Wow, how time flies. :(

[Thumper]

I was cleaning out some files yesterday and ran across a copy of an old email from Bill Conine. I was going to be in Atlanta and we'd decided to meet for the first time. The email contained phone numbers to reach him as well as directions to his house. He turned out (like everyone else I've met through this joint) to be one of the nicest guys you'd ever want to know. It was actually the first of many other times we got together over the years. He had a cool place in Georgia (long before he bought Lake Conine) and as I read the old note, I had to smile at the directions. Here's a portion of those directions to his house. (I'll leave out street names and directions for privacy purposes)

Obviously, this was before GPS's were the norm.

1) Turn at the old-timey wooden gas station that's been turned into a pizza joint.

2) Turn just past the OLD church at the end of the BIG pasture surrounded by a four board fence.

3) When the pavement ends, it will be a well-packed gravel road.

4) After you drive through the creek (don't worry about getting stuck), start counting the mailboxes.

5) When you get to the 12th mailbox, my house is on the right!

I miss you buddy. I wish I'd kept count of how many Varsity Dogs we wolfed down together over the years.

BTW ... referring back to the title of this post ... that email was dated in 2000. RIP Bill. :(

[Arty]

He was a good man and his wife Di was no different.
They did have a nice place there, Larke and I had the pleasure of visiting with him about 6 months (a guess) before he passed away. With the help of Di, her sister, and a bunch of pain pills, we got him loaded up in the truck, stopped at his favorite roadside bbq stand and got a sack of bbq sandwiches, and took him over to lake Conine. It was his last trip there. He caught a bunch of fish sitting on his dock.

He was ready to meet his maker, had zero fear of death. He’d made peace with it all.

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[Arty]

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[BarryBobPosthole]

“It’s Bush’s fault!”

I sure miss him. Good man.

BKB

[Thumper]

The last time we got together, we went out to dinner (He and Di, Lynn and myself). Bill and I were a mess ... me barely off the walker and him in a wheelchair. The management had to rearrange the tables to fit us in with all the extra equipment we dragged in. That was the last I saw of him ... as we loaded him up in his Tundra so Di could drive him home. As noted, he and Di were good people. As for Bill, I sure miss the old fart. :(

[Big Skyz]

He was a great guy. Here are a couple of my favorite pics and memories attached from his trip to Montana.
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[Bwana]

Though I never got the chance to meet him we had a number of chats, especially when my youngest boy was dealing with the tumor in his femur.

Besides all the proof that was shown on this website, I knew he was a man of honor when I learned that he had ties to North Dakota.

Miss you Bill.

[Chicken Dinner]

I got to spend a great weekend with Bill as well. There’s two boys in this picture that will never forget him or their first deer.

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[HideHunter]

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Hope to take Bill's stick out for a spin in the next couple weeks. You'll remember the green handle was from shoestrings rom a pair of boots he sent me years ago..

[Buckrub]

So happy I got to meet him. Not sure he felt the same way. LOL.

A fellow I know a little bit posted a picture that I thought about. It made me think of Bill and of course, you will all see the connection I'm sure. But in today's time of serious worry and death all about, I couldn't help but think how life does just march right along no matter what. None of us can stop it but we can try and make the ones coming along understand what's important, and maybe what isn't. Maybe our biggest function here is to ensure that the road to our destination is not traveled alone.

Anyway, sorry to be deep, but this one made me think of old Conine.

[Bwana]

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Believe it or not, this is a spring turkey hunt, North Dakota version of The Conine