He will be missed. One of the highlights of my shooting life was meeting him in person at one of his instinctive shooting seminars at Black Widow. He was equally witty and insightful in the columns he used to write monthly for Traditional Bowhunter. I swear that guy could have written a column about how to wax a bowstring and make it the most entertaining thing I read in the magazine that month.
You are right....listening to or reading Fred's words were just so easy. Fred had many friends.....I feel fortunate for the time I shared with him. We talked about so many things beyond archery. He was such a friend and a mentor. I have so many stories bouncing around in my head right now.
The story that to me, truly eulogizes his memory is this:
Years ago, at one of the first Compton shoots, I was helping Fred and Teresa with set up, at their booth, etc. . In the evening, we all hung around the Asbell camp, partially to eat Teresa's cooking, and to talk with the dozens of bowhunters that drifted through camp.
Fred was standing, with a semi circle of bowhunters in front of him, and they were asking questions, picking Fred's brain. My daughter....then 5 or 6...wandered by with an upset look on her face because she had just made a mess with a S'more. She was sticky, and it upset her.
Fred stopped what he was doing....left his "audience" got some baby wipes, and cleaned up my daughters mess.
It is a simple thing, but it told me all I needed to know about Fred. He was famous to us....but not to himself. Humble. My daughter was more important than his crowd of admirers.
Over the years this was shown to me many times.I checked in with Fred on many subjects...very often his guidance was the advice I needed. I will miss my friend.
Topic: G Fred Asbell has passed..... (Read 6798 times)
