In 1995, M.R. and I ended up together on a deer hunt in Mississippi and, fortuitously, bunked in the same cabin. During the three-day hunt we talked shop and chatted about our respective futures. The experience was pleasant but seemingly inconsequential.

However, a couple of months later M.R. wrote to ask if I would like to work for Bowhunter full time. He had reached a stage in life where he wanted to back off from work a little. In his letter he said I was his first and only choice to replace him. Twenty years earlier I had done back flips over selling a meager story about killing a spike buck to Bowhunter, so this was heady stuff.

It was a proud moment for me when, on January 1, 1996, I came on board as Senior Editor, working under M.R. Apparently, my performance was adequate, because on July 1, 1997, M.R. promoted me to the position of Editor -- his position. The fact that I now had his job, the perfect job that paid me for doing three of my favorite things -- writing, editing, and bowhunting -- was hard to comprehend.

Still, that paled in comparison with the fact that M.R. James would entrust me with his magazine, his baby. In life, we're all looking for validation. We want to know that we have value, that our efforts -- our lives -- count for something. M.R.'s trust not only opened up many opportunities for me to fulfill dreams and goals, but it justified, in my own mind at least, all of my efforts in bowhunting and writing over the years.

In short, M.R. James has played a major role in my life of bowhunting, writing, and editing. For all the support and opportunities he has given me personally, I can only say, Thanks, M.R.

IF THIS SOUNDS like a eulogy, let me set the record straight: M.R. James is not dying, and this is not a good-bye. M.R. will always be a friend, and he never will truly "retire." Rather, he'll just launch a new era, and I suspect his retirement from Bowhunter is not so much an end to anything as it is the beginning of something that augurs well for bowhunting. Wherever his travels, whims, desires, life, wife, Janet, numerous grandchildren, presidency of the Pope and Young Club, countless conservation causes, writing projects, and bowhunting challenges take him, M.R. James will continue to make a positive impact.

And we all will be the beneficiaries. For the countless contributions he will make to bowhunting in the future, I once again say, Thanks, M.R.