The Best Bud

HAVING A FRIEND WHO’S MORE SKILLED THAN YOU CAN TAKE YOU TO SOME EXCITING PLACES

- T. EDWARD NICKENS

THE MAN BURNS HIGH-octane gas—the premium stuff, hold the ethanol. There’s no catalytic converter under his hood, no fuel-saving gizmos that might shave down performance. His only speed is flat-out, stomp- the- skinny pedal go. My pal, Scott Wood, can be tough to keep up with, but for nearly three decades, I’ve tried my best.

If you’re serious about hunting and fishing, it doesn’t hurt to have a friend or two—but no more than that—who are simply better than you. Friends who push you, in a friendly way, to keep sharpening your skills and upping your game. Scott is too good a friend to really be a competitor, but he’s not what I’d call a mentor either. In the sporting corollary of a foot race, he’s had a step or two on me every time. No matter how hard I ran, he always came out ahead.