How often is it we find ourselves faced with an opportunity to truly impact the lives of others, and so doing, create a ground swell of enthusiasm?  If you’re like me, it doesn’t come about very frequently.

Fortunately, the proverbial lightning has struck for me and the WILD Oklahoma pro staff this year.

We filmed a hunt with the Mid-America Chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of America in Miami, Oklahoma earlier this year and as I may have mentioned and as I wrote in the Oklahoma Gazette, it was a life changing and life affirming event for myself and everyone involved.  As a veteran, I was moved by the enthusiasm and excitement of my brothers and sisters in arms who have faced some of the most difficult challenges anyone could imagine.

One soldier we hunted with had taken a head shot while in Afghanistan, serving with Oklahoma’s 45th.  He was and is ambulatory, but emotionally still has some issues and some fine motor skills are problematic, but the enthusiasm and excitement to get out in the woods and slay a thunder chicken was absolutely infectious.

We decided that this was the time to do something for these guys.  We at WILD Oklahoma made the decision to host a fundraiser and awareness campaign for the MAPVA and we’re kicking it off on Saturday, August 23rd at the Del City VFW Hall.  What we thought were going to be around 100 in attendance is now well over 700 - and this from word of mouth, our television program and radio program.  We have seen enormous support for this event and let me tell you, we’re humbled by it.

When opportunities come about to make a difference, I encourage you to pick up the torch and do it.  You’ll be blessed beyond your wildest dreams.

The alarm goes off, we jump out of bed, grab our gear and we’re out the door to our favorite fishing locale or hunting honey hole.  For most of us, it doesn’t even require much thought - it just happens.

Not so for disabled hunters and anglers.  A couple months ago, the WILD Oklahoma crew headed to northeast Oklahoma to film a hunt with the Mid-America Chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of America and we got to witness first-hand how difficult it is for disabled hunters and anglers.

The PVA is an incredible organization whose desire it is to see men and women who have served this great nation get back into the swing of “normal” life after experiencing dramatic trauma.  Not all PVA members or participants are paralyzed as the PVA reaches out to many with disabilities.

The turkey hunt was successful for many of the PVA hunters and we got some incredible film and testimonies from the participants and to be honest, it was a life-affirming and life changing event for us.  We often take for granted hunting, angling and the shooting sports.  These men and women do not - they savor every moment of it.

August 23rd, in Oklahoma City, WILD Oklahoma is hosting a fundraising event for the Mid-America Chapter of the PVA.  We are going to have food, live music from the band Eagle Eye Annie, and a whole lot more.  If you’re interested in getting involved, let me know.

Want to be blessed?  Take a veteran hunting or fishing.

In Oklahoma, we’ve experienced some of the most bizarre and often horrendous weather and over that past 5 years, the biggest concern has been drought conditions.  Well, we needn’t worry about that right now because we have been overcome with rain.

Some hunters, however, have expressed a great deal of angst over the fact that we have seen flood conditions throughout much of the state but the WILD Oklahoma crew are much more optimistic.  While it is true that spring turkey season presented some unique challenges, the overall kill numbers weren’t terrifically down.  That being said, fall turkey looks to be very, very enticing.

No, I’m not a biologist, but I have watched deer patterns in some of our favorite “honey holes” and what I have noticed is some big, fat deer as a result of the overwhelming food plot growth thus far this spring.  We have a bout of rainfall followed by a couple weeks of sunshine and the plant material takes off like crazy.

Coupled with the fact that the deer kill counts were down 20% last year, we fully expect the fall 2008 season to be wonderful.

That is, if we can afford to gas up and head out to deer camp…

But that’s a different topic altogether.