 John,I wanted to write and tell you that I can not be more pleased than what I am with my membership. You, along with the staff at MAHA have always been willing to go out of your way to help me. Phone calls have always been returned promptly and with a great attitude. This is a true blessing to me. You see I grew up on a farm in north central Ohio and it was very easy for me to always find a place to hunt. I never really thought about having to find a property to hunt on before. This is so much better because it is like a smorgasbord of hunting opportunities. My oldest son who is now 11 loves to go with me on an overnight hunt for the weekend. You would not believe the amount of work an 11 year old can do if he knows he will get to go hunting based on behavior and attitude. My wife tells me that I would not believe how the teasing decreases when we are both gone for the weekend. (I have four children all together, 2 boys 2 girls). I have to tell you about the best trip I had this season. It was opening day of pheasant season and my oldest daughter had been begging me for the past year to going hunting with me. I tried my best to discourage her by telling her we are just going to walk all day long trough high weeds. You are going to get tired and bored etc. That did not work; she was determined to go, so we went. Opening day of Kansas upland season was a day I will not forget. There was no way I was going to fall asleep in the truck on the way out there, my daughter was asking question after question and about every 5 minutes or so throw in a "thank you dad for taking me hunting" and "I love you Dad". We arrived at the first property which looked great for pheasant, grass was tall. We before we started I asked Megan if she wanted to sit in the truck because the grass was tall and it would be hard walking. Her reply was a very quick "no way" we started walking and within 30 minutes got a point. Hen up - after this happened I was asked numerous questions as to why hens could not be shot. As we meandered along, Megan stayed very close behind me as I knocked down a path. We frequently encountered wild flushes which we heard. After walking about 2 hours we had another point right along a fence row in a corner, this was great because we were not hindered by tall grass. I had Megan follow me and sure enough up came a rooster I was lucky enough not to embarrass myself in front of my new hunting partner. A small problem ensured when the rooster fell. My dog is steady to wing and shot, my daughter is not. My dog was left out. She was on that down rooster like white on rice. It was about 10:00 AM or so and Megan was getting tired so we went back to the truck to get a snack. She told me she wanted to rest so I left her and went out again. I saw and heard many wild flushes but was unable to get any more points. I made it back to the vehicle around 12:30. Megan asked if I shot a deer. I told her we are not hunting deer and the season has not started yet. She told me that while I was gone there was a deer that walked slowly in front of the truck and he "Had real big horns". She was tired and we decided to call it a day. For many this might seem like a waste of time, a two hour trip just to hunt one property that day. For me it was a trip that I will never forget. We arrived home late afternoon that day and Megan had to show everyone in our subdivision the trophy. She was so proud. I found a new hunting partner that day. I really do not think I could have been any prouder than I was of her. Thanks for your commitment, Bernie
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