About 25 years ago a buddy of mine and I got paired up with another twosome from MN as we were about to tee off. It was about 9am and the Gophers had just finished their first round, walked off the 18th green and joined us on the first tee for their next round. We exchanged pleasantries and teed off. The MN boys kept complimenting each other down the fairway and conceded short putts on the greens. Each compliment or conceded putt was quickly followed by “Thank you friend” or “Thanks friend”. My buddy and I looked at each other and suspected something was up. This overly polite behavior kept up for the first 3 holes when we caught up to the group in front of us and had to wait for the green to clear as it was a par 3 coming up. One of the Minnesotans explained that due to the fact that you never know with whom you will be paired with as a twosome they are careful about their language. He asked me if I cursed on the golf course? I held up my golf ball and told him “Only when this thing doesn’t f..kin’ listen!” We had a little laugh about that and he explained that their “Thank you friend” translated to “F..k you A$$hole!”. We all adopted the phrase for the remainder of the round and had a great day. We shared a quick beer afterward as the MN boys headed back to the tee to play their 3rd round of the day. My buddy (my youngest boy’s Godfather) and I still use the “Thank you friend” phrase whenever possible. I was going to title this “Thank you friends”, but was concerned I may insult those who read it. 😉
No offense intended!

Watching the sunrise, be it in a deer stand, duck blind, on a boat or on the first tee. The smell of birch bark or leaves as they fall gently to the ground. The genuine surprised look on the face of a stranger after you helped them for no apparent reason. The call of a loon as it swims across a lake at sunset. The look on the face of a child catching their first fish. The unconditional love of a baby or a dog when you come home from work after a trying day. The absolute joy of watching a good hunting dog in action. The whistling of the wings from a flock of ducks as they pass overhead, 2 minutes before legal shooting hours.