“200 Duck Season”

“Of course, it was never just about the ducks. There was the comradery, the friendly competition, and the adventure of each outing. We all enjoyed hunting together so very much. It was being in the marsh, on the river, or in a flooded run of timber as the stars evaporated and the ducks rode the pink-rose dawn light.

For me it was the countless miles I walked along a creek bank with my friend Sammy and the learning of the wood’s ways from my dad and his older hunting buddies. It was just being with my dad in those final days when I was still a boy, but soon to marry and be a dad myself. I will always remember that 1966 season.

A special time. One to be cherished. One to be remembered.”

This passage appears in the chapter “200 Duck Season” in the book The Tide Flows Out by John P. Faris, Jr. To read additional excerpts from John’s book collection, to include a complete chapter from his first book, click here.