For Roseville Deer Hunter, A Change of Seasons

For as long as I can remember, my good friend Bruce Lee has made an annual trek to go deer hunting.

Sitting up in a deer stand, waiting hours upon hours for a buck or other worthy trophy to come within rifle range has never been my idea of a good time.

But Lee, 72, of Roseville, never worried whether or not he wouid bag a deer, later to reap the fruit of venison sausage. Just being out in nature—whether hunting, fishing or walking—"was an opportunity to commune with my Maker," he says.

Nevertheless, for the first time in 55 years, Lee won't be among the hundreds of thousands of men today hitting the trail for the deer hunting opener. A week ago, the retired quality assurance program manager had emergency gall bladder surgery.

"If I had delayed two more days, I don't know if I would have pulled through," Bruce told me, sharing the gravity of his health situation.

At the same time, Lee's gradually worsening Parkinson's has also taken a toll on him. It's a degenerating affliction he has largely kept at bay for more than a decade with medications up until the last year or so.

But there was a time when Lee was young and vibrant. Bruce first went hunting  as a junior in high school in Superior, WI, in 1956. In 1968, Bruce began making deer hunting an annual event with one of his cousins, a tradition that spanned about 40 years.   

Asked how he feels about not getting out for deer hunting this time, Lee said, "I haven't had time to think that through, because the reality of my health situation is that I don't have a choice. Of course the Parkinson's plays a role in this too.''

Then, upon further reflection, Bruce added, "There is a touch of sadness. You start something and you know there is going to be an end."

Indeed, I have seen that. In the mid-1990s and on into the mid-2000s, Bruce and I were often constant doubles companions on the tennis courts, playing in USTA competition.

But Bruce's Parkinson's sidelined him from tennis about four years ago.

Still, Bruce and I remain good buddies, a friendship that has transcended tennis.

In the end, Bruce's words to me ring true: "It isn't the deer hunting, but the camarderie of being with people in your life who enjoy the same outlet as you do. That's what it's all about."