Tough week, but alas, we're Americans! Happy 4th.

I have been grieving a bit myself, and there is much more I cannot burden my friends with. However, I do wish to inform all that my step-dad Craig Young succumbed to bone cancer Thurs. July 2nd. He was the goofiest, and easy to like character you'd ever want to meet. In truth he was a real POS person, but had this smooth con-man character that was almost irresistible. As long as you could see through it and understood, if his mouth was moving he was probably lying. That was just him, and he's now gone. I've had many reasons not to but I came, in time (over some 30 yrs.), to genuinely love him. He had spent considerable time in the State penitentiary, years actually, the last time for armed robbery! But as I said he was a unique character and if there ever was a literal "misfit" he was certainly one. Whether or not we would want to be associated with that or not.

I think we enjoyed three HHC events together and it was a wonderful life adventure that we shared. In good times we often recounted our trips. He took several animals; goats, pigs, and a cow Elk. I got some of his guns customized for him by Gary. He was not a handgun hunter and took his game with rifles. He did use my .429 GNR Carbine to take a really big pig.

If you met him I just wanted to inform you of his passing, we mostly called him PAP. He served in Vietnam and was given a Purple heart. Supposedly due to a mine in a rice patty but I wondered he might have stolen something and the MP's chased him into an accident. Anyway he was indeed a veteran, if only by choice to be incarcerated or join the service, and he chose the service. RIP old PAP, you were at least a misfit by association and in some good company sharing adventures.

*the photo with the other fellow is Larry (can't remember his last name) who passed a couple years back to pancreatic cancer. HE was a really swell Christian man.