Written by Jay S. Warburton
I am living my American Dream: I hunt. It all started when I was seven years old hunting ducks with my father.
On this particular day, the wind was blowing very hard and hunting on the main body of water was out of the question, so Dad set us up in some cattails on a small pond just to the east of the lake. Dad had taken a large piece of cardboard and placed it down by the edge of the pond, and that’s what we stood on. It was really slippery, but it worked. I was able to bring along my single shot Daisy BB gun.
Suddenly, all I can remember was Dad saying, “Get down! Here comes a couple of canvasbacks.” They were flying like crazy right at us, and not very high either. Dad told me to take the one on the right and he would take the duck on the left. They flew right over the top of us, about 20 yards high. The big birds split just as they flew above, and dad’s Winchester Model 12 barked one time and the big drake on the left folded and the right one veered off. I swung my Daisy and squeezed the trigger. The bird fell near my feet. I think I gave one of those wide-mouthed silent screams of joy! Dad said, “Holy smokes son, you got him!”
I can remember that day just like it was yesterday, even though I am 80 years old and my father has long since passed. That day set me on a path that inspired me to follow my American Dream of being a hunter. Since that day, I have come to realize that each person’s American Dream is different, but each of us is blessed enough to live in this grand country and have the opportunity to follow our own American Dream. I think of Neil Diamond, the singer, who wrote a song that he says is one of his favorites, titled, “Beautiful Noise.” He is singing about the symphony of sounds coming up from the streets of New York City. I’ll bet if you asked Mr. Diamond what his American Dream was, it would be writing songs like that so he could sing it to people like you and me, and make us see and hear his dream in song.
I didn’t follow the American Dream of writing songs. I followed my American Dream of hunting and fishing and experiencing the outdoors, where I eventually made my living for most of my adult life. I wanted to be an outdoor photojournalist ever since I was 16 and wrote my very first hunting story on how to hunt pigeons. My best friend was a kid named Doug Harbour, and his father was the field editor for Sports Afield magazine. The editor said if I wrote a story, he would help me submit it for publication, so I did. I remember I gave my story to him to edit, and he gave it back to me a week or so later, covered in red ink with arrows going everywhere. I rewrote the story, packaged it up with photos, and sent it back. About four weeks later, I got an acceptance letter from Sports Afield. My career was off to a fantastic start—although I have to admit that once I was on my own, it took me nearly 10 years to get another article accepted at Sports Afield. Then, my articles appeared in Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, and 51 other national publications. My American Dream was coming true. I was able to hunt and fish for a living.
Throughout my professional life, I have been blessed with the companionship and friendship of fantastic people. Growing up, we were all told the American Dream was a house with a two-car garage, and that’s fine for some people. However, I think that true American Dreams are what any of us thinks we can do and then decide to pursue. Some of us want to be teachers, and others want to be firemen, and some of us want to build a window washing business or become a mechanic because of our love for cars. We live in a country that gives each of us the opportunity to pursue our own American Dream. Not all of us will achieve our goals, but every one of us shares the gift of opportunity that this country gives us to try and make our dreams come true.
I live close to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. My wife and I enjoy visiting with folks while we’re there, and almost everybody we talk to tells us how beautiful the park is. Once in a while, we meet folks from other countries, and they are amazed that we live in a country where we are so blessed and free: We can go from state to state without any form of passport; I am able to make my living hunting and can carry a gun with me almost anywhere I want to go; and we have millions of acres of public land that are open for all of us to enjoy. In addition, there are private land owners that will let you hunt on their property. We have endless opportunities to enjoy the outdoors. They will say something that usually makes me smile, like, “I hope you realize how lucky you are.” And with that same smile, I look them in the eye and say, “I realize that every day. You see, I am living and have lived my American Dream. I hunt.”
This article was originally published in American Essence magazine.
