreman for a couple days before striking out for Godfrey, IL, and a wheelin’ sportsmen hunt for deer in some of the best country I’d seen since Buffalo Co., WI, the year before.

Again my spirits were sky-high on the 10 hr drive up.  Again we drove through rain as another front blew down from the north.  Dad & I made it to the Best Western in Alton after dark on Thursday night.  We unloaded in the cold rain and drove back to the riverfront to have dinner at a sports bar that serves Italian food called Tony’s.  It was superb!

The next day, we met Randy Green and all the guys from the Nature Institute and the NWTF that would host us during the hunt at the Round Table restaurant in Godfrey.  Another terrific family place.  We talked about big bucks and how this was going to be ideal hunting weather.  It was a bow hunt, so we also talked about our bows and what adaptive shooting devices we use for them.  Then it was off to buy more licenses.

Two days later, only a few does had been spotted and two young bucks.  There were five hunters and nary an arrow was launched.  I got to hunt in some of the prettiest big deer country though, and that’s what I had come for.  I left with a host of new friends, an important part of what huntin’ is about to me.

It’s a long drive home after spending almost two weeks on the road with nothing to show for it.  I’ll let you in on a little secret though… It’s one of the things that I love about it.  I don’t want it to be easy.  That makes it extra special when you finally do connect with a good buck.  And that’s what’ll make me come back next year.  I’ll add some pics to this entry tomorrow.

On the Trail Again

I’m all packed up to leave tomorrow to meet Mike C. in Oklahoma. We have a muzzle-loader hunt near Alva this weekend. Then it’s back to Arkansas with Mike to hunt & fish next week some before heading up to Illinois the following weekend to bowhunt on a Wheelin’ Sportsmen hunt near Godfrey where those big mid-western bucks roam.

I’ll be posting updates here as we go and hopefully some pics too. This is the time of year we all look forward to and we hope you’ll enjoy keeping up with us…

Good hunting,
chad

Serve Outdoors Teal Hunt

A month prior to our group hunt this September, I seriously entertained the idea of cancelling it. There was no end to the drought in sight and half of the duck ponds we’d have to hunt were as dry as Mother Hubbard’s cupboard. Had it not been for two special hunters coming from out-of-state, I might’ve. Their flights plans had already been booked.

One guy coming from North Dakota, Carey McWilliams, is a blind hunter who would be going on his first wingshooting hunt for ducks & doves. And the other hunter, Dawn Ziegler, a woman from Wisconsin who writes the Outdoor Rec section for my magazine, would also be trying her hand at shotgunning for the first time afield.

For years, I’ve thought about how you might bird hunt without the use of sight, been wanting to take on that challenge for a long time. Well, Carey would give me that chance. He was going to make it easy for me though. He’d hunted pheasant one time prior and shot well since they are noisy, straight-line fliers, and he could follow them by sound. Carey is also the only blind person in the world to pass the requirements for a concealed weapons permit so he’s had a lot of experience with guns and shooting. What he didn’t have, however, was much knowledge about hunting. I felt like we’d be able to work it out when he showed up though.

Dawn and Carey both arrived mid-week so we’d have time to practice shooting before the hunts began. Dawn was going to be using a zero-gravity rig for the first time and that would take some getting used to, and for Carey, I had a guide sit behind him to practice helping him aim and swing on moving targets. We spent all Thursday afternoon getting both of them ready.

Again this year, my friend Jen Armstrong came to photograph the hunt for us. These are her shots and I think she does some incredible work (I took the very professional-looking one of her). Please go by her blog at Jen Armstrong Photography and let her know what you thought of her pics. This is the story of our special event through her eyes.

September 24th, sometime before sunrise…  I hadn’t realized this before, but there are oodles of things to be sensed on a teal hunt:  guys sloshing around the pond setting out decoys, the unloading of gear and last minutes ideas on where to best set up, the feel of ground fog against your face as the morning breeze picks it up, frogs croaking and crickets chirping their last tones before daylight hits, the aroma of pond life mixed with the dusty pasture surrounding it, loading shells into the guns, squeaky teal calls, teal buzzing by in the dark, excited whispers whenever they set there wings to come in, shots fired, ducks falling back to the water (sometimes), a dog tearing through the water to retrieve a duck, coming back, shaking off and panting hard after a long run, even the low hum of mosquitoes is part of the package.

My friend Reid guided Carey on this morning.  He sat behind him and helped him aim each time that we had ducks coming in.  It was the first documented case of a blind hunter duck wingshooting that I have ever heard about.  I told Carey going in that it wouldn’t be as easy as shooting pheasant, and I was right, but he jumped right in there and did the best he could, undaunted.  The true sign of a hunter, he wasn’t here to kill ducks, he was here to experience the hunt.

It didn’t take him long to break the ice.  On one of the first small flocks to come in, Carey folded one right out over the middle of the decoys.  Needless to say, he was pretty tickled.  My dog Tille brought it back and Reid took it over to Carey so he could “see” his first ever duck, a green-winged teal.

He said he loved having my dog out there and listening to her work during the hunt.  I told him that she had to come because she was a lot better ‘duck getter’ than my dad.  Carey also loved to shoot.  I also told him that was the only way to get better.  “Keep shooting.”

Later that morning, three blue-wings came in and banked high and away on Carey’s side, too far for me to venture a shot.  But not Carey, he shot and made a legit 45 yard shot on a flaring duck.  I’d love to give Reid some credit, but I’ve seen him shoot.  He’s not that good a shot.

My dad was Dawn’s guide.  This is her learning how to use the zero-gravity rig which is designed for higher quads who can’t swing the weight of a shotgun.  It works, but it takes some getting used to.  She also has what we call a U-cuff attached to the fore-end, a rudimentary trigger-pulling device, and a adaptive brace on her left hand to swing the gun with.

She also killed her first duck in the air almost right away.  The morning was made before we saw the sun.  After Dawn and Carey both had ducks, everything else was gravy.

We didn’t have that many flocks come in, but I’m quite certain that both of my new duck hunters could’ve filled their limit had there been more birds.

The following morning, we moved to a flooded ricefield nearby where there were more ducks working.  Both Dawn and Carey shot more teal on the wing, a testament to their determination and love of the outdoors.  How many of us would fly somewhere by ourselves, blind, to a place where we didn’t know anybody in order to try something that has never been done?  As I write this blog, both Dawn and Carey are on separate deer hunts somewhere in the Midwest.  I hope to see them both back down here next year.

I know a chocolate dog that will be ready.

It’s Fall Yet!

This brutal summer in Texas is officially over. The drought isn’t, but the triple digit days are finally in the rear-view mirror. Both of which put my hunting during on opening of teal season in serious jeopardy since both our duck ponds have been seared dry. And this summer they reported record numbers of ducks… great.

I got invited to go hunt a flooded ricefield pond with some friends, Darby & Matt Hoffman, who guide some of my hunters during my annual group hunt. It was also a good trial run for how to hunt from a chair in 2 feet of water and how hard it would be to ferry some guys out there. I was just glad to be going.

It was cool that first morning. This is a phenomenon that happens in September even though it’s going to be 90 degrees by noon. The moon set just before dawn and on a slight breeze teal started passing by overhead in the dark. It’s so dry that all the ground can muster is a wispy fog. There’s barely any dew on the grass. But the ducks, they showed up in force.

You could see the excitement in my lab Tille’s body. She was shaking she was so wound up and ready to blast off her perch. When ducks started landing in the decoys before shooting time, it was all she could do to stay put. She whined she wanted to go get them so badly. Teal wings cut through the air as bigger groups passed by. Those are all the sights & sounds that say “Summer’s over!”

We all got plenty of action, and gave Tille plenty too. Chasing down six limits of ducks in forty-five minutes in flooded rice took some of the starch out of her.

Darby put down a wooden pallet next to the blind for my chair to sit on so I wouldn’t have to sit in 2 feet of water. I’d done this before a couple of times whenever we had to hunt in a flooded field. Riding a 4 wheeler to and from the blind is the easy part, especially when you have enough man-power.

Anyway, it was great to get started on another season and to put a little more distance between myself and the worst summer we’ve ever had. See y’all in two weeks when I host my disabled teal/dove hunt.

Abilities Expo – Houston

Went up to my first Abilities Expo last weekend in Houston at Reliant Park and was not disappointed. I just recently found out them when I discovered that their newsletter, The Buzz, is publishing a profile story about me next month. I also needed to drop of my application (for being a member of the TIRR Peers program) at the Memorial Herman booth so I went in to check out what they had to offer, which was a lot. There are several vendors for adaptive equipment, vehicle conversion, recreation, service dogs and some of the newest products on the market for the disabled community. Seminars were also running everyday for the entire three days of the expo. Ms. Wheelchair Texas even had a space there, whatever that’s about. I didn’t stop to see.

Admission was free to the public. I met David Korse (Expo President & CEO) at 1pm to talk about what I was looking for from the Houston Expo and we shared some ideas on how we might work together in the future. I’ll definitely be adding a logo and link from the magazine soon. And I’ll keep you posted on where the Abilities Expos are happening because they are across the country from New york to California.

I was mostly keyed on the outdoor gear, but there were all kinds of interesting things to see:
The first stop for me was the Free Wheel booth. We already have a gear review of this product so I wanted to meet the people who invented it. It just so happened that two people I know where there trying them on and they both ended up buying one. I would’ve bought one too to try in the field this season, but I need to find a solid footrest for my TiLite chair first. Don’t worry Pat, you’ll be getting a call soon.

I met Ron and Brenda with the Freedom Mobility team next. This is their Freedom Chair. It’s one of the few all-terrain electric chairs on the market that I wanted to get a better look at. It looks like it could go almost anywhere, and with the metal base you could easily attach some gun rests for hunting. Also, the seat reclines back.

We talked about meeting this fall for a test drive, and they may even make it down for our group duck/dove at the end of next month for some of our hunters to try. If so, I’ll have more info for sure. Look for a gear review someday soon.

This is Mark with Frog Legs extensions. They make some aftermarket front casters & forks for your chair that are supposed to give you a better ride across bumpy surfaces. I’ve known about them for years and always wanted to try them. Count on this happening soon. Mark is a great guy from Iowa and we talked about deer hunting for awhile. Then he showed me a new product they are coming out with soon that acts like mini head & tail lights for a chair.

I have got to get me some of those!

Here is the Goshichi vehicle conversion for a truck. They also had a suburban there on display. This is the top-of-the-line when it comes to truck lifts. Made for higher quads that can’t transfer into a seat and want/need to drive a truck. It’s not cheap, but very slick. I’m glad I got to see it up close.

Here is the Track Chair. Another all-terrain chair that is made with a belt drive similar to a snowmobile, complete with gun rest and fishing rod attachments. One of the arms lays down to help transfer in and out of it. The track chair just looks like it’s ready to go hunting.

Here’s a unique product. This is different design form of hand controls by Kempf. The accelerator ring on the steering wheel is actually works the gas and you accelerate by pressing down with your thumbs while steering with your hands. The brake is a separate lever on the steering column. Another expensive but cool new product.

Here’s a beach/go-anywhere chair that I came across that I thought I’d throw in. It’s made by Vipamat and if you’ve ever been to the beach, you know how much of a necessity it would be to get around in, especially if you want to get in the water. I think all beach resorts should have one for their guests.

I didn’t take a pic, but the SuperStand wheelchair deserves mentioning. Thy are the only American made standing chair on the market and it’s very important for all wheelchair users to stand periodically. It’s good for the bones, for pressure release, better circulation and for digestion. Standing may be one of the best therapies that nobody tells you about.

Ok that’s enough for one day. Whew! Glad I went to dinner that night with friends at El Real in Houston. I needed a cold beer that night.

Is It Fall Yet?

Sure doesn’t seem like it after the 20th straight day of triple digit heat. It’s hard to believe that dove season opens in two and a half weeks and I’ll be in Hondo, Tx., with all my 70 year-old friends kicking off another Fall. At least pre-season NFL started this week. And the white-winged dove population has started to explode in El Campo just like it does every August after their third hatch. Those two things at least makes it feel like Fall is getting close in the late afternoon.

I’ve been writing articles about my trip to Namibia ever since we got back in June. As of now, I have stories sent to Sports-N-Spokes magazine, Special Living, the African Hunting Gazette, New Mobility, and the Abilities Expo newsletter called The Buzz. I also sent a piece about my trip over to my friend Ashley Olson who has a site called Wheelchair Traveling. It focuses primarily on the details of trekking to Africa as a quadriplegic, how to prepare for and what to expect on a trip like that.

Speaking of Ashley, she’s going to be one of our new prostaffers for DHM. She’s going to be keeping a blog going on her site and send us some travel stories for every new issue so look for her. Welcome aboard Ash!

Dawn and I have been working hard to get the next issue out so be on the lookout. We have some really dynamite stories to tell. I think you’ll enjoy reading them as much as we did writing them. I’m shooting for next week.

That’s about all there is going on in my life at the moment. It’s the calm before the storm.

Good hunting,
Chad

Namibia – Day 9

It was our last day in the bush, and with another pristine morning dawning in Namibia, the sweltering 97 degree heat of the Texas coast actually seemed 10,000 miles away (which wasn’t that far off the mark).  Tomorrow, Greg and I will be headed to Windhoek to spend one night at the Kalahari Sands hotel downtown since our flight home leaves at 11:30am the following day (Saturday, June 18).  That would give us time to shop at the open market across the street and rest up before the long trek back.

Before that, though, we enjoyed another breakfast by the tiny wood-burning furnace that welcomed us every early morning of our stay.  We’ll strike out today to look for those elusive elephants and maybe take another warthog if we crossed paths with another ‘old guy’.  We’d also carry with us the fulfillment of closing out one of the greatest times Greg & I have ever spent together in the field.  Since he took over 1000 pics, I thought I’d make my last entry sort of a photo tour of some of the sights we captured in northern Namibia.  I’m including some of the wheelchair accessible modifications that the Oelofse’s have made to their lodges & hunting vehicles in order to be able to accommodate disabled guests.  They do a tremendous job in that regard, and will do whatever it takes make sure you have what you need during your safari.

So, on with the pics…

bedroom at elephant lodge

shower and tub at elephant lodge

the view from our small breakfast room

sidecar lift into hunt vehicle

Jan next to his adaptive vehicle lift

a big male lion we saw during a nighttime feeding

the eye of the kudu which can always be seen through his horns

one of many warthog burrows we found

view not far from hunt camp

mature sable bull

rhino momma with a baby boy in tow

close up of my zebra's face

close up impala ram

nests of the masked weaver

ostrich protecting her nest. they lay with their head flat on the ground to hide.

we finally found a herd!

the big bull on the left guarding a cow in heat from two younger bulls

dusk on the savannah

watching a full moon on the rise hours before a total lunar eclipse

hippos stirring under in the moonlight

chair lift up the viewing room

viewing room at dusk

viewing room where we ended each day with drinks and tales from the hunt

this is Jan Oelofse. he was a pioneer in game catching back in the day and also trained all the animals for and worked on the set of the John Wayne film Hatari!

This is the end of the road for our safari in Namibia.  We had our eyes wide open, noticing, feeling, enjoying, breathing in every experience while we were here. Our souls have been soothed for a while in a land unspoiled by human touch.  Soon we’ll begin our journey home.  See you in Texas!

Namibia – Day 8

A strange thing happened today.  I felt something that I’d never had before on a trip, a kind of sadness.  I knew I’d be leaving soon, and with two days left on my safari, I wholeheartedly did not want it to be over.  It was that good of an experience.  But Rudi would made sure it was going to be a full next two days…

We pushed back our wake-up to 7 o’clock again since we had almost every animal on my list crossed off.  Only impala remained, and warthog of course if he was big enough.  The full breakfast was a nice change of pace, as was our rested bodies.

On the way out of camp, an elephant trumpet in the crisp morning air caught us by surprise.  They were close and somewhere in the bush, and we could’ve gone looking for them, but I decided to keep on.  It was prime time of the morning and we were still on safari.  Too bad for Greg because he’d been wanting to see elephants the whole trip.  He was just gonna have to keep wanting though.

It was going to be his morning to shine anyway.  About 30 minutes down the road, Rudi and I were conversating when Greg called out “Warthog!”  It was the first time he’d spotted something before any of us pointed it out to him first.  It just so happened to be another big tusker.  A momma, two little pigs, and another big guy were making there way through the grass and into the shade of some small acacia shrubs.  I threw up the binocs right away and found the boar.  “He’s got really good tusks,” is what I said as soon as I got a good look.  Well, Rudi must’ve taken from the way I said that because without ever seeing him, he grabbed my rifle and had it ready and waiting for me as soon as I let go of my bino’s.

Another first for this trip was about to happen, a warthog was going to stand still for more than two seconds.  They didn’t know we were there, and the big guy was rooting around there in the brush, offering me a perfect quartering shot.  When I took it, he folded and dropped.  There’d be no tracking this one.  Actually, we hadn’t had to track any animal yet.  (This happened mainly because I only took the shot when I had a good one.  There were a couple of times when my target was either turning to leave or it was an “iffy” shot through some brush.  In Africa, you don’t need to take any questionable shots.  Let them go and find another one.)

When we rolled up this boar, we could see the nice tusks on him, bigger than Rudi expected I think.  He was pretty excited when he saw him.  We all were!

We had lunch in the shade of the tall acacia along a creek bottom in the area where we’d be hunting impala that afternoon.  These were some of the best times of the hunt.  We’d spend two hours in the quiet solitude of the bush every day, eating, napping in the sun, just being a part of the day as it passed by.  There’ll never be anything like this until I come back someday.

There was an impala ram to be found though.  They’re one of the most recognizable animals in Africa and we’d seen them all over the place since the first day we arrived, even came close to taking one on three occasions.  I loved the way their dark reddish tan color looked against the amber grass.  It was time to seal the deal.

We’d found three separate herds of impala that each held two or three possible shooters that afternoon, but we kept passing on them because we thought we could find one “a little better.”  We were having a great time looking around and it seemed like there was always another group of them around the next bend in the terrain.  After we’d crossed through the Etjo lodge area going south, I asked Rudi if we were hunting yet because there wasn’t any hunting close to camp.  He said ‘yes’, and I said ‘Good because there’s a big bunch of impala down in that draw right there.’

this is the biggest impala ram that we saw on the trip. he was too young to remove from the gene pool. the one i took was 10 yards to the left out of the photo.

There was one really sensational ram in that group, but he was too young to take, and then we spotted another really nice one that was an ‘old guy’.  This was going to be our boy.  We had a great position from above them on the hill as the dying sun cast that orangey hue across the scene.  This was going to be another picture-perfect moment.  I knew this was going to be my last crack and I was not going to mess it up.

the perfect ending trophy shot to an already memorable safari

Namibia – Day 7

Some blogs I’ve written took some effort to put together.  This one is not going to be one of those times.  Today was one of the greatest days of the trip…  and it all happened before lunch.

We got up this a.m. at 6 as eager and excited as we were seven days ago.  This is one of the special things about Africa.  There are so many different kinds of animals (and country) to see that you never get tired of going out.  I just hope it doesn’t ruin me for deer hunting back in the states.

We eased out of camp a few minutes before the sun crested the horizon; another crisp, clear morning lay over the hood of the jeep again as we came down off the higher ground for the plains.  Today, blesbok was on the menu to start the day off.  And to be honest with you, blesbok, springbok, and impala are not hard to find, not all that tough to get close to, it’s finding a good mature ram that’s the hunting part.  Personally, I love going after these guys because you get to look over a lot of rams.  It reminds me of pronghorn hunting.  We’d already seen plenty of blesbok during the safari.  Today was the day we were going to take one.

‘Round about a half hour later, we were glassing one that Rudi said was a good “old guy” to take.  Most of the blesbok males, the older ones anyway, live solitary lives on the plains.  And since it was mating season, they had their territories staked out just like the springbok did.  We had this one pegged, but he wasn’t going to go down that easily.  He took off so we had to follow behind (slowly) a few hundred yards before he stopped to take a longer at us than he should’ve.  Another shot and short run and he was ours.

After Doctoro gutted him (a side not: the only thin not saved from every kill is the intestines.  even the stomach linings are kept on every animal except the warthog.), we loaded him up and were on our way to the skinning house at main lodge.

At 300 yards away, we both saw him the second he cleared the brush.  Zebra!  It was a stallion and he was all alone.  I looked at Rudi to see if we were gonna make a play for him or not.  Both of us were still kinda surprised about what we were seeing.  He was on the run and on the run away from us so we had to make the decision fast…

It was a go!

The same time we took off after him is when I noticed a herd of black wildebeest to our left that was heading right for our zebra.  If we didn’t cut them off, Rudi said they’d pick him up and we’d never see him again.  It was all happening fast now.  I was trying to watch the stallion, the black herd moving toward him and hang on to my rifle all at the same time.  It was one of those times that you just know if you hit any kind of bump that you’re going airborne.  Well, we made it.  And we made it in between the wildebeest and our boy, we had to catch up with him now.  All I could see was his striped rump going straight away from us now.

When we got to within 200 yds, Rudi stopped and called at him when he looked like he was slowing down.  It was the first time he ever gave me some advice on shooting too.  “Hurry up!”  He said.  I think he knew how precious few moments that zebras usually give you to take a shot.

As soon as I got my sight on him, he wheeled and was off again.  Apparently, he’d been kicked out of a herd and was looking for another somewhere.  This just happened to be perfect for us.  The next time he started slowing down, he was somewhere close to 150.  I had the rifle up already when we both stopped this time.  There he was, a beautiful stallion broadside on the plains and I hoped to get about 5 seconds to shoot.  I did!  The crack of the rifle sent him wheeling one last time as he rumbled off as we watched.  He stopped, spun around and came back toward us before tumbling down, disappearing as the tall grass swallowed him up.

my gorgeous burchell's zebra stallion

None of us could really believe what had happened, but the excitement of the moment finally busted out in the jeep.  It’s a rare and wondrous moment for a hunter when you roll up on a zebra.  We took a few minutes to soak in the experience.  It was important for us to appreciate what we’d been given.

Back at Mount Etjo, Jan came over to congratulate me on a beautiful trophy, especially for a disabled hunter.

It was after 12:30 when we were finally back on the plains heading toward somewhere for lunch.  The sun was high and there were four guys in our jeep that were getting pretty hungry.  All of us were lazily soaking up the day now.  None of us expected that it was about to happen again!  (another lightning strike)

A group of warthogs burst across the road right in front of us, a momma, two babies, and the biggest old tusker that we’d seen the whole trip.  On a dead run, they slipped through the long grass on their way up the slope to our right, and by the time Rudi had the truck turned and my rifle locked & loaded, they were passed the 100 yd mark.  “Just shoot him in the ass.  We’ll get him,” Rudi barked.  I didn’t have to do that though.  When I got the scope on him, I had the slightest quartering angle that I’ve ever taken before.  When I shot, the bullet echoed a thump and that big boar rocked as he kept going on.  When the shot cleared, nothing moved.  Everything was still and no warthogs were in sight.  The worse thing was I had no idea what kind of shot I’d made.

Turned out to be a pretty good one.  That big, ugly, muddy warthog was laying dead in the grass 20 yds farther than where I’d hit him, with an entry wound right in front of his hip on one side and an exit on the opposite shoulder.  It was a day of days in the bush.

“Can we go eat lunch now please?” Rudi said when we finally got through taking pics and put him in the jeep.

Namibia – Day 6

Got up at 5 again this morning.  Left camp before sunrise.  We wanted to get in the blind early today.  If zebra came to drink, we were going to be there ready.

The sun was just up when we parked some 300 yds away.  We got down and, carrying everything we’d need for a long sit, “walked” the last piece to the blind.  The brush and grass were reflecting the morning glow as we approached cautiously.  There were gemsbok already surrounding a mineral lick that lay near the water.  They didn’t pay much attention to us though as we slowly got into where we wanted to be.

It was such a peaceful place to be, far away from civilization, and experience the day coming to life.  Gemsbok came in and out to drink and fight for position around the mineral block, and I noticed that they use those long horns they have to scratch their backs a lot.  Herds of sprinbok passed by a few times, standing out in the sunshine like they always do.  And the birds of Africa!  I haven’t talked about them yet, but Namibia has “a lovely bird life.”  (According to an old friend of Jan’s that rode in from Windhoek with us on Monday.)  A social type of weaver bird called the white-browed sparrow had a tree next to our blind, and they sing all day long.  They also have a crimson-breasted shrike that passed through every now and then, and a huge kori bustard that has a head like a pterodactyl and roams the ground looking for food.  We also saw one of the prettiest birds I’ve ever seen there, one called the lilac-breasted roller.  When it takes off, it’s entire body is a fluorescent blue color. We also saw goshawks, vultures and that secretary bird that kills snakes by stomping them with its long legs before eating them.

Anyway, back to the blind, we sat through lunch and up about 3 o’clock which was the time we planned to quit, we decided we might as well go all the way.  I was comfortable and Greg had his ipad so we were good to go.  That was the easiest sit I ever had.  Nothing showed, but that didn’t matter really.  The air was fresh and we were all loving the experience.

We called it a day at sundown, which in Namibia happens about 5:30pm.  I hadn’t thought about it before, but I was close to seeing my first day on safari where I didn’t fire a shot.  Of course, I also didn’t know it was about to be porcupine time!  We came across one on the drive out and I wanted one for a full body mount for our local museum.  Long story short, I shot a little low on him and Rudi had to chase him around in the dark for awhile which was one of the funniest things we witnessed on the entire trip.  Rudi also couldn’t help but say ‘porcupine time’ in his best redneck accent for the rest of the safari too, and he sure did seem to enjoy it.

Not much happened today, but it was one of the most soul-soothing days I’ve ever had.  I’ll post more sights from the trip since we I didn’t get my zebra.

the massive condo-style nests of the sociable weaver bird

a lilac-breasted roller

a beautiful impala ram with a harem of ewes

a white rhino bull on the savannah

a 40" sable in the evening light

a full moon on the rise over a herd of blesbok as our jeep comes down the road. we had a total lunar eclipse that night too.

Namibia – Day 5

We were still basking in the glory of the kudu kill over breakfast this morning, a late breakfast.  We pushed back our wake-up call to 7am this morning instead of 5 since I had therapy last night and didn’t get to bed until after midnight, and because we’d taken one of the toughest animals to get yesterday afternoon.  Boy did it feel good to give my body a little rest after 4 straight days of riding around.  Not only that, but we had our first full breakfast of the hunt.

Today would be all about finding a warthog.  I really wanted to get a big tusker and we’d seen quite a few so far (we even saw two nice ones on the drive in to Mount Etjo).  Since it has been such a wet year, they were running everywhere it seemed.  Only problem was, they’re always moving.  I discovered pretty quick that warthogs don’t stand still much.  Their best defense, since their eyesight is poor compared to other game animals, is to run.  Another problem was the tall grass from all the rain.  With those two factors in play, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy to hang a big old boar like I wanted.

Did I mention that it was breeding season during our safari?  Most of the antelope, the warthogs, and even the elephants were either in the ‘rut’ or the late stages of it.  Almost every warthog sighting would be a female, two young ones and a boar following behind.  It was a fun time to be hunting in the bush.

We left hunt lodge about 9am this morning.  It was still cold and another perfectly cloudless day.  Rudi said we were going to an area where the terrain was a little lower and flatter where more warthogs were.  They are a lot like our feral hogs in that regard, they like loose soil where they can root around more easily.  But make no mistake about it, with the tusks they have, they can root up almost any kind of land from what I saw.  Every dam that had been made to create a small lake or water hole had warthog burrows all in it.

We hadn’t been hunting long when we eased down into what looked like a grass flat that was surrounded by bush.  Immediately, we saw a big boar running out as soon as we got onto it.  He was close and must’ve heard us coming.  Rudi parked and climbed out onto the roof of the jeep to see if he could spot another.  He said they liked this field which was easy to see from the torn up ground.

this is the flat that was a warthog feeding ground

Well, Rudi spotted another boar.  “Ok, there’s a boar out there about 250 yds.  This is what we’re gonna do.  We’re gonna get you in your chair and pull you out there and see if we can get you close enough for a shot,” is what Rudi said in a lower tone.  Sounded like a great idea to me.  It’s a rare special occasion for me whenever I get to go on an actual stalk, and do do it in Africa was even better.

Everybody moved slowly and deliberately as we got down out of the jeep and got ready for the stalk without making too much noise.  We had a pretty good breeze in our faces though so we could make a little.  We shed our jackets and I dropped the backpack off my chair.  Greg would push me out there and Rudi would lead us.  Which was a great plan until we got into the flat and into the warthog ruts.  That, coupled with the thick grass made it really slow going.  We needed a new plan.

After Rudi asked Greg if he could ‘piggy-back’ me, the stalk was back on!  We followed Rudi, who had my rifle on his shoulder, my folded up chair in one hand and my cushion in the other.  I rode on Greg’s back, where I could right away see what we were after.  (Doctoro stayed back on the jeep to keep an eye on our target.)  About a hundred yards away, the dark grey outline of a hog stood out a few inches above the light yellow grass stalks.  We quietly, slowly went right at him, stopping whenever he lifted his head to check for danger.  I don’t know how he could see any though.  All I saw when he raised his head was the sparse main on the back of his neck.  He was listening more than looking I imagine.

We had the wind though, and at 50 yds, Rudi quietly unfolded my chair on the ground.  Greg dropped me into it and then got on his knees facing me while putting his hands on my wheels to become an instant shooting rest.  Lucky for him, Rudi had some kleenex he stuffed in his ears before I took a shot.  “Wait ’til he lifts his head up” was the last thing that was said.  As soon as he stopped, I lowered the crosshairs down from what I thought was his shoulder through the grass.  When I pulled, he was off like a rocket!  He tore a straight line through 100 yds of grass before circling back finally and tumbling down.  Turns out my shot was too far back, but he was quartering away so much that it had come out on his opposite shoulder.  It was the perfect end to a great stalk.

Greg and I behind my frst warthog

After another lunch in the bush, we came upon one of the rarest daytime sightings in Africa, a pangolin (a.k.a. a scaly anteater).  It looked like a prehistoric armadillo to me, except that it walks on it’s back legs only while using it’s long tail for balance.  Rudi got out with my camera and snuck right in on this guy.  Not only that, it turned and came right up to his face for some up-close-and-personal pics.

Rudi holding the camera out for the rarest of all photo ops

Not an hour later, I spotted an aardvark, a big one, coming out early to dig for dinner.  Both are nocturnal animals that you hardly ever see, and we got both in one afternoon.

Here are some photos from some of the sights we saw that afternoon…

a male baboon sitting in an acacia tree

the tiny steenbok we caught in the open

a herd of blue wildebeest mking tracks

and a giraffe at dusk (one of my favorites)

Namibia – Day 4

I forgot to tell you about the conversation I had with Rudie before we ever started the safari. It’s one that every hunter should have with his PH. We talked about what animals we’d be going after and what kind of standard we should put on each one. Every area is different when it comes to certain animals, like the Kalahari region is known for big springbok & gemsbok, so when you’re hunting this area, you should raise your standards for those animals.

The next thing you need to ask is which animals on your list are going to be the toughest to get. Some animals are more difficult to find or get to. Those are the ones to go after first because it may take several days to find even one mature animal.

For me, those were kudu & zebra. They were going to be the most challenging for me to get close to Rudi said. In fact, he told me we were going to have to be really lucky to see a good kudu with the moon getting fuller every night. I believed him after 4 days without seeing more than a couple of young bulls.

Yesterday afternoon, after lunch, we went looking for zebra in an area south of Main lodge. After chasing them around and not getting close, Rudi found a water hole where there where a lot of zebra tracks. He and our tracker built a brush blind for us to use the next day. Since our chances at a kudu were so slim, I wanted to focus on a zebra stallion instead. And to get one, we’d have to sit.

Back to today, another gorgeous morning was breaking as we gathered in the breakfast room. A small wood-burning furnace crackled in the corner as fresh cold air filtered in through a crack in the sliding glass doors. We looked out out across a small lake, bushveld & distant mountains as we ate and talked about the day ahead. Rudi said we’d go after springbok, blesbok or impala (whichever one we found first) this morning, then go sit that water hole during the middle of the day. Sounded great to me. I was ready for anything out here.

As soon as we reached the savannah, we came across a herd of impala that had 2 nice rams in it. We glassed to make sure they were both mature animals, then tried to follow them through the brush to position for a shot at one before they ran into deeper cover. Three times we almost had a shot, but every time both of the older rams stayed ahead of the pack and out of sight. It was obvious they were on to us, smart buggers. “It just wasn’t their day,” Rudi remarked as they disappeared for the last time. It just wasn’t our day is the way I saw it.

[One of the neatest sights of the morning was a large herd of springbok swirling around the plain like a flock of birds, some springing 10 feet in the air with ease, as they worked out the excitement of a new day. In the sun, their little white & tan bodies shine like diamonds out there.]

We kept going until we came upon a beautiful old springbok ram that we couldn’t pass up. I don’t know why, but they’re one of my favorite antelope to hunt. To me, they’re elegant like a pintail drake, and I was soaking in every moment as we turned toward him 100 yards away. He dropped in his tracks with one well-placed shot on his shoulder. When we rolled up to him and turned of the jeep, the deafening quiet returned to normal.

My buddy Greg & me posing with my beautiful springbok ram

By 10:30, we were closing the distance on our water hole blind where we’d sit in case a herd chose to come in today to drink. As we topped the rise, our hopes were dashed. A line of zebra were leaving. We sat there awhile, dejected, watching them trot away, deciding what we were gonna do now. It was obvious we were late.

We’d sit anyway and see what came in. In the bush, you never know.

All four of us entered the hide; me, my friend Greg, Rudi and our tracker Doctoro. As soon as we were settled, coolers were opened and we started lunch without saying much more than a few whispers to each other. It was going to be a long sit, but I’d been looking forward to sitting a water hole in Africa my whole life. It was going to be a pleasure.

Just when I was starting to get sleepy after lunch, a young warthog boar came stomping right by us, danger close! Nothing we could do at that distance but watch him go, but it shocked me back into wide awakeness. That’s for sure.

About a half hour later, Rudi slipped off to “see a man about a horse”. The next thing I knew, the jeep was running and he was coming to pick us up. When Greg leaned forward to ask me what was going on, I looked up and saw a haze of white smoke go by at just about the same moment that it hit my nose. “There’s a fire and we’re gettin’ the hell outta here!” I answered as we all turned to see a huge cloud of smoke billowing over the rise straight upwind.

The fire had started near Main lodge so it was a lot farther than it looked, and by the time we got over there to help, it was nearly all put out already. They’re lucky it didn’t get loose because there was a stiff breeze going and the country was dry. Our water hole hunt was blown though for the day.

We had no idea how lucky we were that it’d happened. That evening, since we got flushed out of the blind, we were cruising around glassing for zebra to try to put a stalk on. We never could find them in the right spot, but lightning was about to strike. As dusk was coming on and we started back, I spotted a kudu cow in an opening through the acacia and casually pointed her out to Rudi. Rudi said something to Doctoro in Afrikaans, and Doctoro replied right away. I looked over with a familiar ‘what’d he say?’ look on my face, when Rudi grabbed my rifle an bolted in a shell. “He said there’s a bull over there too AND he looks like a good one,” Rudi answered quickly.

He killed the engine and turned us into the line of bush that separated us from the clearing. As we coasted to a soft stop, you could see the bull. About 150 out, the thin white stripes stood out on the side of his big grey body. Let me tell you how magnificent he looked with the evening sun in his face. He had no idea we were there. We watched as he browsed on the bushes that protected him. He was in a thicket so we could only watch him right now. No way was I risking a questionable shot on an animal like this. When he perked his head up to look around, the 6″ ivory tips he had on each horn really jumped out. And when Rudi whispered “He’s big. You want to take him?”, something I didn’t think would happen on this trip was danger close to happening.

We got to watch him for some 10 minutes before he stepped into a gap. That was the best part about the hunt. All 4 of us got to admire his majesty before the moment of truth. Plus I was trying to not get nervous.

As he get near the crease, I could feel the energy building up inside me the way it always does before a big shot. Rudi roared him to a stop and all I saw in the scope was the top of his shoulder. The report pushed me back and he was gone like nothing had happened. His bulky 700lb body didn’t even flinch when the bullet hit, but 40 yds later he was down, tipping over backwards! The prize of all African trophies was ours.

Namibia – Day 3

Let me start today’s entry by trying to give you some idea about how remote and pristine this country is. When we left Windhoek, we had a 3.5 hour drive north to get to Mount Etjo lodge. During that time, I counted 2 power lines, and there was 1 place where two highways intersected where there was a gas station, convenience store, a restaurant and a small open market. That was it. The rest of the time was nothing but open bush and mountains as far as you could see. I asked our driver what you do if you run out of gas or break down out here, and he said “You call a friend.”

One of the coolest things about going on safari is that each day is different and exciting. You wake up ready to go every morning because you never know what you’re going to come across. That 5 o’clock knock was one of the greatest things I’ve ever heard. (Ok not really, but I did look forward to it.)

It was another chilly morning as we left camp wrapped up in blankets to keep the cold off us until the sun came up. Nothing like the landscape of a crisp, calm, clear morning at dawn, especially here. When the rays hit, the savannah seemed to shine with the golden beauty of mid-western wheat fields before harvest. Right away, we spotted 2 jackals in the bend of the road ahead trying to fish a mouse out of the tall grass. It was go time!

I was reaching for my rifle this time when Rudi passed it over, locked & loaded. The truck shut off and rolled to a stop. Neither jackal knew we were there which was an unfortunate combo for them. When a shot cracked there was one less than there used to be. The lucky one burned it outta there as fast as he could.

Once again, there was silence. Silence, warm sunshine, cold air and a quiet you can actually feel in your ears. That’s one of the special discoveries once you leave the ‘noise’ of civilization far behind. It makes you want to whisper like you were talking to a friend in the library or something.

We took our time taking pics, loaded up the jackal and kept going toward the distant plains.

The sun was up pretty good already when Rudi stopped abruptly again (I was starting to get an adrenaline rush every time he did it) and pointed to a reddish animal in the distant acacia trees. “Hartebeest!” he said. “It’s a good bull.” Just like that, the chase was on! Hartebeest ran and we trailed behind through the shrubby acacia trying to get a shot if he ever stopped for a second. Well, he did, and for just long enough for me to get my crosshairs on his shoulder (I already had the gun shouldered and pinned against the sandbag in front of me). A hartebeest stood broadside at just over a hundred yards in the morning sun. It was a magnificent sight that I didn’t have time to enjoy. He bolted when I shot, didn’t make it 50 yards though.

Lunch in the bush that day was especially fabulous. Not only did it warm up to the high 70′s, we had a clan of giraffe saunter by and hang out nearby for about 30 minutes. I loved these lazy mid-day routines. No matter how much sun poured down, the air stayed fresh & cool. I swear next time I’m bringing a hammock with me.

The rest of the day was a ride through untouched nature. I was seeing plants & animals that I’d never before seen in my life but had studied while growing up. We came across a troop of banded mongeese and a two bat-eared foxes just before dusk. The almost full moon lighted our way back to hunt lodge that night.

Namibia – Day 2

It was an excelsior day in the bush today. At Elephant lodge (the hunting camp), a soft 5 a.m. knock at the door and a friendly “good morning” got us stirring. We were to meet in the breakfast room at 6 for a light breakfast before striking out. That’s where the PH’s and the hunters would meet every morning to talk about yesterday’s hunts and today’s plans.

It was almost frosty as we loaded up the jeep/truck for our first morning to hunt. It was calm, but riding creates an instant chill, which didn’t matter because your first morning in this country is such a euphoric rush.

Just before the sun peeked over the horizon, my PH Rudie stopped the jeep and put his binos on a big blue wildebeest nearby. The next thing I knew he was handing me my rifle and telling my we had to try for him because he was too good to pass up. He positioned me for a shot and right there in the pre-dawn I took my first animal in Namibia. One shot from my 7mm-08 and 140 grain barnes triple shock bullet put him down. We basked in the glow of the first rays of light as we warmed up and took pics.

I can’t tell you how many different kinds of plants & animals we see because it’ll take up too much space, so I’ll simply touch on some of the highlight moments when they happen. After dropping off my beest at the skinning shed, a nice gemsbok bull crossed the road ahead of us as we were on our way into a new area south of Main lodge. Rudie got excited when he saw him, but the bull was on the run and disappeared into the bush, gone in a blink of an eye. We were heading toward a big lake when I spotted a set of hartebeest horns sticking up from the yellow grass (Namibia had gotten double their annual rainfall this year so the grass was very tall) two hundred yards away. Soon as Rudie turned toward him though, he was up and gone. We kept rolling along until we got to the lake where our PH and tracker set up a table and chairs by the water for our first lunch in the bush. I could get used to this really fast!

A couple of hours later, as we were coming through a wooded creek area, we spotted some nice impala rams in the shade of the underbrush so we stopped to get a better look. Suddenly, a gemsbok was walking away from us on the other side and Rudie jumped up to get a better look at him. He was our bull! He was heading into some thick terrain (rolling hills thick with acacia trees) though where we could easily lose him. Our tracker pointed the way as we backtracked to try to get around on him and cut him off before he ditched us again. About as far as we could go, we spotted him crossing on the rise in front of us. There was only one opening ahead of him where I could shoot so I just set up on it and waited. When the bull got close, Rudie stopped him with some kind of antelope grunt (I think he knew the language of every animal out there) and he turned perfect for a shoulder shot. At the report, he spun around and bolted over the hill, but collapsed just the other side of it.

What a monster gemsbok! They all looked big to me, but Rudie said that a lot of hunters hunt a long time and never take one this big. To me, that meant we had just done something pretty special. And what beautiful trophy this boy’s gonna make.

On the 45 minute drive back to camp, I scorched a black-backed jackal in the late evening sun to put an exclamation point on an already perfect day hunting Africa. We warmed up with dinner, drinks and hunting stories around the hot coals of a fire after dark. I have therapy tonight and then have to get in the bathroom for a couple of hours so I’m going to sign off soon now. I hear the Mavs/Heat game 5 is tonight. It’s weird being so disconnected from the rest of the world, and by weird I mean awesome!

Namibi – first days

We’re in Namibia finally! And at a computer after 3 days in the bushveld. The 14.5 hr flight from Atlanta to JoBurg went by quickly and our hosts from Afton Guest House were waiting in the airport to help us get through with my rifle and back to there place for a BBQ (brai) dinner before bed. The time change already screwed up our sleep patterns too. Greg & I both have been waking up in the middle of the night ever since we arrived. Maybe tonight will be different.

The next morning before lunch, we landed in Windhoek (which is about as big as a Canadian wilderness airport, and WDK is this country’s capital!). It’s as wild and beautiful as the pilot said it would be on the way there. There just aren’t many people living outside the one big city.

Mount Etjo lodge was a 4 hour drive north where Oelofse Safaris operates a tourist/safari business in combination with conservation practices that protect the breeding populations of all the animals there. We’ve been treated like royalty so far. Yeah, I know it’s hard to get used to but we’ll give it a try.

The second morning, Greg & I took the blue bags to the school kids and they were a big hit!  One of the teachers said we were the first ones this year to bring supplies which made us glad we had hauled the extra baggage all the way over there with us.  The Oelofse’s operate a wonderful little school on the property and we were lucky to be in a position to offer some additional things to them.  It looked like Christmas morning to me on the faces of the children when Greg unzipped the bags and started showing the kids some of the “stuff” we’d brought.

Their playground is a place that could use some improving.  (Just for my notes, they need soccer goal nets, a volleyball net, some bases, hacky sacks, dolls for girls & boys, and clothes for kids aged 5-15).  I’ll write more about that later.  Thanks to everyone that contributed (that means you Midlothian FCCLA!), and both teachers loved the new lesson plan binders that we brought for them.

The kids took us outside to take some photos with us and to sing us some songs, including Namiba’s national anthem which we loved, then a recess broke out as the boys anxiously wanted to test out some of their new sports equipment and the girls took a few of the jump ropes for a spin.

It’s getting late and we start early tomorrow going after kudu so I’m signing off. We’ve seen some incredible wildlife so far and the weather is near perfect for hunting, cold at night & sunny & still during the day with the forecast saying it’s going to start warming back up slowly. So much to see, so little time…

Day 1 – My PH Rudie picked us up at Main lodge early Wednesday morning to take us to Hunt lodge which lay 30 minutes to the north through a mountain pass. Hunt lodge is smaller, but to me it was the most beautiful place I’d ever seen so far in my life. (I’ll post pics later). Joining us in camp are my friends from California Evonne & Matt Loftus and another guy named Doug from Alabama who was there with his wife & daughter hunting Kudu, Gemsbok, Sable, Roan, Lechwe & Warthog. After a quick lunch we went to shoot our rifles and then start the safari.

For this trip, I brought m new Sako A-7 7mm-08 with a Vortex Diamondback 3-9X40 scope and a new pair of Vortex Viper HD 10×42 binocs. And let me preface this by saying it was the fastest and easiest sight in process I’ve ever had when sighting in the scope before leaving Texas. After 2 bulls-eye hits in a row at 100 yds, Rudie said “that’s good enough.”

We took our time that afternoon and stayed close to camp since there wasn’t much time left to hunt. Sun sets here at 5:30pm, but the exhilaration building up in me now is pushing up hard against my throat! There’s nothing like the feeling of a hunter in the cool bushveld about to go on a 10-day safari in Namibia.

Utah Draw!

Hey I wanted you guys to be the first to know that I drew a mule deer tag for the southern region of Utah! It’ll be my first hunt out there and I’ll be guided by a friend of mine, Blaine Saunders, who works for Fremont River Guides.

I just found out yesterday so we don’t really have a plan yet as to the particulars. The deer season runs from Oct. 22nd-30th, but as a disabled hunter I can apply for extended season days. I’ll keep y’all posted on that as well.

Anyway, I’m pumped! I leave for Namibia next Saturday, and I’m 1 for 1 on the draws so far this year.

p.s. I’ll try to post blogs at this location while I’m in Africa in case anyone wants to follow.

Good Hunting,
chad

The Road to Namibia

I’d often wondered what it would take to make it to Africa someday, all that goes into the planning, prep and packing, especially the packing. Well, since today is a week and two days away from my second trip over, I think I have a pretty firm grasp of it now. Turns out that the packing is the smallest part of the whole process.

First of all, as part of the Safari Club Pathfinder award, I was given a safari to Namibia which includes a friend to go with me. That friend for me is one of my childhood friend, Greg Goerig.

For the past 4 weeks, I’ve been working on getting everything I need to have with me in order to take my rifle. That’s the main difference between my last safari and this one. Ever since I found out I was getting to go back with the Pathfinder award, I decided to take my own gun. Then when Vortex Optics became one of my sponsors, the deal was sealed.

Here’s the list I was told I needed to have to bring a gun:
1. Passport
2. Invitation letter from my PH
3. US Customs Form 4457
4. SAP (South African Police) temporary permit (for overnight stay in JoBurg)
5. Namibia Permit for Hunting Safari
6. Ammo in a lock box in luggage

That looks like a lot, I know, but it’s not. #4 & #5 can be filled out once you arrive at the airport, and I’m told that we may not need the SAP permit if we can check our bags all the way through to Namibia. I hope we can because it’ll save $100.

Another key addition to this trip is the Afton Guest House in JoBurg. They cater to hunters and they’ll meet you at the airport to help you through the gun permit process while also providing all the transportation that you’ll need. I love that! The Safari Club contacts came through with that one.

The second project we had to take care of was our part of Safari Care’s blue bag program. It’s basically where hunters going on safari volunteer to take relief supplies for school-age kids in the area where they’ll be hunting. Lucky for me, I had a friend who took it upon herself to spearhead this project for us. I’ll go into those details later, but she and her high school FCCLA classes came through with over 150 pounds of donations (school supplies, sports equipment, games, clothes, etc.) for Greg and me to try to figure out how to haul over there. A lot of airlines will let you take safari care bags for free, but after contacting Delta twice about it and getting 2 ‘blah blah blah we can’t's in return, I’m not holding onto too much hope of that happening. It’s for a good cause though. We’ll pay if we have too.

Now, this doesn’t leave us with much room for clothes. I’m already taking a rifle, a blue bag, one suitcase, an extra suitcase for my travel shower chair, and one carry-on bag. Before I can start packing, I have Greg’s clothes (his suitcase is filled with donations), a lock box for ammo and about 10 pounds of supplies to go in my suitcase & carry-on. I’m thinking that we can get by on 3 changes of clothes apiece, I hope.

So the itinerary is set. I board a plane in Houston next Saturday for Atlanta, GA, then it’s the 16 hr flight to Johannesburg where we spend one night at Afton House and the next morning we catch a short SAA flight to Windhoek, Namibia. Someone from Oelofse Safaris is supposed to meet us there. Nothing to it right?

For a disabled traveler, it’s these long flights that cause the most angst. I’ll be taking an extra memory foam cushion to sit on (sometimes I use the gel pack off my cushion), dressing warm for the long cold flight (I’ll probably wear under armor compression to help with circulation and to keep my legs warmer) and bringing an empty bottle to use as a “portable latrine.” I’m lucky that that’s pretty much all I need to make it. In addition, we’re bringing an ipad with movies & music on it (you can’t count on airlines having anything decent to watch), a book to read, lots of snack food and something to help me sleep (like melatonin).

That’s enough for today. I’ll be blogging while on my trip so get ready for the updates.

Turkeys & Dust

Leave it to a drought to teach me some new lessons in turkey hunting. The thought certainly never occurred to me before this year that a turkey hen might refuse to nest, or that the older toms would go silent during the breeding season. That’s exactly what happened though because of this throat choking drought that’s been gripping the bottom half of the state.

The first morning out, I noticed some things that seemed a little odd, like hens moving around alone, and only small groups of jakes doing the gobbling. Nobody was interested in our decys. It was like the bigger toms were in hiding for some reason. And that’s exactly what I learned later after I did some research on the subject.

Apparently, when faced with severe drought conditions, most hens will go into survival mode by refusing to produce eggs, breed or nest. A lack of vegetation means not much food for turkey chicks, and more importantly, not much cover for mom on the nest. That’s easy to understand. What I never would’ve figured out was that this would send the longbeards into hiding. With very few hens being receptive, the gangs of jakes will zero in on a lone gobbler and bully him.

That all made perfect sense when we were hunting in the hill country two weeks later where the country was even drier. There was hardly any gobbling at all, and what few toms we saw were skirting around quietly trying to avoid the bands of jakes. That left us with the lone option of setting up near the food sources and waiting for a tom to pass through. We never even opened the decoy bag.

That first afternoon was a stifler. I had my buddy Galen with me, who had the first shot at a bird with his bow. The temp spiked to almost 90 inside the pop up blind about as soon as we zipped up the door. I knew this was going to be ‘one of those’ sits. “When did satan show up?” I said as we sat in a mott of oak trees that had been killed by the wilt. It didn’t occur to me that without their leaves we’d be in the sun until almost sundown.

When that group of jakes came rolling in two hours later, there were two of us ready for him to shoot. Galen quickly singled one out and passed an arrow through his wing. That was enough to end his gang-banging days.

The next morning was a lot better. At least it was cooler. What was neat was that the morning before, an older tom came in and barely gave a little gobble before we saw him. Galen never got a shot, but the same thing happened the next day. We barely heard this whisper gobble and then a this big old tom suddenly appeared 15 yards away. They were sneaking around trying to be undetected. Not this time though. I lined him up and tagged the biggest boy on the place, a 24 pounder!

A shotgun blast from my remington captured this silent tom for Thanksgiving dinner

Airlines

Well times have definitely changed in America folks.  Went to get on a Continental flight 3 weeks ago and for the first time ever on a domestic airline, they charged me for the extra bag I have to use to carry my travel shower/bathroom chair. 

Let me just preface this rant by telling everyone that it had always been an unwritten rule among all American-based airlines that disabled passengers get an extra bag free of charge because they all knew that we usually need medical equipment when we fly.  I’ve been flying disabled for going on 25 years, and this has always been the case.  I’ve even had several discussions with the guys who check bags at the airport and they all said that was the case.  It was the case, that is, until 3 weeks ago.

When I went to check in at Continental in Houston, they insisted on charging for my travel shower chair, which wasn’t that big of a deal to me.  What was a big deal was that they acted like this had always been their policy and like I had NO IDEA what I was talking about when I informed them that it was NOT how it had always been.  Even the manager acted oblivious, even after I told her that I flew Continental just last summer and was allowed 2 bags at no extra charge even though the general public had to pay for theirs.  That’s the part that chapped my hide.

I did file a complaint with them when I got back so I’ll keep you posted as to how far that gets me.  I’m not holding my breath though.  (And yes, I did mention the ADA.)

If you’ve read anything that I’ve previously written about flying, you already know that my favorite airline is Southwest.  After this latest development, the Continental visa got filed in the circular file and a second Southwest visa card is on the way.  You only get one chance to fool me on that kind of deal.

Update (April 21) – Just got email confirmation from Continental that they will be refunding me for the extra bag fee that they made me pay for my travel shower chair. I’m glad that somebdy in charge still knows about this policy, but I hope I dont have to go through this process every time I fly now. And here’s a tip: always pay for the fee with your own credit card so you will have proof that you paid the extra charge.

Update (May 1) – I received a letter from one of Continental’s ‘disability specialists’, Betty Norval, and she tracked down the people who were dealing with me that day to find out what had happened. First of all, I’m glad to know that an airline has disability specialists on staff. They didn’t give Mrs. Norval the whole story so I called and told her exactly what happened. Needless to say, she said that for sure that an extra bag containing ‘assistive’ devices should fly free and next time to ask for the complaint resolution person if they try to charge me again during check in. Case closed.

New Sponsor

First off, I’m excited to tell you that we picked up an optics sponsor last week.  Vortex Optics is on board and they’ll be outfitting me on my trip to Namibia in two months.  Naturally, I’ll be writing more about them when I get back.  I’ll be testing out a riflescope on my Sako A7 7mm-08 and a set of binoculars on my 10-day safari in the bush.  Can’t wait to get my hands on them.

I can’t believe it’s only two months until we leave.  Our flights were booked two weeks ago by Safari Club Foundation.  On June 4th, we’re flying Delta from Houston to Atlanta to Johannesburg and then South African Airlines from JNB to Windhoek (Namibia).  That’s the most direct route there which includes a 16 hour non-stop from Atlanta to JNB.  Due to the time difference, we’ll be spending one night at the JNB airport, but coming back, we’ll be doing the whole thing in one shot!

Turkey season just started here, and all I can think about is packing for Africa.  Ha!  That’s a cool feeling.  Actually, the weather has been so beautiful lately that I’m champing to get outside and hear some gobblers.  They ought to be warming up pretty soon.  I’m supposed to be guiding this weekend near Rock Island, Tx., and then hunting in Fredericksburg a couple weeks later.  Gonna be a fun season.  Hopefully, I’ll have some pics to post.

February Update

It’s been a whirlwind pub tour it seems ever since we got back from Reno. Two of our local newspapers, the Leader News & Victoria Advocate, ran a story on me and the pathfinder award, and I also did a radio show called Lone Star Outdoors. A few outdoor sites are posting articles from me as well as another interview for a piece that will go on the Chris Reeve Foundation site. Very exciting times, but that’s not even the biggest news. A magazine called Special Living wants me for the cover story for their summer issue!

We picked up some partners this past week for DHM. We’re happy to announce that Quikcamo camo masks, Vortex Optics and the Track Chair offroad wheelchair have become our latest supporters. All three companies put out quality products and you can find out more about them on their own sites.

You might think that February is a slow month hunting-wise, but that’s far from true. Now’s the time of year where you have to plan for next fall’s trips, especially if you want to go out-of-state. Most of the public draws for other states have application deadlines that end in March & April, some even in February.

This year, I’m putting in for mule deer & elk in Utah, antelope & elk in New Mexico, and I’ve booked a muzzleloader hunt in Oklahoma for whitetail with my buddy (and fellow pro staffer) Mike Cranford. Now all I have to do is get a muzzeloader. lol. There’s also a disabled group hunt in Illinois that I want to apply for, but I have to wait until July to do that.

I’ll keep you posted.

SCI Awards Dinner – Sarah Palin

Saturday was the last day of the convention which ended with another dinner event at the Peppermill.  Obviously, tonight would be the grand finale because Sarah Palin was going to be the keynote speaker.  She’s been the hottest ticket in town.

We finally had a day to sleep in and lose a little money at the tables after two straight days of running the convention floor all day long.  I was beginning to see african art in my sleep.  (Luckily, I didn’t make it down in time to bet on the aggies against nebraska today.)

Five people from my group had tickets to tonight’s event in the Tuscany ballroom. 

Just like last night, the place was jam-packed with suit-n-tie wearing hunters from all over the world.  What I found interesting about a lot of the guys I talked to was that most of them will leave the country for three or four months to hunt, and they’ll travel to 4 or 5 different countries during that time.  No wonder every award winner that stepped to the podium that night thanked their wives first.

SCI presented the Hall of Fame award, the International Hunter of the Year award & the Diana award (for an outstanding female hunter) to get the night going.  I’m starting to realize that there’s a whole different level of hunting that goes on around here.  At least different than what I’m used to.

One of the night’s surprises was Larry Potterfield.  He gave a rousing speech about the direction of our great country and the important roles that the people of the Safari Club and the NRA should play in leading it.  I always thought Larry was just some gunsmithing guy who paid for a lot of Midway USA commercials on the Outdoor Channel, but he was really inspiring.  He even had to assure the audience that he wasn’t running for office.  It was that kind of speech.

The bar was set for ‘former’ governor Palin to come out and she hit the stage running.  She talked mainly about hunting, conservation and politics of course.  Without taking many breaths, she continued the theme of making our country better and what she believes it’ll take to get that done.  She took a few swings at the current regime in Washington, much to the delight of this crowd.  She also talked a lot about her upbringing in Alaska and how connected her family is to the land.  It’s no wonder that hardly anything the media dishes out phases her.  She walked off to another standing ovation.

And that concluded our weekend with SCI.  We left before the auction started.  I think the first item was a guided hunt with Jim Shockey.  I doubt it would’ve been in our price range. 

It was a whirlwind weekend to say the least, and I’d feel remiss if I didn’t thank the Safari Club Foundation for creating an award in the very obscure field that we call ‘disabled hunting’.  Thanks to you and all the donors that support your programs, Oelofse Safaris, Sandhurst Safaris, Highveld taxidermy, Fauna & Flora and Cabela’s.  We’re going to be able to reach more people than you’ll ever know.

SCI Awards Dinner – Friday

It was a little bit awe inspiring when rolling into the Tuscany Ballroom at the Peppermill hotel where all the nightly events were held. This room is vast, which seems to be the theme of everything I’ve been to this week, almost 3,000 people were seated for a dinner event. Tonight, I’m being presented with the Pathfinder award which is given to accomplished disabled hunters who have helped other challenged outdoorsmen & women get back in the field.

The stage was set and I got ushered to one of the head tables near stage left. I had no idea this award was so prestigious until now. My sincere thank you goes to the Safari Club for creating an award in this obscure field we call disabled hunting. I can feel the electricity in the air.

I got to sit by Ron bartels’ lovely wife Jackie, both of whom are from Louisiana. Naturally, we got along great since half my family is from there (so long as nobody brought up the cotton bowl score.) I also had an entourage of friends & family there to share this night with me. They had a reserved table right next to ours, and the party was just getting started.

Before I knew it, I was backstage and watching the video that they made about me before I was presented the Pathfinder award onstage. Let me tell you, I was 50/50 on whether I was going to cry or not out there. I was already tearing up when the video started. Hard to believe the journey to this spot began 25 years ago with some cloth tape and a flimsy metal device they sent me home from the rehab with (for holding a pen). That’s a long stretch of time guys, lots of ups & downs. I held my water though.

Maybe I can post the video on youtube someday when I get it. Anyway, Alex Oelofse presented me with my award and we got a standing ovation, even though we couldn’t see it with all the q-beam strength lights in our eyes. A grand time was had by all.

Pathfinder award winners Chad Waligura and Rick Ramsey on stage with their sponsors from Oelofse Safaris, Highveld taxidermy, Fauna & Flora, and Sandhurst Safaris

Two lessons I’ve learned over the years:

1. Learning takes the sting out of failure.
2. When your life is changed by a tragic event, as soon as you find some meaning in that journey, it ceases to be a tragedy.

SCI Convention – Day 2

Made it over to the convention hall about 9:40am this morning. Eva Wilson & Ron Bartels were both waiting there for me at the Humanitarian Services booth. (That’s the branch of safari club that runs the blue bag program and all the disabled hunter services which includes the pathfinder award.)

We all went over to the Oelofse’s booth so I could introduce my dad to Jan & Annette and Ron could present Jan with yet another donor plaque for his generosity toward the program. Dad bought Jan’s book and we had another long talk about hunting in Namibia. Alex and I talked about maybe going after a mountain zebra on my safari. I’m pumped!

From there, Ron took us over to Jim Shockey’s booth so we could meet and talk to him too. Ron has hunted several times with Jim and I believe he knows almost everybody that’s worth knowing in this whole building. About every ten steps, someone stops to talk to him. Ron said both Jim and his daughter Eva were there earlier (and that Eva is really “worth meeting”). They weren’t there though. Rumor had it that Jim had slipped away to book a few hunts for himself before his wife Louise found out about it.

From there, Dad & I headed off on our own to browse through the myriad of outfitters, artists, merchants, taxidermists, tv personalities & auction items that were spread out among four different rooms. The place was vast, and let me tell you, some of the highest quality show stuff I’ve ever seen. We could’ve literally spend three solid days here looking at just the art & awesome taxidermy.

Passed by the African Hunting Gazette booth next. As I rolled up, I asked the lady behind the counter if the next issue was out, to which she replied “Yes, and you’re in there. Don’t worry.” Ha! I wasn’t expecting her to recognize me. I didn’t know she was the person in charge of article submissions. Needless to say, I was impressed and now y’all know I have a published piece in one of the ‘big’ safari magazines. They gave me a few copies and we were on our way. Oh by the way, they had a full mounted porcupine at the booth that was a gorgeous mount. I’m putting one on my wish list for Namibia this summer.

Since my award dinner was that night, dad & I left early so I could get some rest before it was time. Whew!

(On the way out, we heard that we’d missed Sean Connery by about ten minutes at the humanitarian services booth. Sorry dad, you could’ve met one of your idols and the

2nd

best James Bond.)

Safari Club Convention – Day 1

Landed in Reno, NV, about 10:30am and really excited to finally be here. There was an accessible shuttle to harrah’s, but we would’ve had to wait a half hour, so dad & I took a cab. Safari Club has a room for me at the peppermill, but my entourage is all staying at harrah’s.

The weather is perfect, cool & sunny, and after lunch, I took the shuttle by myself over to the SCI convention at the Reno-Sparks convention hall. I found Eva Wilson at the Humanitarian Services Booth (and the Pathfinder Award winners). She made me feel like a V.I.P. and took me over to meet Jan Oelofse of Oelofse Safaris. They’re going to be hosting me on my 10-day safari in June as part of my award. I met Jan, who is a legend in the safari world because of his work capturing animals for zoos, guiding John Wayne, and training animals for the movie Hatari, his wife Annette, and his son Alex. They are fantastic people with a passion for hunting the right way and I can’t tell you how blessed I am to be going with them. Alex showed me a bunch of pics from past disabled hunters that they have hosted and we talked about me bringing my crossbow with me when I come. Booyah!

Jan, Annette & Alex at the Oelofse Safaris' booth in Reno

Alex then took me over to the Highveld taxidermy booth to meet Thomas. They are donating the taxidermy on my safari and the day was starting to climb off the charts. Great meeting you Thomas!

The SCI convention is flat out huge. This is by far the biggest & best I’ve ever seen. I spotted Craig Boddington signing books on my way out. Couldn’t stay long today because I had to meet my people for dinner and then get back to the Peppermill for therapy. More tomorrow…

Kansas Day 2 -

Since we were going back out to hunt early, like right after lunch, I thought I’d use some of that time to interview Merle for an article about his friend Don Young. Don had been paralyzed more than 10 years ago, and has an amazing story that I knew I had to write the second I heard it.

I started asking questions and scribbling notes as soon as we got parked next to the wheat field, and kept going until Merle fell dead asleep. I figured that was a good place to stop for the day.

That afternoon, I saw two thing in the wild that I’d never seen before. The first happened while I was in the middle of writing. Something streaking across the field caught my eye, and what I thought was a hawk flying was really a rabbit in high gear. Now I don’t know how fast a rabbit can go at top speed, but I saw it. As soon as it disappeared into the trees, two coyotes busted out hot on his trail. In seconds, they were gone too, going in at the same place the rabbit did.

Five minutes later, the bigger of the two coyotes popped back out with the rabbit in his mouth. The smaller coyote ran after him trying to steal it from him right in the middle of the wheatfield. The two went round & round until the big one finally dropped the rabbit and bit the other coyote, then snatched up his prize and trotted off.

Later on that evening, after deer started coming out onto the wheat, a big ol’ grey owl quietly flew up and landed on a limb close by. I’d never seen one before and he was big & beautiful. It was getting dark so he was just waking up to get ready for the night’s hunt. I watched him scan the surroundings. Wonder how many mice he would snare tonight? (Did you know that owls have specialized feathers that have different tips that produce silent flight? This is so they can swoop in on their prey without making any noise.)

Both of those things made for a very cool hunt. It’s not always about killing a deer you know. Most hunters are nature-lovers at heart. I think this is something that nonhunters misunderstand about us the most.

Kansas – Day 2

The morning hunt began in one of my favorite places. Merle has this blind set up along a little creek that feeds into the nearby Ninnescah river which is a natural travel route for deer. To the left are train tracks where 2 miles of rail cars have been parked for 2 years, and a tressel 60 yds away is one of the ony places that deer can get through.

On top of that, there are plum thickets and bodarks all up & down this funnel, a perfect place for a monster buck to be cruising looking for does.

Another frosty morning broke cold & clear. The mr. heater Merle brought to the blind was once again a warm welcome. Not much was moving though, except the songbirds and mallards over on the river. Until about 8:30 when Merle whispered that a big deer had passed under the tressel and was coming down the creek. He didn’t know what it was because he could only see his back, but that got us excited.

Before I knew what was going on, this nice buck strode out onto a rise that was to my left. He stood there for a few moments staring toward the other side of the hill as I grabbed my binocs, but he went right on over before I could get a look at him. He was on a mission.

That’s all we saw that morning.

Kansas – Day 1

Dad and I met Merle south of Kingman at 5:30 this morning at the property gate.  Merle had a huntmaster elevated blind for he & I to hunt in while dad slept in the truck.  Good thing I told him to bring a blanket from the motel because it was 27 degrees when we left out.

Gorgeously clear, cold & still morning on the Kansas prairie.  Merle spotted a buck 700 yds away out of the back of the blind early but he couldn’t tell how big he was.  Then a half hour later, I saw three does on their way to bed coming down a woodline to our left.  But I wasn’t shooting femmes yet.

Late in the morning, a nice 10 point buck came cruising along.  Naturally, he looked small to me at first so I’ve learned to focus on their rack with binoculars in order to judge them better.  Needless to say, he got bigger the longer I looked.  I let him walk though.  It would’ve been tough to get a shot because I would’ve had to change positions to shoot through a different window and the buck wouldn’t stop.  He looked like he’d been ‘rode hard and hung up wet’ after a long night of partying and had only one thing on his mind, SLEEP!

That afternoon, Merle and I parked the truck overlooking a wheat field by the river and saw a lot of does and small bucks.  Merle is great hunter & guide, and even better man, so I really enjoyed his company all day.  The highlight was a nice 8 point coming by and working over a slender tree with his antlers just 30 yds away from us before moving on.  Awesome display.  I can’t wait to do it all again tomorrow.

Kansas Arrival

November 30, 2010 – We arrived in Kingman, KS, today around noon to meet Merle Heldenbrand from Outdoor Buddies (KS chapter) at Jeri’s Cafe on Main Street. My hunt doesn’t start until tomorrow
so Merle took me out to the areas we’d be hunting the next few days and, needless to say, it looked GOOD! Supposed to be clear and cold the next few days too so I’m doubly excited to get my hunt on.

We’re hunting along a river south of Kingman in natural funnels between green wheatfields and bedding areas in the mornings and then setting up on the actual wheatfields in the afternoon. And let me telll you, there are some huge bucks patrolling this country.

I’m getting up early so I’m signing off to hit the sack. More updates coming…

My Story

Well everybody has one.  Here’s mine… and since I’ve had to tell this story only about a million times over the past 25 years, I figure posting it will end up saving me some time.

“What happened?” I wonder how many times I’ve fielded that little question?  In line at the grocery store, hanging out with friends at the mall, in a crowded room full of people I just met… you get the picture.  And what a simple little question too.  One that I really don’t mind at all sharing with people at all so long as it’s the right time and place.  Please think a moment before you casually ask me to relive the most tragic event of my life.

“What happened?”  Well, it was pretty simple.  In 1986, I dove into a pool, hit the bottom with the top of my head and broke my neck right around the C-7 vertebra.  I knew right away what had happened and I knew right away what it meant, so it was never difficult for me to accept.

I was more shocked that it had happened to me when I was 17 and still invincible.

I also knew right off that I wasn’t ready for my life to be over just yet. Lucky for me, I had a lot of family and friends that felt the same way. Because for a while, all I had to hold onto was the hope that it wouldn’t be.

There were just some things that I wasn’t going to give up.  Didn’t matter what got in the way.  One look around this site ought to tell you what some of those things are.  That sure sounds inspirational right?  Well… I don’t know about any of that.

What I do know is that anyone who has lived for any length of time with SCI (spinal cord injury) can tell you there’s a lot more to it than just the ‘no walking’.  So much so that there’s no way you could explain it to anyone who hasn’t walked it (so to speak).  So don’t expect the long version.  I’ll just tell you that it’s no trip through the park.  Never was since the second I was taken to the hospital on that hot summer afternoon in ‘86, isn’t today, and won’t be until I die or they finally figure out how to fix it.  But it’s not the end of the world either.

“What happened?” I used to say that to myself a lot when I first got hurt.  Actually, it was more like “I can’t believe it really happened,” especially during that first year. That’s the worst one.  You’re still an able-bodied person in your mind suddenly living in a disabled body. “How long does it take to adjust?” you might ask… well, I’ll let you know when it happens.

What I could do now, and in my sleep, is be able to write a book on ‘How to Live With SCI – 10 easy steps’ (no pun intended).  The best piece of advice I could give to any newbie is to get out and go.  Just go do stuff!  Doesn’t matter what, doesn’t matter where, get off your butt and get back into the world.  If you are a friend or family member of someone who is recently disabled, help them do this.

The next thing I would tell them is that you should figure out what it is that’s really important to you and then work on getting it.  When I got hurt, I knew full well that I would have to give up some of the things I used to do.  That comes with the territory.  But not all of them.  And by the grace of God, there were things out there that I hadn’t even thought of doing until years later.

Keep an open mind.  It was Victor Frankl who said that the last freedom that anyone has is to choose their attitude in any given situation.  Sure, I’ve come across a few obstacles over the years, experienced a few failures too, but I’ve also found out that there are many different ways to get around them.  It doesn’t matter what other people say, doctors, parents, friends, idiots on the street, there’s always a better way of doing something.  And if you want it bad enough, you’ll find it.

“What happened?” Well, quite frankly, a lot has happened.  If you’re new to SCI, then you’ll see.  If I could give you one thing, it would be to know that there is life afterwards, more than you could ever imagine right now.  And when life starts feeling like “if it ain’t one thing, it’s another,” and let me assure you, it will, then hold on to that belief like grim death.  If that doesn’t work, then hey, lighten up.  It will only seem like an eternity!

“When a person is made to suffer, then he knows that he is alone in the world in his suffering.” – Victor Frankl, again.

Like I said before, this trip isn’t easy, and it’s not for the faint of heart.  Some won’t make it, some will exist only because they have to, and some will succeed.  If you’re looking for some kind of good reason why this has happened to you, good luck finding it.  I honestly don’t think it exists in this world.  All I need to believe, though, is that there is one.

As for me.  How will my story end?  Well who knows?  I do know that I will make it as good as I can.  Let’s just say that I really hate to lose.

“There are 2 wolves battling each other at the core of my soul. One is angry and bitter. The other is happy and optimistic. Which one will win?

Whichever one I feed.”