It's hard to believe I am coming up on 10 years of competition archery! 10 Years! And while I have had plenty of reasons to quit, to give in when confronted by yet another road block, to pack up and go home when the going got tough... I am still here shooting my bow and arrow in whatever capacity I can.

Before his passing, I was honored to talk to Earl Hoyt Jr, one of the greatest engineering contributors to the sport of archery and bowhunting. At 89 years old, I recall telling him how much he inspired me. When asked in what way, I told him... in longevity. That a person can do archery from their youngest years to the day they cross the last bridge was the greatest inspiration for someone who does not like to quit when they start something.

And I did start something. I set goals for myself. While these goals are not always the same, I keep moving towards them. They change over time and adapt according to the state of the day... family, health, economy, work issues... these tend to morph my goals from being the world's best to simply getting all my arrows to hit the target.

It is not easy to accept when larger goals are simplified due to circumstance but I believe the true beauty is that there is always a bar that can be set large or small. Knowing when to relinquish the larger goal in lieu of a realistic one... it is very difficult.

Losing site of these higher goals has often made me want to quit. I loved being at the top and these grand goals were indeed realistic but now, they simply are not... at this time.

Yes, I am further down the mountain so I need to set my sights on the path that I can see in front of me right now. Doing so, it is possible I may get within reach of the peak once again.

Tomorrow I go to the US Indoor Nationlas. I am not ready and I know this. I was supposed to shoot the regionals in Andover, MA coinciding with a trip to Archery USA this weekend but I fell terribly ill and unable to fly, I had to cancel the whole trip. So, I will attend the Indoor Nationals in California. After a round of antibiotics, I am starting to feel some relief so I will drive 4 hours away to shoot the west regional here.

I accept the circustances that have surely hindered my goals for the Nationals. At the same time, I remember that at one piont in this 10 years I have been shooting I was happy enough just to hit the target. In other words, my goal for this tournament is to have fun and enjoy the simple fact that I am still shooting and have so many more years to do so...