It’s hard to believe that in two days the Great Hunter will be eighty years old. Really old people are eighty years old. That definitely is not the Great Hunter, but the last five years have taken their toll on him physically. You can see it in the slimness of his face and the chronic bruising on his hands and forearms and his hair is all silver and grey. But he’s still spry even though he does not have the stamina he used to have. He goes hunting and fishing and still works three mornings a week. Just last week, he was on the roof cleaning the gutters.

He’s spent several weeks putting the inside of the camper back together after the major overhaul of the hydraulics and the electrical system. Right now, all systems are a “go” and once he gets it totally finished, we’ll take it on a test run to a State park.

Over the years, we’ve celebrated his birthday in different ways. For his 65th birthday, I threw him a surprise party and you can tell by the look on his face, that the surprise was a success.
For his 70th birthday, I surprised him with a trip to Hawaii. He had always wanted to go back to Hawaii where he was stationed in the Marine Corps 50 years ago and where his oldest son was born.In 2019, I thought I’d hit on a really good idea. He’d gone fishing and complained about how bad the gnats were, so I bought him this No See-Um ” suit. I thought it was a good idea at the time, but his daughter thought it was hilarious. This photo is particularly dear as I think it may have been the last time he saw her.On his 75th birthday, my daughter and granddaughter surprised him with this handmade yard sign to celebrate his birthday. For years I’ve called the Great Hunter “Old Goat” or just “Goat”. It came from something I read about a man being a “randy old goat”. You’d have to know the meaning of the word and have known him in his younger years to understand. Lol.

His birthday usually falls right at Memorial Day weekend, so it’s always been a problem planning things for his actual birthday. Our son is planning a barbeque for Great Hunter’s birthday, but it will have to wait a week since he and his brother will be at the Indy 500 on Memorial Day.

God willing, we will have many more healthy birthdays to celebrate.