Dave, that was just awesome. After reading that, I started thinking about my Dad and I'd like to share a story with you.
First of all, Dad was a coal miner and a chemical worker. He and Mom raised 15 of us and they both worked very hard to put food on the table and clothes on our back and to keep us in school and in church. Dad didn't teach me to hunt and I can only remember once ever hunting with him but in his later years he became very interested in my deer hunting. You see, he didn't hunt but would always ask if I had any luck and was all ears when I had a story to tell. When I would get a deer with my bow or gun, I'd take it to him and he would be just as proud as if he had got it himself. My brothers and I have several pictures of Dad posing with deer we had killed. Dad passed away on June 3rd, 2003, just 10 days before his 89th birthday. That fall, I was hunting down at the farm and the first morning I was lucky enough to take a nice 8 pointer with my bow. As I was dragging it past the old farm house to my truck, something came over me. I dropped the deer and turned to look at the house and fully expected Dad to be standing there with that big smile on his face just waiting to hear the story of the hunt. Well, of course he wasn't there, in body anyway, but his spirit was and I felt it so strongly that I thanked him for all the sacrifices he must have made to raise such a large family and all he had taught me about working hard and being responsible. We sold the farm and I haven't been back there to hunt since but every time I take a deer with my gun or bow, I think of how much it ment to Dad to get to share it with me and now I realize just how much it means to me to have done that.
Dave, if the old fellow gets his deer this fall, I'm sure he'll send up a prayer thanking God for guys like yourself who are always willing to help out an older person in need. May God bless you and your Dad with the hunt of a lifetime.