MAny here have been following my elk threads, if you have, you have heard a little piece of the story I'm goingto unfold.If not, please, pull up a chair. This one will tug at your heartstrings.
I teach, and am a past Director at a youth outdoors education camp called Camp WIlderness.
In my 13+ years of teaching kids, I've been blessed to meet a lot of kids.Hundreds of them, all with a yearning to be safe, ethical stewarts of the outdoors. This is the story of one of them.
Each summer, we gather our staff family and around 45-50 kids for a weekend of outdoors education-hunter safety, IBEP, and our own recipe of responsible, ethical participation in hunting. We get a herd of youngsters betwseen 10-15 yrs old from all walks of life. Some haveno experience, some a bunch.
In 2005, in my first full year as Camp Director, we had one kid show up at camp that immediately caught the attention of most all of the staff. His name was Robert. Robert came from a hunting family, and was as bright as the morning sun.
But beyond that, he was the most polite, helpful, entusiastic kid I'd seen in some time.
After morning the morning Pledge of Allegiance and morning prayer, he walked up to Greg, who does the prayer and thanked him.
As camp went on, Robert won the archery competition, the air gun competition, and was a soe in for the Camper of the Year award. He literally ran tha table, and rightly so. His infectious smile and enthusiasm made you like the kid right off. If something flew out of it, he could shoot it. If there was fish in it, he'd catch 'em. At this point, Robert was a whopping 12 yrs old.
Fast forward to 2009. I get a call out of the blue. " Mr. McIntosh, my name is Robert ____________, I dont know if you remember me from Camp, but I had such a great time and learned so much from you all, I want to ask you if there is something I can do at camp to help out."
Well I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I knew right off there was no way I could tell this kid no. ASa it was, MI DNR had just started a youth hunter safety instructor apprentice program. I was already planning on signing my son Alex up, so I told Robert I'd do the same for him, and he could assist our insructors with classes.
Well Robert showed up, and we put him, and Alex to work. Those 2 boys hit it right off. Brothers of another mother. Even after camp was over, they kept in touch, and more recently they were always chatting on the phone, texting each other etc.
Along the way, Robert had tinkered with the longbow. He was fascinated watching myself and few of our trad shooting staff put on demonstrations of instinctive archery for the kids, and teaching any who wanted how to shoot a trad bow. He would call me off and on through the yr to tell me how he as doing with his longbow.
At camp, he'd challenge me, pickingout tough shots etc. I, as well as others worked with him, encouraged him and razzed him along the way. But when it came right down to it, I could see a trad bowhunter in the making. He still hunted with his wheels, lacking that last little bit of confidence to totally take the leap.
The day of my sons open house, robert drove 2 hrs to attend, and he and Alex shot their bows in the yard for a couple hours before everyone else arrived. a few days afterwards, we left for Colorado for our elk hunt.
While out there, I recieved the terrible news- Robert had killed himself on Sept 10th. Needless to say, we are devastated.
I've dealt with suicide more times than any one man should have too as a crusty old retired firefighter/paramedic. this one gut punched me.
So why am I sharing all this here you may wonder?
Kids this age don't deal with some things well. Rejection being top of the list. Part of what pushed Robert to do what he did was over being jilted by a girl. I've seen it too many times.
In a moment of weakness and rejection, when they feel they're at the bottom, they make a stupid decision. There arent any warning signs. They dont seek out help. They just do it. And in the process, leave the rest of us wondering why, and leave us hurting.
we lost a fine young man, and a Brother of the Bow.
Please take the time if you have teenage or adolescent kids and have an open and heartfelt talk with them. Its an ugly uncomfortable subject talking about suicide. But doing so may very well prevent it. I have a close friend who lost a child in the same manner and hes told me many times they never saw it coming.
My son lost a dear friend, as did I. a young man with everything going for him- honor roll grades, a senior in high school, helpful, polite kid with a passion for the outdoors,archery and hunting. a Brother of the Bow for sure. we lost one of our trad family.
Thank you for allowing me to share this tragedy in hopes in some way it can prevent another.
Topic: a boy named Robert (Read 431 times)
