Regrets…..

I missed the funeral of a friend today. I feel terrible about it; I knew I might miss it so I had an arrangement sent. His name was Mike Lyell; he went by the username “Sportsman 450” on several of the duck message boards I participate in. His name came from the fact, as he put it, that he was a “450 pound sportsman.” I’ve known him over the internet for about 5 years now, maybe a little longer. But, only last winter did I have my first chance to meet Mike. I brought him a collection of Mallards, teal, pintails, a couple of Speckle belly geese and even some Snow geese (he said he wanted ‘em). What started out as a simple gift of some game birds, turned into an hour and an half conversation. From that point on we talked on the phone fairly often, and I had even made plans to take him dove hunting this fall…. Unfortunately that won’t happen now. He had some great stories, and was a great story teller. Mike remembered the South Mississippi River Delta in its glory days. He could also raise hell on the internet with the best of ‘em…and the man HATED spinning wing decoys…. I remember Mike as a dog lover as well; I really believe he loved every Labrador he ever met. My only regret besides not making it to say goodbye was that I did not get to know him sooner…. His health had not been good for the past 5 years, and it took a turn for the worse last week. He died from complications from Sleep Apnea Monday night. He was 49….