Living life to the fullest

Two great friends -- my son David (left) and Mark Rinckey of Honor

Life is a very precious commodity, and speaking only of myself, I try to live each day to its fullest.

There are many ways to live, but my life has been built on a strong foundation of honesty, hard work and helping others whenever possible. Those thoughts will be with me tonight, tomorrow and forever.

I consider myself a very lucky man. Hard work, they say, never hurts anyone and I suppose that is true. I've been fortunate in my life. It hasn't all been easy, and the money I needed to run my businesses hasn't always been there, but somehow we've always made it through.

It hasn't all been easy, but no one ever guaranteed an easy life

My business life, like that of others who are in business, has been a series of ups and downs, high and low points. My writing has always fluctuated with the moods of the stock market and the automobile industry, and there was never anything I could do to cure that except drum up more markets when business slowed down.

I've always believed in delivering the best possible product. If a story need two or three rewrites, that's what it got. I often went out to shoot specific photographs for a special story.

A magazine wrote a story once about me, saying I was an honest man. It wasn't an ego stroke for me. It's something I've always believed in all of my life. Honesty is the hallmark of every man, and as my Daddy once said, we come into life buck naked and with a good reputation and I want to leave it the same way.

There is much to be thankful for. My children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren work hard and are honest, and I'm almost always surrounded by family. They enable me to live my life as I choose.

My choice has always been to work, grow my writing business, and hunt as often as possible. My bills always got paid, my family eats well, and when it becomes necessary to reduce my workload, I made necessary changes.

My avocation also is my vocation; Few can say the same

Few people can say that they've had a job they loved. Many folks can't stand their boss or their job, but that has never been my problem because i am my own boss and my worst critic. I love meeting people, and my weblog gives me a great opportunity to meet some of the finest people in the world.

How many people can say they do what they wish to do. Many of my years were spent working for others, and then I began my machine shop and became my own boss. It gave me the freedom to work when I wanted, hunt whenever possible, and be a productive citizen.

My life, for the most part, has been spent being productive at a job I loved and wanted to do. Designing new bows, striving for the ultimate compound bow, and working constantly toward that goal is difficult but refreshing. We reach a certain point, encounter a problem, and then it takes time to solve it. Solving problems became a theme for me.

And it has made me stronger

I look at my life, and that of my family and close friends, and feel good about my place in society. If I had it to do over again, I would probably live my life the same way.

Such thoughts will surround me as we work our way toward Easter and spring weather, and I will give thanks for a long and fruitful life. I've lived it my way, and that means a great deal to me.

I've written thousands of magazine articles, newspaper columns, and daily weblogs, and it's you -- the reader -- on an individual and collectively, to produce good copy and fine photos. That I've done, and over 72 years, I've done things my way.

My reward in life is not measured by a large bank account, and a big beautiful car, and an expensive home but by the acceptance and occasional good and kind words of gratitude by my reading audience. I do this, not only for you, but also for myself.