Finally a Plan

[timbear]

:ssst:Second Wind, while they are all busy discussing who does what, let's you and I quietly sneak away and go hunting!:whistling:

 

[Upton O. Good]

ok we are totally sorted, as now we have a cook who is also a therapist. as i have been told that all people who are from the usa are having some sort of therapy . so now you will be looked after and cooked for :zen::cook:

Mr. Spike, that is an interesting statement. Would you like to share more about that with the group?

(And I can cook rusk and roosterbrood, too)

 

[35bore]

SW, if he get's re elected, you may not be the only one...:banghead::banghead::bonk:

 

[Second Wind]

You guys are great, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.

This took a long time to sort out and I am just now putting the finishing touches on it.

Why, you may ask am I doing this....well there are many reasons, some obvious and some personal

but it is mostly just the right time.

Any of you that have read some of my earliest posts are aware of the situation but for those of you who are not
a little refresher

I was an avid hunter for most of my life, first whitetail at age 6

Always hunted the ranches in South and far West Texas

Had a string of blinds in the bays and a 400 hp airboat, hunted ducks and geese on the Texas bays almost all my life

Glossing over that event with the Corpus Christi police dept, the sprinklers at Pharaoh Valley Country Club, and a midnight run down the fairways in the airboat it was generally a good time

Then after 20 years I got a divorce when she said she needed to find herself, from what I hear, 15 years later she is still looking.

So I became a single father, raised two fantastic daughters, one now an engineer and the baby finishes nursing school in August in the accelerated RN program at Texas Tech. that was 46 grand I won't see again.

In the interim I drifted away from hunting, raised the girls, built my business and hooked up with a piece of arm candy that one day wanted to go to Europe...I wrote the check and 2 years later she's still there .... big "whew" on that one!

So, at the end of the day, everyone else went a different direction and I got to asking myself "what makes me the happiest"

The answer was obvious, I wanted to get back to hunting

Problem is, the bays are now crowded, the South Texas ranch is leased to a law firm from Houston and we sold the place in West Texas to someone with way more money than common sense.

Kind of dismayed and sort of down on my luck so to speak, I stumbled upon this Africa Hunting website and to quote Jimmy Buffet....that's when I first saw the bear!"

After a bit of confusion and a few false starts I think I finally got it close to right

Will this first adventure be the trip of a lifetime . . . . gosh I hope not, I'd rather think it was the start of a trend

Will it cost a lot of money . . . . not anywhere near what you might think

Is it going to take a lot of time . . . . (I get that one a lot) . . . . well, back in the day, my government thought nothing of sending me off on a little jaunt to Viet Nam, Republic of, to accomplish absolutely nothing, and that's 13 months I'll never get back so by comparison, this is pretty mild.

At the end of the day, the point I am trying to make to everyone is this:

Most of us are here because of what we love and aspire to, hunting in Africa and sometimes, in the middle of the day to day struggle, we, as responsible men, have a tendency to put our dreams on hold for the benefit of those around us,

So, like a goat in a pen, when you see an opening, make for it as hard and fast as you can

You can put it off and make the case that it costs too much (it doesn't) that you can't be gone that long (you can and things will be just fine when you get back) or that it is a selfish extravagance (hardly after all you have done for others)

I do not want a one of you, sitting on the porch in a rocker saying "I wished I had"

And JG, its not just about the trophies I am after, for I plan to

drink from the source of the Nile;

take a hot air balloon across the Serengeti

dance with a pretty girl under a full moon in the mist of Victoria Falls

and climb Kilimanjaro and a look down on the whole of Africa

before I take my own seat on the porch

as I pause now to fill my glass, I again thank each of you for all of your good wishes and encouragement because, I truly believe, without what I have found here, my life would have developed far diffrently

 

[James.Grage]

second wind

from what I saw was a friend going on a trip that most on here would like to do.

One has to have plans something to strive no to live for.

When retirement was nearing my wife asked me what i planned to do in retirement, well i told her Hunt, Fish and trapshooting. Trying to work in 3 to 4 nice trips a year for hunting and some fishing trips to boot. my trapshooting is on hold until eye issues are addressed.

When we (doctors and me) come up with a plan to for my eye issues we will do more trapshooting in the future. hunting and fishing are not bothered by the condition. The rifle scope allow me to continue to hunt.

many have put there life on hold and now we find our selves with more time than money to do things. All i can say as we get older physically we are not able to all the things we took for granted 10 to 20 years ago.

have a great time and have a toast to your AH friends when you think of us.

 

[Cliffy]

Second Wind,
I'm raising a glass to you. That was the most eloquent dissertation I have ever read. Your bucket list is the envy of every person on this forum. Your reasoning for going to Africa is without fault. We all hope you enjoy it even more than you plan on. You just damn well better post pictures and stories when you get back AND include a picture of the pretty girl at Vic Falls.

 

[Second Wind]

James

I think of you guys every day

I have toasted this krewe so much that I am starting to have liver concerns

 

[Second Wind]

Cliffy

About the Caravan ( Cessna 208)

I am confused, not as something we would consider, well hell of course we would,

but what we say the wings off in Wichita ,put her in a box and call Fed Ex

It wont mid air refuel so the only other choice is ferry tanks and where would that leave me and my Cuban cigars?

a fireball pver te Southern Ocean?

My friend I suspect you and I have as much to speak of with aircraft ad we do about hunting

Sounds to me the makings of a long evening around the fire with scotch and cigars

and if you dont drink or smoke watching me should be entertainment enough

 

[andriesdeklerk]

SW,
In order:
Send lots of picture of Bridger's new haunts.

Tell David Hello for me and start studying your laws now.
Take your long johns and a toque for sleeping at night, there is no heating.
Be first to the shower. That means 0530. Make it quick too.
Sit under the Leopard, at least you can see out the window when you get tired of his face.

Make Jerome find you a Cheetah, at least for pictures.

Find Andries and share some good wine.

Stay bloody safe and shoot straight.

Will be watching the horizon and have a bottle of nice red a hand.

 

[Second Wind]

Ya Know Andy

There is this ridiculous wine farm they are trying to sell me at Stellenbosch

why not save the bottle and stop by for a sup and tell me if you think its worth it

nothing would please me more

 

[spike.t]

Mr. Spike, that is an interesting statement. Would you like to share more about that with the group?

(And I can cook rusk and roosterbrood, too)

just a tongue in cheek comment, due to the fact that in the papers here this star or that star is in rehab or counselling please tell me what food rusk and roosterbrood is? SW if you make it to zambia on your jaunt and i am there at the same time, we will have to make a plan to do a bit of fishing or tour around. :beer:

 

[Upton O. Good]

just a tongue in cheek comment, due to the fact that in the papers here this star or that star is in rehab or counselling please tell me what food rusk and roosterbrood is? SW if you make it to zambia on your jaunt and i am there at the same time, we will have to make a plan to do a bit of fishing or tour around. :beer:

Mine was tongue in cheek, too. Believe me, folks who come to me for help find I'm a kind hearted SOB with a velvet lined steel glove. I don't screw around or waste time. And, I, too, am tired of these celebrities and their b.s.

Rusk is a very dry biscotti type breakfast cookie, common in S.A., that must be dipped into one's coffee or tea in order to be consumed. It is eaten early before heading out to hunt, and strangely, seems to satisfy until 10:00 a.m. when the first real meal is consumed. (about the time for the morning break from hunting.)

Roosterbrood is the Afrikaans word for Africa bread, a yeast bread, fist-sized like a large roll, that is cooked by roasting over the hot coals of a fire. It's like the old fashion homemade bread of years gone by and is really marvelous. I love to make a buttered, chipped biltong sandwich with my roosterbrood but now that I'm stateside I have to find a good biltong recipe. Our American jerky tastes like c*&P to me, nothing at all like biltong. (see photo below)



Secondwind: 13 months Vietnam, I'm thinking Marine Corps. Regardless, very nice narrative on life lived and live plans. Just make plans for several Africa trips, it is truly addictive. My second trip was even better than my first which I didn't think would be possible.

 

[Stretch]

Second wind
I have been away from the site for a couple weeks due to a major disruption in my life. It was illuminating to read your exposition and gives hope. My wife Packsy and I are to divorce after 32 years of marriage. It seems she to has to find herself and has started by finding someone else. We have gone through a lot in that time with the indigestible loss of my youngest son 7 years ago. The despair, uncertainty and frustration is overwhelming. We had a life plan and now its gone. Your words offered some comfort, as I know there is a plan out there for my life, I just need to find it. Like so many on this site I love hunting and somehow I plan on moving forward with my plan to hunt Africa next year for the first time. Thanks for the glimmer of hope.

 

[sestoppelman]

SW, enjoy the trip, hope it all comes together well for you!

 

[RickB]

SW enjoy the trip. You are correct I all that you say. Things always seem to work out in the end.

 

[Cliffy]

SW
at the risk of even more of hijacking this thread I love the smell and sound of a round motor starting ( not a suck, squeeze, bang and blow round motor) The humm of 6 R-4360s going over head on the wings of a B-36 is something I'll never forget. The personal sense of accomplishment with the strobe lights in view at 200' on a hand flown approach in thick fog, looking down from FL450 as the lightning dances from one boomer to another across the length of the horizon. Memories of a time past. Much like memories of my Sable stalk and hunt, my first Impala or my Waterbuck only these memories can be redone for real if I want. I'll pass on the cigars but sharing a few bottles of very good South African wine and a fire in the boma would be an evening to remember as the sun goes down in the west and the sky turns from blue to black and the stars appear to start their nightly dance around the Southern Cross. .

 

[Nyati]

Second Wind, good philosophy ! However I m afraid I can t do all those activities at once, so I m doing it in installments, a short trip to Africa every year.

Stretch, sorry to hear that ! Do come to Africa and fulfill your dream, it will be good for you.

 

[andriesdeklerk]

Second wind
How do you make a small fortune in the wine industry? Well you start with a big one. Tell me where and when and I will give you my honest opinion of the place.

 

[Diamondhitch]

You guys are great, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.

This took a long time to sort out and I am just now putting the finishing touches on it.

Why, you may ask am I doing this....well there are many reasons, some obvious and some personal

but it is mostly just the right time.

Any of you that have read some of my earliest posts are aware of the situation but for those of you who are not
a little refresher

I was an avid hunter for most of my life, first whitetail at age 6

Always hunted the ranches in South and far West Texas

Had a string of blinds in the bays and a 400 hp airboat, hunted ducks and geese on the Texas bays almost all my life

Glossing over that event with the Corpus Christi police dept, the sprinklers at Pharaoh Valley Country Club, and a midnight run down the fairways in the airboat it was generally a good time

Then after 20 years I got a divorce when she said she needed to find herself, from what I hear, 15 years later she is still looking.

So I became a single father, raised two fantastic daughters, one now an engineer and the baby finishes nursing school in August in the accelerated RN program at Texas Tech. that was 46 grand I won't see again.

In the interim I drifted away from hunting, raised the girls, built my business and hooked up with a piece of arm candy that one day wanted to go to Europe...I wrote the check and 2 years later she's still there .... big "whew" on that one!

So, at the end of the day, everyone else went a different direction and I got to asking myself "what makes me the happiest"

The answer was obvious, I wanted to get back to hunting

Problem is, the bays are now crowded, the South Texas ranch is leased to a law firm from Houston and we sold the place in West Texas to someone with way more money than common sense.

Kind of dismayed and sort of down on my luck so to speak, I stumbled upon this Africa Hunting website and to quote Jimmy Buffet....that's when I first saw the bear!"

After a bit of confusion and a few false starts I think I finally got it close to right

Will this first adventure be the trip of a lifetime . . . . gosh I hope not, I'd rather think it was the start of a trend

Will it cost a lot of money . . . . not anywhere near what you might think

Is it going to take a lot of time . . . . (I get that one a lot) . . . . well, back in the day, my government thought nothing of sending me off on a little jaunt to Viet Nam, Republic of, to accomplish absolutely nothing, and that's 13 months I'll never get back so by comparison, this is pretty mild.

At the end of the day, the point I am trying to make to everyone is this:

Most of us are here because of what we love and aspire to, hunting in Africa and sometimes, in the middle of the day to day struggle, we, as responsible men, have a tendency to put our dreams on hold for the benefit of those around us,

So, like a goat in a pen, when you see an opening, make for it as hard and fast as you can

You can put it off and make the case that it costs too much (it doesn't) that you can't be gone that long (you can and things will be just fine when you get back) or that it is a selfish extravagance (hardly after all you have done for others)

I do not want a one of you, sitting on the porch in a rocker saying "I wished I had"

And JG, its not just about the trophies I am after, for I plan to

drink from the source of the Nile;

take a hot air balloon across the Serengeti

dance with a pretty girl under a full moon in the mist of Victoria Falls

and climb Kilimanjaro and a look down on the whole of Africa

before I take my own seat on the porch

as I pause now to fill my glass, I again thank each of you for all of your good wishes and encouragement because, I truly believe, without what I have found here, my life would have developed far diffrently

Well it appears I was a bit of a mushroom on this one (in the dark). Maybe it was the Obama - job comment but I didnt realize you were serious about your plans (they are quite amitious). Good for you that is quite an adventure you have planned! I hope it really is just the beginning for you! Have fun.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Any time a guy lays that kind of detail out he has to be making a real plan.

Just do it!!

You got my input on your list.

CHEERS!!!