Originally Posted by
nitro5x6's
Bog, thank you for an awesome thread.
Far and away my favorite Puddle duck. My Dad was a rabid Waterfowler. When he was diagnosed with Parkinson's , he made a few requests of me. To do a Black duck safari trip and finish his final season with our dear friend Pat Pitt at the Languille club in AR. We achieved both goals. We had previously hunted with a bunch of great folks over the years, but never attempted a long string of hunts due to time and family constraints. We set all that aside.
The Black duck trip started at Prince Edward Island, Moved to Rhode Island for incredible afternoon estuary hunts. Then the amazing Brigantine area in NJ. And the last Drake at a friend's farm near Elizabeth City, NC. Watched Dad kill Black ducks with his Sweet Sixteen at every destination. Parkinson's took a lot from him, but not his uncanny ability to shoot well.
In January , 2000 we landed in AR and drove to Pat's in an icestorm , Dad knew he was through. Easily tired and unsteady , it took some effort for him to walk to the blind each morning. Upon the end of his last hunt, I carried him from the blind on my back ( as he did for me many times when I was a boy), He didn't say much until we hit the levee and told me simply that he loved me and thanks for all the adventures we shared. Grateful that we made the last journey , I damn near quit that day too. Hard to imagine hunting without my Dad. But, I did. For me, for many reasons, the Black Duck is the King.
This got me in the feels
“If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.”
-Samuel Adams
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