I was never given the classic job description of a Godfather. And being an outdoorsman means that I am the type that like to figure things out through trial and error. So my decision to ask my Godson along on the companies father/son Duck Hunting trip was purely out of a sense of creating a bond with my Godson on grounds that I knew rather than a five course dinner in a swanky restaurant. Now the tricky part to this decision was that my own eleven-year-old son had not yet joined me on a hunting trip and I had not considered that he might be ready.

One of the top ten questions that I am asked as an expert in this profession is, "How old does your child have to be to go on a hunting trip?" And here I am considering what to tell myself. I always tell parents that they know their child better than anyone and they should decide based on what they know. Hunting trips require the mature responsibility that comes with handling a firearm yet fishing trips just don't have that risk. It is very easy to get caught up in the excitement while you are out hunting, and that is just how accidents happen.

The old saying, "You can't take a bullet back" is absolutely true. So as I booked the trip to take my nephew/Godson on this January hunting trip, I tried to keep the plans confidential. Children can so innocently approach parents with questions that cause us to rethink our position on matters that we thought we had figured out so well. My son, in the midst of holiday festivities and chatter asked me one of these questions so sincerely, "Hey Dad, when are WE going hunting?" I answer him with the confidence of a father, "We are going in January, won't it be great?" I have to admit, a ton was lifted off my shoulders right then and I knew it was the right time to take my son on a hunting trip.

He was going to experience and learn to respect this great pastime of hunting. I now understood my own dad's comment to me when he said, "you'll know when you're ready or when it's right." In all my travels throughout the world there is no doubt that the US is the greatest country. However the cultural "Right to Manhood" is missing in our society. A time in a boy's life that an experience can be so great that it truly teaches him about life and his role within it. Life is fast paced and the temptation to keep up with the Jones' is great among adults.

Our time is limited and sometimes sacrifices have to be made to make the time we need to spend with our children. If we want "to be in our children's memories tomorrow, we must be in their lives today." Our time was right, I and my son on our first hunting trip together. His Right of Manhood. My time to pass on knowledge and skills to the next generation. So, in January, we travel to Arkansas to a lodge I represent. The hunting party consists of my son and I, my Godson and his dad, and three other sons and dads. The time is right. The time is good. A forecast of rain and mild conditions didn't dampen our spirits.

Getting a bag limit is not what is most important. What matters is the time we spend making memories, good memories, with family and friends. We left Birmingham at 12:30 p.m. We took two stops, heard a few "Are we there yet?" and arrived at the lodge by 6:30 p.m. where my son immediately started asking if we could start shooting. But we took the time to enjoy a great dinner cooked by the lodge before we went out to the field to try some night time skeet shooting. Now, my son had never shot a 20 gauge, so I made sure to pack his .410. What I didn't make sure to pack were the shells for the .410. It was perfect. He had no choice but to take the next step and he did it with no problem.

The time was right. I was amazed how my little boy was turning into a young man before me. With every shot, I would carefully watch him switch the safety on, reload, switch it off, and shoot. He was listening to me about safety and guns realizing and appreciating my knowledge and experience. My excitement grew for the coming day, our first waterfowl hunt as father and son. As on all adventure trips, I rarely sleep the first night in anticipation of the next day's events, so 5:00 a.m. came early to me. Thirty minutes later we all began layering perfectly in camouflage and neoprene waders.

The weather was around 40 degrees with light wind and rain as we drove 15 minutes to a section of thick cattails. We waded across shin deep marshland to a small pond and across a pond as ducks flew by in the early hours of sunrise. Although it was too dark to see them, we could hear hundreds of ducks feeding nearby as we reached our blind. We set a small spread of decoys and waited for the 6:38 a.m. legal shooting time. The action was sporadic but over the next two hours we killed 4 ducks, 1 goose and missed several.

This sport is not easy and my son got to experience that first hand. We ended the afternoon with Sporting clays. Sleep came easy. The next morning greeted us with thunder, heavy rains, and lightening. I've seen this weather condition push every duck out of the county at times and other times push fresh ducks in. We waited for the weather to clear up for the safety and around 6:00 a.m. we hopped on four-wheelers in the fresh mud to a nearby pothole. We lay on the banks of the pond covered with twigs and pull-ups absorbing the sights and sounds of early morning waterfowl almost like a spiritual event. Hundreds of birds whizzed by and when legal shooting time arrived, it was like a live shooting arcade.

My son never uttered a complaint about the cold, wet weather, he understood the game. It's just fun being out there. That day ended with the boys killing 32 quail on an afternoon hunt. I can honestly say that my son is hooked on quail. From my point of view, that is not a bad problem to have. The time was right. The time was good. When we packed up to head back to the real world, our goal had been accomplished. A priceless weekend as Father and Son. The added bonus was that I probably fulfilled some of my Godfather responsibilities too. When I get that job description, I'm going to be sure to check a few items off.

John LaRussa, owner of Birmingham based Alternate Path Adventures (205) 313-4828