I didn't grow up in the same way that my brother and cousins did.

They took after my father and their fathers who were much like my grandfather.

As a teenager, I enjoyed playing tennis and reading comic books.

They all like spending every weekend hunting or fishing.

I never saw anything wrong with what they did, I just didn't like to do it.

My brother teased me quite a bit while we were growing up, but never in a harsh way.

My father never said anything, but I could see in his eyes that he was disappointed when

I would refuse an invitation to go on one of their weekend trips.

A few times I would take them up on the offer when they were going fishing.

I like getting out in the sun and I enjoyed the conversation the three of us would have

in the boat.

Not enough to go every weekend, but I would go a few times each summer.

I did it mainly to make my father happy.

He was a good man and he worked hard to give my brother in me all we needed.

Doing something that made him happy was the least I could do.

Looking back now, I wish I had gone a few more times with them.

It wouldn't have killed me to do that.

I now realize that shooting a deer or a duck or some squirrels or catching some cropys

or bass wasn't what any of it was about.

It was about my father providing a chance for all of us to make the memories that we would

treasure as we grew older and older.

Hunting and fishing was what he knew, so that's what he used to give us a chance to be

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