Goose Call Winner
Goose Break Hope
by Patrick W. Forward
We all have people who we see as our own personal Superman. Growing up, I’ve had many Supermen, but this story is about one in particular: my uncle, Don MacLeod. Growing up, uncle Don was the man who taught me how to hunt. He taught me everything that I needed to know about shooting a gun and paddling a canoe or even going to pick up the geese.
This story starts a little before Goose Break 2017. Earlier, in 2016, my Aunt Judy had passed away. It was a difficult year, which was followed by an even more difficult year. Not even a full year after the passing of my Aunt Judy, uncle Don developed a cancerous tumour around his spine. This was devastating on many levels but we were hopeful that he would be able to beat the cancer and continue on with his life. Watching uncle Don go through treatment wasn’t easy, but we all supported him and tried to keep his hopes alive.
One of the most difficult things for my uncle was knowing Goose Break was rounding the corner and he was unsure if he would be able to hunt. Then one day as the geese were flying, I received a text saying that uncle Don was coming down to the blinds. Quickly the nephews gathered together to help him down to his blind and carry his gun down for him. Although we knew that his journey down was hard, there was a ray of hope that seemed to gleam in his eyes as he sat down in a chair he had sat in every year before. This was significant and meant the world to everybody who was sitting in the blinds.
What made this day even more special was as if something was written in the stars, as sure as the sun would rise, a flock of geese flew towards the opening of the water hole. As the geese landed on the lake and the hunters got ready to shoot, all the hunters waited on one specific person, my uncle Don. As he raised his shotgun to aim at the geese we heard a loud bang-bang-bang! And the shooting began.
As I turned to look at the expression on uncle Don’s face I realized that there was life in his eyes that reminded me of a time when a child kills their first goose. The look of excitement washed over his face, a look of pride, a look that I will never forget because my Superman – despite all of his difficulties and challenges – had not only made it down to the blind he sat in every year, but managed to raise his gun and shoot despite all of the pain I’m sure he was feeling.
This is one of my most memorable Goose Breaks because I wasn’t sure if my uncle would make it down to the blinds that year and the thought of not having him hunt with me broke my heart. I believe that trip down to the blind meant more to him than we will ever realize, it meant hope.
Now as we prepare for Goose Break 2018, I’m glad to say that his cancer has gone into remission and I will have my hunting partner with me for many many more to years to come.