by John Jefferson

The Golden Rule says it plainly: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

I’m not going to get all preachy on ya, but I am going to commend some actions by hunters and fishermen that show a side of them that is common to many, but unseen and certainly under-reported by the antis or the media, other than by some outdoor writers.

There are countless stories of sportsmen pulling people out of ditches and snow drifts (even ME once, near Cloudcroft). Or giving rides or assistance to stranded motorists. Jerry Cooke, former manager of the Black Gap Wildlife Management Area in the Big Bend, passed an old Winnebago with a flat tire once on the side of a sparsely- travelled West Texas road. Two elderly people stood by their rig. He turned around, went back, and changed the tire for them. As Cooke stood up, the elderly man proffered a hundred-dollar bill. Cooke politely declined it, wished them well, and drove away.

I was told of a fisherman with a new boat he was just learning to back. He jack-knifed it into the boat ramp railing and became stuck. Another fisherman pulled up and spent 30-45 minutes helping him un-stick his folly and get it launched. The novice boat-backer thanked him and introduced himself. The other fisherman was Rick Clunn, champion tournament fisherman, there to pre-fish the lake prior to a big tournament. He took valuable practice time to help.

Sometimes, kindness involves wildlife. Jim Darnell is a minister who was fishing one day when he saw coyotes chase a young doe into the lake. The doe swam out far enough to evade the pack but was beginning to tire from the chase and the swim. Darnell pulled alongside the doe as it was about to go under, grabbed it by the scruff of her neck, and towed it toward shore until its feet touched bottom. The doe stumbled out of the lake toward brush, but stopped at the edge, turned and looked at Darnell for almost a minute, before disappearing into the thicket. Jim took that as its silent way of saying thanks.

Accounts of game wardens helping people are numerous. One cold night, I had truck trouble inside a 3,000-acre deer lease. The transmission wouldn’t engage. I contacted a warden, who directed a wrecker to an adjoining ranch about a mile away that was as close as he could get to us. We hoofed it to that ranch, climbed a fence, met the wrecker, and got home about midnight.

But, as it’s just past the anniversary of Hurricane Harvey, one of the most selfless incidents of sportsmen helping those in need was the armada of fishing boats and duck hunting crafts that hitched up in Louisiana and all over Texas and towed their boats to help ferry helpless people in a Dunkirk-like rescue in Houston and other towns hard hit by Harvey.

If an opportunity occurs, maybe you can help someone this season, too.

JJ