Thanks to y’all for the incredible support
- Bob Hanna: Someday
- January 12, 2022
- 898
Where do I begin? This is my last installment of the Someday column.
I want to thank AloNovus for publishing my articles over the years. I want to thank you for your comments and encouragement to teach, not only about conservation and heritage, but also life and pursuing the best it has to offer while this vehicle we call the human body is able — to share about the spiritual soul and our connection to God through his son, Jesus Christ.
It started with a phone call. Yes, I had hunted since I was big enough to carry a BB gun. But it wasn’t until after the sudden death of my brother in 2002 that I realized all the things I had dreamed of doing “someday” might not happen if I didn’t start right away.
Then in 2006 my good friend David Carrick, who had been our minister in Millersburg for 21 years, called from Colorado telling me about an outfitter he knew who had a cancellation on a mule deer and elk hunt.
Shortly after that in 2008, we booked a caribou hunt in Northern Quebec, which was an amazing adventure where we took four caribou.
This was followed by an antelope hunt in 2009 in Wyoming.
Excited to share our experiences, I submitted our hunts to a Wooster publication. Shortly after that, I was approached by Dave Mast of the Bargain Hunter asking if I would be willing to submit an outdoor column. With much prayer I submitted an article to the editor for approval, and that was the beginning of Someday.
Since then we have pursued our hunting (some fishing) dreams, sharing our adventures. Our 2014 African safari came by accident when, for fun, I bid at a SCI banquet and got our trip “cheap” — then in 2015 to Northern Ontario, where a friend and his brother ran a bear camp, but we didn’t see any.
In 2016 we received a wonderful trip to Alaska through an incentive program. We almost bought land up there. I also got the opportunity to go to Las Vegas that year and drive a Lamborghini on a race track and a Mini Cooper on a rally course.
During 2016 and into 2017, my wife Taryn drew a tag for archery cow elk in Kentucky, which is like winning the lottery. Although she did not take one, we had an amazing time and made lifelong friends.
In 2017 we ventured into Maine for another black bear hunt, where Taryn took a nice one, and in 2018 we drew tags in Wyoming — elk for me and mule deer for Taryn. Although Taryn didn’t get the shot at a big mule deer, I did take an over 300-pound bull elk.
In 2019 we received a wonderful vacation through Millersburg Tire to go to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, and we visited the Tulum Mayan ruins.
Just a short while ago in 2020, we changed our lives completely when we retired and sold the family farm, then followed God’s directions and bought a cabin in the hills of Kentucky.
In 2021 we made our second trip to South Africa and completed a pursuit of Taryn’s gemsbok plus a few more, which I have noted in previous columns.
I know I’m missing a bear hunt in West Virginia somewhere and numerous deer hunts in Ohio and West Virginia, as well as family trips to Disney and more, but I hope you get the purpose of our adventures — to pursue our dreams and enjoy life. Following my recent heart attack, it proves my philosophy.
One quick story before I go. I took my 8-year-old grandson on a pheasant hunt recently to get him some experience “in the field.” I did manage to get two chukars and one pheasant but missed one due to having the safety on (safety first) and forgot to eject a spent cartridge on another. It was a lesson on “do as I say, not as I do.”
Finally, I pray my writings have reminded you that God loved you enough to send his Son to die in our place. All he asks is to accept him as your savior, follow his plan of salvation, let him guide your life and tell the good news to everyone.
Until we meet again, God bless y’all!