MuleyMadness Hunting Forums

So i went over to my grandpas house last night. The man has really affected my life, he grew up fishing and hunting just like i have. The day i learned how to fly fish he was so happy and couldnt wait to go with me, but he has cancer, and is struggling now and its been about 6 years since he was diagnosed. The X marine is now 82 and he served as a China Marine in World War 2, and you can see the marine in him fighting to live through the cancer, we shoulda lost him 3 or 4 times now but he is still here. Well last night at his house he leans over and says hey Dusty you got a fly rod? Yeah i got two of em grandpa... Well Dust do you want another one? I didnt really understand what he said so i was like yeah sure! Well with everybody in the room they just looked as he took me downstairs to his room with all his old fishing stuff and hunting stuff, and opened this closet. You gotta rememer now Dusty my Dad was always buying the top of the line stuff so when he bought this it was well worth the money. He hands me this bamboo fly rod, its a ten footer 3 piece and has 2 tips, (one for bigger fish and one for littler fish) and he says to me now i have been thinking what to do with this and i really wanted it to go to good hands and i wanted them to have it before i got, i thought of you first and thought you should be the one that should have it. Here ya go bud.
Thought i would share that great experience with ya guys, its a true story by the way. Really happened just last night and i still havent stopped thinking about it

Great story and very touching. I had my grandpa do the exact same thing to me last time I was home on leave. Instead of a fly rod though he gave me my great great grandpa's Winchester 40-82, Colt .41, and damascus steal double barreled 12 gauge. It is an honor to be the one that is chosen for things like that.

Thanks for sharing. I hope the best for your Grandfather!

Very cool! I hope and pray for the best!

Very cool story Camodup. Got me all teary eyed as i had a similar experience with my dad a couple of months ago. This past May we got the news that my dads cancer had not only come back, but it spread like wildfire and had infected his entire body. In October we went deer hunting and even though my dad could hardly walk, he was up every morning at at 4:00 (a half hour before the rest of us so he could take a break after each layer). I know the fight you are talking about because I have seen it. I see it every time I see him. The Dr's have more or less written him off and yet he fights. He gets his walker out and walks the length of the 200 yard driveway and back, and gets out on his fourwheeler and plows the snow to stay active. My dad turned 70 in December and at 6' he only weighs 140lbs yet he's still the strongest man I know. So back to my story. After our last day of deer hunting we were sitting downstairs talking he gets up and leaves. He comes back and holds out his hand. I put my hand out and he gives me a pocket knife that I had only seen a handful of times. It was his dads knife and one of my dads most prized possessions. He told me he wanted to give it to me before it was too late and it went to someone else. Not anything fancy, and it wouldnt be worth much to anyone else, but to me it's priceless.
Best of luck to your Grandpa Camodup, and take good care of that fly rod it will make a great heirloom to pass on to your own kids.