Family unity, sports, outdoor activity and hard work laid a great foundation for life
Looking back at my early years growing up (fishing and hunting every chance I got) got me to thinking about the stark contrast between the outdoor rural lifestyle I grew up with and the one most families and kids live today.
I was the eldest of four children, so by default I was the No. 1 hired hand on our large turkey ranch. We worked hard, but we also fished and hunted hard, so I didn’t feel like I was ever missing out. Once all of my chores were done, and if one of my dad’s nearby fishing buddies had just gotten a hot fishing report, it was probable I would be hooking the boat up ASAP. An outdoors kind of life blended into a farming lifestyle was how I grew up. Now I realize how blessed I was to be in this encouraging, healthy and family-driven environment.
Feeding and checking the turkeys, changing irrigation pipes and bucking hay in between fishing and hunting forays built self-respect and reliance from the very start.
I vividly recall times at our tiny grammar school getting called out of class by the principal telling me that my dad was coming by to pick me up. Since all my homework was done I could leave.
My dad would pull up in front of the school towing his boat to get me. All the kids playing in front of the school would be looking at us through the chain link fence, poles hanging out of the boat. How special can you feel when your dad does that? I didn’t realize how unusual this was, even back then. My dad was my best friend and fishing buddy.
My point is that I grew up in a lifestyle that promoted family unity, sports, healthy outdoor activity and hard work. I didn’t have social media taking all my time, either. In addition, our family came first, which gave me a solid base of love and support. Spending time hunting and fishing was the framework that our lives revolved around, giving me stability, confidence and security.
I think that we tend to look back at these types of outdoor lifestyles as simplistic, unsophisticated and old-fashioned — but is that a correct assessment? I think there is a real power in growing up in an angling family.
How important is it to our lives to have something like fishing to glue your family — and yourself — together over decades? I think it’s critical. Our fast-paced, social media, politically correct driven society is certainly not the answer to having a fulfilling balanced and meaningful life. Maybe the answer goes back to the simple fundamentals of what makes us tick. Slowing down, having some solitude with people you love in a natural environment while striving to catch a fish seems to be the very thing a lot of people have expressed as their life’s ultimate goal. There’s something very true about this universal desire. What do you want to pass on to your kids anyway? Peace, beauty, water, love and passion all wrapped up in one thing. If that’s the dream, maybe it’s critical to put our kids into that kind of life, too. I got to grow up that way and it’s infused in my very being.
We live in a very confused world, and I believe the healthiest thing we can do is go back to a slower, simpler relaxed time — one that an angling life embodies.
Never give up!
Roger George: rogergeorge8@protonmail.com, Rogergeorgeguideservice on Facebook and @StriperWars.