As we were sitting there eating the fixin's the girls brought out to us "hard working men", I was observing Riley, Devon's old Golden Retriever. I said, "I bet Riley really likes it out here in the country." Devon responded, "You know, since we moved out here I've really seen his natural instincts come to the surface." I sat and thought about that for a minute, and replied, "You know what Devon, its the same for men..."

Recently I was visiting my brother in-law Devon Rolf, a patent attorney with Garmin International (Most of you outdoorsmen know Garmin by their handheld GPS units and fishfinders). Our families were getting together, the girls catching up on the news inside while the guys (Devon, me and three of my sons) were out workin' in the woods. A few years ago Devon moved out on some acreage outside of town, and we were clearing some walking trails... no doubt we were checking out all the signs of deer activity while we were out... rubs, scrapes, droppings, etc. My 8 year old son Christian found a nice antler from a 12 point buck out there. He wants to mount it somehow in his room to hang stuff on.

After we were done with our work, we sat down in the pasture to rest a bit. (You know how good it feels to sit and rest after doing some good ol' hard work.) The girls, anxiously awaiting our appearance, spied us sitting there from inside the house and they (My wife Nancy and our two daughters, and her sister Becky and her four daughters) promptly brought out some soup, homemade wheat bread with butter, and refreshments. (The men are teaching the boys to work, and the women are teaching the girls to bless the men... ain't that the way it should be?) As we were sitting there eating the fixin's the girls brought out to us "hard working men", I was observing Riley, Devon's old Golden Retriever. I said, "I bet Riley really likes it out here in the country." Devon responded, "You know, since we moved out here I've really seen his natural instincts come to the surface." I sat and thought about that for a minute, and replied, "You know what Devon, its the same for men..."

Have you ever watched a dog that is chained up or stuck in a house? All he does is lay around and sleep. He's depressed! But you let him off that chain... give him some room to roam... he's running and tracking critters down! Just like ol' Riley is happy chasing after a couple deer or coyotes... doing things he was created by God to do... (He sure wasn't created to be cooped-up in a house in the burbs...) Men are happiest when they are outdoors... workin', sweatin', freezin', and gettin' rained on... you know what I mean. And we're really happy when the girls bring out the refreshments, and make such a big fuss over their hard working men.

There is something about the corporate America scene that robs a man of his manhood. His hands get soft... He doesn't get out in the fresh air... He's away from his family... the wife he loves and his dear children. Men, I guess that's one reason why I have such a passion for the outdoors. It's more than the hunting. It's more than the fishing. It's about getting outdoors, with the ones you love, and feeling like a real man.

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