My Old Friend Chuck

Hello,
Like I’ve told you before, I write this article a couple of months before it appears in print. I’m writing this one on December 1st. As soon as I finish this, I’m going to drive from Texas towards Las Vegas, Nevada to compete at the National Finals Rodeo. I’ve spent the last 3 weeks practicing everyday and I’m glade that part of the NFR preparation is over. My hands are sore, as is my shoulder, and I welcome the three days rest it will take me to drive to Vegas. This will be the 18th time I’ve competed at the finals and the excitement feels just like the first one in Oklahoma City did 31 years ago. A friend of mine stopped by the house the other day and he commented that this was probably old news to me because of the number of times I’ve been there. I reminded him of something that Bruce Ford, the several times World Champion bareback rider told his son when he was preparing to leave for his first NFR. Keep in mind that Bruce Ford has qualified for the NFR more times that any other bareback rider in history, but this is what he told his son. You’re a very talented guy, much more that I am and you will probably qualify 20 more times, but you never know. Don’t take anything for granted. For all you know this might be the only time you ever make it, so take it all in, don’t miss a thing. Smell it, taste it, and feel it. take every ounce of it in because it might be your last time you ever get to go. Great advice!

I think that applies to every thing in life. From saying good bye to the people you love, to watching the sun set, riding a good horse, or lying down in a soft bed. Earlier this year I was reminded of that lesson by a dear friend of mine by the name of Chuck Dennis. Chuck is an interesting guy, from the way he handled people to the way he shot a shotgun. I met him in northern California several years ago at a roping at a little cold covered arena in the middle of the winter. We hit it off immediately because we had a common bond, be both loved to rope. Chuck told me that he lived in Stockton, California in the winter and Montana in the summer. I told him I understood Montana in the summer but Stockton in the winter certainly isn’t my first choice. Its foggy and rainy for about 2 1/2 months and he smiled and said but it’s great for ducks. The San Joaquin Valley is full of rivers an there’s is a deep water channel that you can put your boat in and go 60 miles and come out under the Golden Gate bridge. Continue on and Hawaii is your next stop. The fishing is great in and around Stockton because there’s water everywhere and water foul is abundant. When I ask him why he liked it there in the winter Chuck told me that he managed an island that was close to 6,000 acres that was about 15 miles west of Stockton. He said that they had created a habitat for ducks, geese, and pheasants and had built nesting areas for those birds. There was a hunting lodge built there that looked like it was right out of Field and Stream magazine. There was a full time chef that stayed on the island along with guides and the greatest hunting dogs in the world. Chuck and I became friends and he would come to the house and rope and when no one was using the island, ,we would go hunting. I don’t know if you’re much of a hunter, and some people aren’t, and that’s ok, but you have to understand these guys gave back more then they took. They denoted lots of money to Ducks Unlimited and they were very careful about the number of water foul that the hunters on the island harvested each hunting season.
When my Son Travis, was about 13 years old, Chuck invited us to the island for the first time. We went out the night before and had a wonderful dinner and visited in the club house until late. Travis and I slept in the bunk house and before daylight, Chuck, Travis, myself, and the black labs headed out to the duck blind. It was a beautiful morning, still as it could be and as the sun came up the sky became dark with ducks. Hundreds and hundreds of ducks and geese came in over the blind. Chuck smiled and said quietly, don’t shoot. Just look and listen because we might not ever see this again. So for about 20 minutes we did just that. Travis and I were on the island many times after that, but there is a picture of us from that first trip that hangs on his wall in his room. When I see it I always think of that morning. Earlier this year Chuck developed a bump in his throat so he decided to go to the doctor and 60 days later my friend Chuck Dennis died. I think of him often, when I’m outside and I hear geese flying high above me. I think of my friend and I can hear him say, just be still and listen. Don’t miss this moment because you never know if another moment like this will ever come along again.
Until next month
Thinks for your time
Walt Woodard