I put this same post on the pointing dog journal forum I visit as well. Figured id try here too. The post is long, but if you want the Cliffs Notes version, I have a friend named Al, he has parkinsons and it has severely limited him the past couple years. I believe he feels he will not be able to get outdoors anymore past this year. Im needing help in finding a place that would give us some vehicle access or limited walking so that Al can observe some dog work and a bit of hunting. However Id like to make this happen without him making think its all about him or giving him any special accomodations. We need a place that would allow some vehicle access and ideally the kind of topography where someone could park up on a hill, Al could observe dog work etc from the vehicle and feel like hes part of the action. I wouldnt care if we had to buy birds and put them out.
Thanks for your consideration
*************************************
I'll give some background on my friend first.
His name is Al, unfortunately he has Parkinson's disease (think Michael J Fox, Mohammed Ali etc) From what I know about him, he grew up in SE Ks around Independence I believe, grew up hunting quail, phez and prairie chickens as a young boy and it grew into a love of the outdoors and bird dogs in particular. He went to college, became a teacher, married and for some time lived in Canada. I believe he had a couple of children, went through a divorce and later ended up back in KS where his disease eventually affected his abilty to work and hold down a job.
I met him about 8 years ago and I would have been 22 at the time so Im quite a few years his junior.
He turned 70 this year and the Parkinsons has rapidly progressed to the point that he is having a hard time getting around and I believe he is faced with losing his freedom all together. Its a little tougher to understand his speach now but from what I can gather its to a point where he may need to go to assisted living or something similar, Im certain this is scaring the daylights out of him. Im not sure how soon this may happen but from what I have ascertained from talking with Al, there is a little bit of tension in his family over this and I think a little bit of pushback from him as well (He's divorced and currently lives alone). He's fiercly independent and doesnt want to go. Hes been talking about moving back to Montana to stay near his daughter and I know his sister (my college buddy's mom) has been pushing heavily for him to get into assisted living here in Wichita.
I fist met Al who happens to be a college buddy of mines Uncle back in 2002 or so when I was invited to go with his small family group for an opening day hunt. I knew he had the disease at the time but he was still able to move around fairly well and he was able to carry a gun and fire, though with some troubles. I made it on several hunts with him over the years and have taken him on a couple of weekend outings. I havent known him my entire life but in the short time I have he has definitely made an impact. With his disease he has always managed to maintain an optimistic outlook on life despite all the adversity, Im not sure I could do the same. If any of you have seen the movie "Big Fish" he reminds me a bit of the main character in the movie. Hes always got a story to tell and it always seems larger than life. Hes always also had a sort of charisma about him where he can get anyone to open up and have a conversation with him. My hunting partner Dusty and I always joke that we're pretty sure that any small diner in KS we make it too, someone in the community will probably know who Al is or he would probably know someone there. The times we've been out with him it certainly seems to be the case, his face will always light up when we tease him about that. He just loves to visit with the landowners and ask about the habitat, the bird numbers, what they've seen etc. Absolutely makes his day.
I dont know that I can express how much the man loves talking hunting, birds and bird dogs. We were able to get him out a couple of times with us last year mainly as an observer and to get his dogs out. When we did, his face would absolutely light up when we'd relate the stories of the hunt and the dog work since he couldnt be walking along with us. Last year we could see signs he was getting worse as he was not able to get out in the field much at all and was having a hard time keeping his balance. Never the less hearing of our experiences made his face light up like a christmas tree. I think hearing those things are a big motivator for him and part of what has kept him so optimistic.
Well what has brought on my request for help that I will detail below is a conversation I had with him on Friday evening that really hit me hard and stung me with the reality he is facing. I hadnt called him in sometime and was checking in with him on Friday, telling him about our opening day hunt this year as he loves to hear the stories since he cant get out as much. It was during this conversation that I heard absolute fear in his voice and probably the acceptance of the fact that he will soon be losing his freedoms due to the progression of his condition. Ive never heard him use that tone with me and I guess Id known him long enough that I always thought it would be a while before this time would come. One of his requests of me was that he had to get out this year and he desparately wanted to see the dogs work (he has 3 of his own, a nice setter that he has purchased from Troy (PrairieDrifter) of the board and 2 older shorthairs)
Ive never heard desparation in a mans voice over something but I heard it from Al and Im certain he feels this is one of his last chances to get out and enjoy the field work. My buddy Dusty and I desparately want to make this happen.
Now what Im needing help with:
What we'd love to find is a private place, or a public one if someone knows about it, thats fairly wide open, maybe has a good hill or something that could give a guy a good vantage point so he could see the hunter in the field working the dogs. If you cant get to this vantage point by vehicle, it would at least need to be fairly easily accessible by foot and close to a parking area etc. More importantly would be the possibility of some vehicle access so that we could drive to the high point so Al could keep tabs on the action. Or if someone knows of a private operation that isnt too costly that would be able to meet our accomodations that would be great too. Maybe someone even has a vehicle outfitted for such a chore as following a guy through the field such as a polaris ranger or mule or gator? My buddy Dusty and I would be willing to compensate the person for their time and equipment. However we wouldnt want Al to know that we did so.
I really would like to make this happen as smoothly as possible and not let Al know that I asked for help or any special favors as he is a very proud and independent man. Ive been having an internal debate the past couple of days as to whether or not I should make this post but I think its the right thing to do and again I go back to the desparation in his voice....We really need to make this happen and as someone who enjoys bird dogs and the outdoors as much as I do I can partially understand how it becomes such a part of your life as it has Al's and how the coming hunting season can be met with the anticipation of a little boy waiting for Christmas.
I dont want anyone to think Im doing this to ask for access to their spots, impede on someone elses private land or that this has anything to do with asking for a favor for myself etc. If we could, my buddy Dusty and I would make this happen, however just like a lot of people we dont have access to a lot of private ground or have connections to the "land". We grind it out on some pretty tough hunts on WIHA's and other public areas, unfortunately the places we go, it wouldnt be suitable to take Al with us....we just dont have this ideal place to take Al too. He has a lot of connections to private land where this would be ideal, however I do not know the landowners that well, and I just dont want him to know that we are making these arrangements for him, plus if I called the private land contact itd seem like I was going behind his back...I hope you can understand that dilmemna. Hes the type where he doesnt really ask for help or want any special favors so if he thought it was such a thing he may not want to accept.
Ideally if we could find a spot or place to do this within an hour or 2 of Wichita, maybe even in Northern Oklahoma.
Myself and Dusty dont have a lot of free money to pay for such a service or place to go or we would, (heck if I had the money Id go out and by a gator or polaris ranger and outfit it for Al to be out in the field on tomorrow) One thing we could offer in return for helping get this set up is taking you out on a wild bird, however itd have to be later in the year, say Middle of December-end of January. Later in the year we can get some access to some private land that holds good bird #'s so it'd be a fun time. These areas are normally 2-5 hours from Wichita, require some good dogs and to be in decent shape.
Im open to any suggestions for maybe working out a trade or if you simply have some information to pass along on where we could take Al, a landowner that may have the perfect setup and be willing to let us have vehicle access to the land? I know Al would like to see myself and Dusty and his nephew out in the field (if we can get his butt up here from OK ha!) So at the most there would be 5 in the group including Al. His nephew, myself, my buddy Dusty, and Al's brother in law.
I know this is a lot to ask, and would require a lot of trust on all involved, however I can assure you that myself, Dusty, Al's brother in law and nephew are extremely moral hunters who treat the land and resources with the utmost care and respect. We know how hard it is to find private opportunities or access to good land and realize that if we act as good stewards it helps keep hunters in a good light.
Well, as I said Im open to any suggestions on how to creatively get Al out in the field without him realizing that the day or weekend is about him and was made for him. Hope Ive painted a good pictue of the type of place and situation we're trying to create...If i havent feel free to ask me further questions or send a PM.
Thanks so much!
Shane Horsch
Thanks for your consideration
*************************************
I'll give some background on my friend first.
His name is Al, unfortunately he has Parkinson's disease (think Michael J Fox, Mohammed Ali etc) From what I know about him, he grew up in SE Ks around Independence I believe, grew up hunting quail, phez and prairie chickens as a young boy and it grew into a love of the outdoors and bird dogs in particular. He went to college, became a teacher, married and for some time lived in Canada. I believe he had a couple of children, went through a divorce and later ended up back in KS where his disease eventually affected his abilty to work and hold down a job.
I met him about 8 years ago and I would have been 22 at the time so Im quite a few years his junior.
He turned 70 this year and the Parkinsons has rapidly progressed to the point that he is having a hard time getting around and I believe he is faced with losing his freedom all together. Its a little tougher to understand his speach now but from what I can gather its to a point where he may need to go to assisted living or something similar, Im certain this is scaring the daylights out of him. Im not sure how soon this may happen but from what I have ascertained from talking with Al, there is a little bit of tension in his family over this and I think a little bit of pushback from him as well (He's divorced and currently lives alone). He's fiercly independent and doesnt want to go. Hes been talking about moving back to Montana to stay near his daughter and I know his sister (my college buddy's mom) has been pushing heavily for him to get into assisted living here in Wichita.
I fist met Al who happens to be a college buddy of mines Uncle back in 2002 or so when I was invited to go with his small family group for an opening day hunt. I knew he had the disease at the time but he was still able to move around fairly well and he was able to carry a gun and fire, though with some troubles. I made it on several hunts with him over the years and have taken him on a couple of weekend outings. I havent known him my entire life but in the short time I have he has definitely made an impact. With his disease he has always managed to maintain an optimistic outlook on life despite all the adversity, Im not sure I could do the same. If any of you have seen the movie "Big Fish" he reminds me a bit of the main character in the movie. Hes always got a story to tell and it always seems larger than life. Hes always also had a sort of charisma about him where he can get anyone to open up and have a conversation with him. My hunting partner Dusty and I always joke that we're pretty sure that any small diner in KS we make it too, someone in the community will probably know who Al is or he would probably know someone there. The times we've been out with him it certainly seems to be the case, his face will always light up when we tease him about that. He just loves to visit with the landowners and ask about the habitat, the bird numbers, what they've seen etc. Absolutely makes his day.
I dont know that I can express how much the man loves talking hunting, birds and bird dogs. We were able to get him out a couple of times with us last year mainly as an observer and to get his dogs out. When we did, his face would absolutely light up when we'd relate the stories of the hunt and the dog work since he couldnt be walking along with us. Last year we could see signs he was getting worse as he was not able to get out in the field much at all and was having a hard time keeping his balance. Never the less hearing of our experiences made his face light up like a christmas tree. I think hearing those things are a big motivator for him and part of what has kept him so optimistic.
Well what has brought on my request for help that I will detail below is a conversation I had with him on Friday evening that really hit me hard and stung me with the reality he is facing. I hadnt called him in sometime and was checking in with him on Friday, telling him about our opening day hunt this year as he loves to hear the stories since he cant get out as much. It was during this conversation that I heard absolute fear in his voice and probably the acceptance of the fact that he will soon be losing his freedoms due to the progression of his condition. Ive never heard him use that tone with me and I guess Id known him long enough that I always thought it would be a while before this time would come. One of his requests of me was that he had to get out this year and he desparately wanted to see the dogs work (he has 3 of his own, a nice setter that he has purchased from Troy (PrairieDrifter) of the board and 2 older shorthairs)
Ive never heard desparation in a mans voice over something but I heard it from Al and Im certain he feels this is one of his last chances to get out and enjoy the field work. My buddy Dusty and I desparately want to make this happen.
Now what Im needing help with:
What we'd love to find is a private place, or a public one if someone knows about it, thats fairly wide open, maybe has a good hill or something that could give a guy a good vantage point so he could see the hunter in the field working the dogs. If you cant get to this vantage point by vehicle, it would at least need to be fairly easily accessible by foot and close to a parking area etc. More importantly would be the possibility of some vehicle access so that we could drive to the high point so Al could keep tabs on the action. Or if someone knows of a private operation that isnt too costly that would be able to meet our accomodations that would be great too. Maybe someone even has a vehicle outfitted for such a chore as following a guy through the field such as a polaris ranger or mule or gator? My buddy Dusty and I would be willing to compensate the person for their time and equipment. However we wouldnt want Al to know that we did so.
I really would like to make this happen as smoothly as possible and not let Al know that I asked for help or any special favors as he is a very proud and independent man. Ive been having an internal debate the past couple of days as to whether or not I should make this post but I think its the right thing to do and again I go back to the desparation in his voice....We really need to make this happen and as someone who enjoys bird dogs and the outdoors as much as I do I can partially understand how it becomes such a part of your life as it has Al's and how the coming hunting season can be met with the anticipation of a little boy waiting for Christmas.
I dont want anyone to think Im doing this to ask for access to their spots, impede on someone elses private land or that this has anything to do with asking for a favor for myself etc. If we could, my buddy Dusty and I would make this happen, however just like a lot of people we dont have access to a lot of private ground or have connections to the "land". We grind it out on some pretty tough hunts on WIHA's and other public areas, unfortunately the places we go, it wouldnt be suitable to take Al with us....we just dont have this ideal place to take Al too. He has a lot of connections to private land where this would be ideal, however I do not know the landowners that well, and I just dont want him to know that we are making these arrangements for him, plus if I called the private land contact itd seem like I was going behind his back...I hope you can understand that dilmemna. Hes the type where he doesnt really ask for help or want any special favors so if he thought it was such a thing he may not want to accept.
Ideally if we could find a spot or place to do this within an hour or 2 of Wichita, maybe even in Northern Oklahoma.
Myself and Dusty dont have a lot of free money to pay for such a service or place to go or we would, (heck if I had the money Id go out and by a gator or polaris ranger and outfit it for Al to be out in the field on tomorrow) One thing we could offer in return for helping get this set up is taking you out on a wild bird, however itd have to be later in the year, say Middle of December-end of January. Later in the year we can get some access to some private land that holds good bird #'s so it'd be a fun time. These areas are normally 2-5 hours from Wichita, require some good dogs and to be in decent shape.
Im open to any suggestions for maybe working out a trade or if you simply have some information to pass along on where we could take Al, a landowner that may have the perfect setup and be willing to let us have vehicle access to the land? I know Al would like to see myself and Dusty and his nephew out in the field (if we can get his butt up here from OK ha!) So at the most there would be 5 in the group including Al. His nephew, myself, my buddy Dusty, and Al's brother in law.
I know this is a lot to ask, and would require a lot of trust on all involved, however I can assure you that myself, Dusty, Al's brother in law and nephew are extremely moral hunters who treat the land and resources with the utmost care and respect. We know how hard it is to find private opportunities or access to good land and realize that if we act as good stewards it helps keep hunters in a good light.
Well, as I said Im open to any suggestions on how to creatively get Al out in the field without him realizing that the day or weekend is about him and was made for him. Hope Ive painted a good pictue of the type of place and situation we're trying to create...If i havent feel free to ask me further questions or send a PM.
Thanks so much!
Shane Horsch
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