Who Will Replace Them? Pondering the Questions of Outdoor Authors, Kids, and Men
I actually have pondered this question myself, and written several pieces related. I’m not that old, but I was a person that grew up with the classics – Ruark, Hemmingway, MacQuarrie, O’Connor, Nash Buckingham, Zane Grey, Capstick, and even some more recent- Shockey, McMannus, Petzal, Bourjaily, and Bill Heavey.
Robert Ruark’s book, “”The Old Man and The Boy”” was my bible and I wore out several copies (including a first edition that my father still hasn’t forgiven me for.) I didn’t just read those stories. I LIVED them. There is one that really sticks out entitled “”Same Knife, Different Boy”” from “”The Old Man’s Boy Grows Older”” that talks about the changing values of society- how they always carried knives around and didn’t do bad things with them because the got taken away- a tragedy to boys then.
What I remember about all of those authors is that there was never much focus on how many or how big. The focus was on the experience. It was also about men raising boys and treating them like men.
To you all, I ponder these questions- who is out there that can replace any of them? (I’ll even take one that comes close) and how are men raising boys to be MEN in the outdoors? Taking a kid bird hunting or fishing twice a year isn’t the same thing.
I won’t mention names, but I know a great deal of people in the industry pretty well. Some are nice and very humble. Some aren’t. Some you wouldn’t even believe are the same person when not in front of the camera.
Internet, video, constant entertainment (admit it- you’ve checked texts and email while on stand), stimulation, and the ever-increasing urbanization of society lives little time for enjoyment. When people lived in the country, they would walk out the door and hunt. It was no big deal. Sometimes they were successful, sometimes not, but they enjoyed it enough to keep going. Knock on a few doors in your neighborhood or even your county and see what the reception is like. Most areas within an hour of any major city or suburb are locked up tight.
Compare that with today, where deer camp might be a $400,000.00 cabin and managed property that a person gets to 5 times a year, a big-dollar outfitted hunt out west, or even a hunt for elk in Montana where the TAG is $1100.00. I moved last year and the property I had to deer hunt was just sold. I’m actually contemplating a lease for the first time. Media today is a lot more aggressive and it is all about the money. All you have to do is look in the back of the outdoor magazines today and see the ads for sex help and erectile supplements to realize that.
People want entertainment. We’ve put a lot of pressure on ourselves and I don’t know what the solution is. Getting involved is one. I just try enjoy every moment that I’m out and realize that I could be sitting at a desk facing a deadline or living in some city where the local park is as close as you come to nature.