Fathers In The Field

Each day in our nation there are an average of over 5,400 Suicide attempts by young people grades 7-12.

Many of the young boys who attempt suicide are growing up without a father in the home. 

Crime rate statistics also prove that boys who grow up without their father at home go on to commit violent crimes. Today's over-crowded prisons are full of men who did not have their father in their home, or a father figure or mentor in their life.

37% of this country’s children - over 25 million kids under 18 - are growing up in fatherless homes.

Here are some other startling statistics:

Children from fatherless homes account for:

• 63% of youth suicides
• 71% of pregnant teenagers
• 90% of runaway or homeless kids
• 85% of youth sitting in prisons
• 71% of high school dropouts
• 75% of teens in drug treatment

Research shows that mentored children are:

• 46% less likely to use drugs or alcohol
• 33% less likely to resort to violence
• 59% more likely to get better grades

It's hard for me to personally relate to the sad statistics of fatherlessness, because my Dad was always there for me at home. He was a positive influence and mentor in my life. He taught me to hunt and fish, and took our family camping practically every weekend from the time I was age seven through fifteen.

(My Dad, 1971)

I was at a Men's Wild Game Dinner a couple of nights ago, and a true hero of a man gave a presentation about something we as men can do to take action and help mentor boys who have no dad in their life. When I heard the frightening statistics of how many boys grow up without their fathers at home, I knew that I could not just stand by and do nothing.

For those of you whose lives have been blessed by growing up with your dad at home, or if you had a good man as a mentor in your life, knowing how much you were loved and appreciated, and you had the privilege of being taught to hunt or fish, and were mentored by a dad or caring man who was always there for you; will you please consider taking a kid under your wing and be a mentor for him? 

There are basically two kinds of men; 

1.  Guys who just talk about doing something.

                                or...

2.  Guys who take action and actually walk their talk.

Boys who have been abandoned by their fathers have a broken spirit. But you can help these kids by becoming a mentor and a friend to them.

—At The End of my Line.

Watch Your Back

I heard a story on the news a few years back of a hunter who had been killed by a mountain lion.

Some other hunters found his body. Half his back eaten away. His rifle still slung on his shoulder. The lion had apparently stalked him.

He never saw the attack coming.

I am convinced that had that man been hunting with a buddy, he would still be alive today.

On some of my favorite rivers, I have felt that sixth sense several times, that something was watching me. And I looked around and never saw anything there. 

But I knew there was something.

Have you ever felt that sense? That you were being watched? Even stalked?

I enjoy fishing alone sometimes. I relish the solitude. And on these times I fish alone, I always am extra careful to watch my back. But I enjoy fishing with a close friend as much or more than I do alone. And we always watch each others backs.

Life should be like that.

You gotta watch your back in this world. There are some crazy mixed up people out there. And it is best to have close friends around us who will consistently be in the "foxhole of life" with us; friends who have our six.

I know that if my close friends were at the mall and saw some guy trying to mess with my wife, they would pounce on that situation like stink on you know what, and put an end to that nonsense. They'd send that Loser packing! And I would do the same for them. I would protect their kids just like I know they would protect mine. 

Many guys try to Lone Ranger it, go it alone, be tough guys. But there is great comfort and joy being with a Band of Brothers who you know will always be there for you. 

Even Lone Ranger had a Tonto.

At a men's retreat in the Idaho mountains a few years back, I met a young marine who had just finished a tour in Falluja in the middle east. With tears in his eyes, he told us how he had watched two of his buddies get killed, one by gunshot, and the other by stepping on an I.E.D. He said that he and his Band of Brothers had a super-tight camaraderie with each other. They would literally take a bullet or fall on an I.E.D. for one another. 

And that's how it should be in life.

My close friends know that I would literally take a bullet for them. And they would do the same for me. And my life is enriched and better for having friends like this. Men of real integrity and caliber.

These are true friends who stick closer than a brother.

And these are the men who I like to walk the banks of a favorite river, or hike a ridge or canyon with. These are the friends who will likely one day carry my casket when I step into the next life...

—At The End of My Line.