Question:
Hello Ken, I kinda expected that I would get some mail from an asshole like you. I appreciate the fact that you stepped forward to accept the blame that was anticipated from your weak end of the gene pool. Too bad you didn’t want to share that with everyone else who might know you. Well, I have taken care of that for you by posting your email to me. Now that I have expressed my displeasure with an ignorant person like you it should be known that I have had no similar difficulties with fly fishing, for what reason I do not know and that is why I posted here. I have fly fished most of the well kinown places in the state and have never experienced the like of you, Perhaps you are one of the bait casters that inhabit Tippy Dam or some other aluminum hatch place of origin as that. I really thank you for stepping forward to help others stereotype the great sport of fly fishing that I have enjoyed for many , many years Most fly fishermen have been gracious in sharing their resources once they found that I was sincere. They didn’t do much of this sport in Georgia either but I was exposed to it and spent considerable money and time learning how to master it like a native Michigander. ! I was taught to tie flies by Charlie Fogel, a tier of over fifty years who I chanced to meet. Old Charlie only asked that I do what I asked others in my original post. He said he would teach me to tie if I only promised to share this gift with others. I have done this many times over. This is just the same promise I have made to others in asking to hunt with them. Perhaps you are special in that you grew up here. You seem very proud of yourself but I am not in anyway a loser. Actually you seem like that sort of person to me. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that you have never served your country and that you’d likely shit your pants if you ever met someone like me face to face alone in the woods! Next time be a man and put your liberal democratic words where everyone else can experience them instead of hide them in shame and embaresment. Clay I apologize to each of you offended by my response. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – —–Original Message—– Ken Fortenberry Sent: Saturday, September 25, 1999 1:53 PM The first thing I must say is that I am somewhat sad and a little embarrassed to write something like this. … Well, no shit. You’ve been living in Michigan for 14 years and the people that know you best refuse to share their hunting grounds with you so you post an off-topic whine to a flyfishing newsgroup full of complete strangers. What a lame excuse for a loser. — Ken Fortenberry
Response:
Hello Ken, I kinda expected that I would get some mail from an asshole like yo
Diatribe snipped OK, let me get this straight…. you post a whiny *off topic*, lengthy, "nobody loves me, everybody hates me, I’m gonna go eat worms" type of post to a group of strangers. A valued regular contributor flames you privately via email. You decide to go public with your reply. #1. If you have lived in Michigan for 14 years and haven’t figured out where to hunt by now, I wouldn’t consider you as a hunting companion. (as apparently your acquaintances in MI also feel) #2. Ken Fotenberry is no one you want to f**k with, as you will likely find out shortly. #3. Please go back to lurking…life was much more pleasant then. George Adams
Response:
Saturday Night Live is holding a 25 year reunion this Sunday at first time you heard, "Jane you ignorant slut?" This is the first time I have laughed that had since, and I know it’s the first good laugh I have had in three years……I just want to thank
Response:
Ken, I have to admire your convictions, but you are one shitty diplomat. 
Oh, don’t I know it. I blame it on my education. I was taught by the Benedictines and all the good diplomats are Jesuits. — Ken Fortenberry Illini 3 – Tar Heels 1
forty, the only thing you and the jesuits have in common is a mindset which has its logical conclusion in activities such as the spanish inquisition. wayno the candid
Response:
forty, the only thing you and the jesuits have in common is a mindset which has its logical conclusion in activities such as the spanish inquisition. wayno the candid
NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition! Our chief weapon is suprise… surprise and fear…fear and surprise…. Our two weapons are fear and surprise…and ruthless efficiency…. Our *three* weapons are fear, surprise and ruthless efficiency…and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope…. Our *four*… no… *Amongst* our weapons…. Amongst our weaponry…are such elements as fear, surprise…. I’ll come in again. Anyway, was never much fond of the Jesuits, they’re smart enough but mostly quibblers, dissemblers & nit pickers. They make great lawyers. — Ken Fortenberry Illini 3 – Tar Heels 1
Response:
I should also add that I did anticipate this but not from this group of educated and responsible people.
If you anticipated it, then what’s your bitch? This is a fishing newsgroup, not rec.hunting. And it’s hard to take seriously a man who purports to have lived in one place for over a decade and still can’t get permission to hunt somewhere. "Denver, Colorado, may be the best argument for above- ground nuclear testing that I’ve ever seen" -me.
Response:
My first response from this newsgroup to my heartfelt request to each of you in my outdoors world. I will reply to this individual publicly as soon as I finish climbing down from my great room ceiling. I should also add that I did anticipate this but not from this group of educated and responsible people. Sincerely embarrassed by this person, Ranger Clay The first thing I must say is that I am somewhat sad and a little embarrassed to write something like this. …
Well, no shit. You’ve been living in Michigan for 14 years and the people that know you best refuse to share their hunting grounds with you so you post an off-topic whine to a flyfishing newsgroup full of complete strangers. What a lame excuse for a loser. — Ken Fortenberry —
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – To my fellow sportsmen, The first thing I must say is that I am somewhat sad and a little embarrassed to write something like this. Three years or so ago I considered something like this but did not have the courage to do it then. I don’t know why. Since the time I first considered an approach like this, many things have changed. The person who gave me the greatest gift of my life, the spirit of the hunter, has now passed away and another hunting season is upon me. My father succumbed to cancer last January. He was a man who loved the outdoors and spent every chance he had there. He taught me to hunt and fish and only asked me to pass this heritage on to my children so that it would not be lost. He taught all of his children the skills of survival and how to hunt and fish. He even owned a gun store in Georgia that my brother still manages today. Before I continue, I must tell you something about myself so that perhaps you will know that I am sincere in my request to my fellow outdoorsmen. I am an avid outdoorsman. I grew up in South Georgia during the sixties. My Daddy gave me my first rifle when I was five and my first shotgun when I was eight years old. While this may seem young to some, it was not uncommon during this era. Even before I could read well, I was taught how to handle a weapon safely. That old Browning Automatic Shotgun knocked my glasses and my hat off every time I shot it, my Daddy only gave me one shell at a time, but I didn’t care since I was taught that only one shell was needed, I rarely missed. I loved the outdoors and I would stalk a bird or deer for hours for that one clear, sure shot. He never allowed me to hunt squirrels or rabbits with nothing other than my .22 rifle. While I sometimes disagreed with his methods, this would become very important in my future life as it taught me the skills of an expert marksman. I spent the early years of my life learning about nature and how to hunt and fish. One day I told my Dad that I was ready to be a "man" and what would I have to do to prove this. He said that I had to spend a week in the "Grand Bay Swamp" near where we lived with only a knife and some matches to prove I was ready! Well, I did it at age fourteen. I almost starved (at least in my young mind) but he never said he knew about that! I decided that the out-of-doors was my calling and I made my life’s goal to be a soldier in the Army like my Dad had been. I enlisted when I was 17, just after high school, and went to many Army schools. I was Infantry, Airborne, a long-range recon scout and I even graduated from the coveted sniper school at Fort Benning. I have never fired less than expert on any military weapon system and I have also competed on military pistol and rifle teams during the seventies and eighties. I learned to hunt man, the greatest game of all and became competent at hitting the silhouettes out to over 1000 yards. I taught marksman ship skills to many young soldiers. During my military days, I usually spent nine months out of the year in th e woods doing my duty to my country. I was very fortunate to have never spent a minute in combat; those who have been there understand my relief at never having to kill another human being. While I eventually became disillusioned with the military due to the liberal democratic politics of the eighties and the fear of death or dismemberment in the Middle East, I loved my skills and I still maintain them today. I married a wonderful woman from Michigan in 1985 and moved there to begin my career as a Controls Engineer. I currently am the Senior Plant Engineer at a General Motors Plant in Flint. I program robots and the automation that manufactures the Chevy and GMC trucks that many of you use to carry you to the great outdoors. When I moved to Michigan, I left my hometown where I had hunting privileges all over the county. As a boy and a young man, I knew many of the farmers and landowners that knew I was a true sportsman and would use their land respectably. They always let me hunt their land and I always shared my bounty with them when they wanted it. When I moved to Michigan, I knew virtually no one and I was forced to spend my fall days hunting on state land that was over hunted and full of novice hunters. For years, I have tolerated this. I knew that the city people were lazy and that when the first gun was fired, all of the game would head to the swamps and hard to access locations. I used my field skills to identify these spots and I would spend hours walking to the remote locations where the smart game would go and hide. While I have been moderately successful over the past years with this plan, I now find my time is short and my son is of the age that it is time he learn how to hunt and safely enjoy the world we have been given without the hassle of long walks into the woods on his young, short legs. I am writing this to those of you who have taken the time to read this monologue up to this point and sympathize with my frustration. I know that accessible hunting land does exist in Michigan. My coworkers successfully hunt these lands and when I have hinted (and even come out and asked) of my desires and abilities, they selfishly guard them like they own them and never ask me to experience them with them. I want to hunt and share this experience with my children. This request is without shame or embarrassment. Do not do this because I mentioned my fathers death, but for my son’s future. I am asking that anyone with a sizable hunting property in the lower at (810) 236-1172 and tell me that you are willing to share our resources with my family and me. I am a responsible sportsman with many years of experience and commitment to our natural resources. I have been a member of the Michigan United Conservation Club since the middle eighties. I am a safe hunter and intend for my family to be as well. I would love to share my skills learned as a young man and as a professional soldier with anyone willing to give me a chance. I can still fire a shotgun or rifle with the accuracy many people dream of. When I go to the skeet range, I still keep the shotgun lowered and I face away from the trap to give the "clays" a sporting chance until I hear the trap release, hunters and shooters of many, many years ask me how I do this and I really don’t know. I can’t even explain this to my wife of fourteen years who loves to hunt as much as I do! I can shoot and I can teach others this skill and I would be willing to trade this service for the privilege of hunting with them. I love hunting small and large game with rifle, shotgun and archery. I am willing to share my bounty with the landowner and all I am respectably asking of you is to give me the opportunity to share this with my family so that it will not be forgotten to the future generations. With sincere thanks, Clay Copeland — —
Response:
To my fellow sportsmen, The first thing I must say is that I am somewhat sad and a little embarrassed to write something like this. Three years or so ago I considered something like this but did not have the courage to do it then. I don’t know why. Since the time I first considered an approach like this, many things have changed. The person who gave me the greatest gift of my life, the spirit of the hunter, has now passed away and another hunting season is upon me. My father succumbed to cancer last January. He was a man who loved the outdoors and spent every chance he had there. He taught me to hunt and fish and only asked me to pass this heritage on to my children so that it would not be lost. He taught all of his children the skills of survival and how to hunt and fish. He even owned a gun store in Georgia that my brother still manages today. Before I continue, I must tell you something about myself so that perhaps you will know that I am sincere in my request to my fellow outdoorsmen. I am an avid outdoorsman. I grew up in South Georgia during the sixties. My Daddy gave me my first rifle when I was five and my first shotgun when I was eight years old. While this may seem young to some, it was not uncommon during this era. Even before I could read well, I was taught how to handle a weapon safely. That old Browning Automatic Shotgun knocked my glasses and my hat off every time I shot it, my Daddy only gave me one shell at a time, but I didn’t care since I was taught that only one shell was needed, I rarely missed. I loved the outdoors and I would stalk a bird or deer for hours for that one clear, sure shot. He never allowed me to hunt squirrels or rabbits with nothing other than my .22 rifle. While I sometimes disagreed with his methods, this would become very important in my future life as it taught me the skills of an expert marksman. I spent the early years of my life learning about nature and how to hunt and fish. One day I told my Dad that I was ready to be a "man" and what would I have to do to prove this. He said that I had to spend a week in the "Grand Bay Swamp" near where we lived with only a knife and some matches to prove I was ready! Well, I did it at age fourteen. I almost starved (at least in my young mind) but he never said he knew about that! I decided that the out-of-doors was my calling and I made my life’s goal to be a soldier in the Army like my Dad had been. I enlisted when I was 17, just after high school, and went to many Army schools. I was Infantry, Airborne, a long-range recon scout and I even graduated from the coveted sniper school at Fort Benning. I have never fired less than expert on any military weapon system and I have also competed on military pistol and rifle teams during the seventies and eighties. I learned to hunt man, the greatest game of all and became competent at hitting the silhouettes out to over 1000 yards. I taught marksman ship skills to many young soldiers. During my military days, I usually spent nine months out of the year in the woods doing my duty to my country. I was very fortunate to have never spent a minute in combat; those who have been there understand my relief at never having to kill another human being. While I eventually became disillusioned with the military due to the liberal democratic politics of the eighties and the fear of death or dismemberment in the Middle East, I loved my skills and I still maintain them today. I married a wonderful woman from Michigan in 1985 and moved there to begin my career as a Controls Engineer. I currently am the Senior Plant Engineer at a General Motors Plant in Flint. I program robots and the automation that manufactures the Chevy and GMC trucks that many of you use to carry you to the great outdoors. When I moved to Michigan, I left my hometown where I had hunting privileges all over the county. As a boy and a young man, I knew many of the farmers and landowners that knew I was a true sportsman and would use their land respectably. They always let me hunt their land and I always shared my bounty with them when they wanted it. When I moved to Michigan, I knew virtually no one and I was forced to spend my fall days hunting on state land that was over hunted and full of novice hunters. For years, I have tolerated this. I knew that the city people were lazy and that when the first gun was fired, all of the game would head to the swamps and hard to access locations. I used my field skills to identify these spots and I would spend hours walking to the remote locations where the smart game would go and hide. While I have been moderately successful over the past years with this plan, I now find my time is short and my son is of the age that it is time he learn how to hunt and safely enjoy the world we have been given without the hassle of long walks into the woods on his young, short legs. I am writing this to those of you who have taken the time to read this monologue up to this point and sympathize with my frustration. I know that accessible hunting land does exist in Michigan. My coworkers successfully hunt these lands and when I have hinted (and even come out and asked) of my desires and abilities, they selfishly guard them like they own them and never ask me to experience them with them. I want to hunt and share this experience with my children. This request is without shame or embarrassment. Do not do this because I mentioned my fathers death, but for my son’s future. I am asking that anyone with a sizable hunting property in the lower (810) 236-1172 and tell me that you are willing to share our resources with my family and me. I am a responsible sportsman with many years of experience and commitment to our natural resources. I have been a member of the Michigan United Conservation Club since the middle eighties. I am a safe hunter and intend for my family to be as well. I would love to share my skills learned as a young man and as a professional soldier with anyone willing to give me a chance. I can still fire a shotgun or rifle with the accuracy many people dream of. When I go to the skeet range, I still keep the shotgun lowered and I face away from the trap to give the "clays" a sporting chance until I hear the trap release, hunters and shooters of many, many years ask me how I do this and I really don’t know. I can’t even explain this to my wife of fourteen years who loves to hunt as much as I do! I can shoot and I can teach others this skill and I would be willing to trade this service for the privilege of hunting with them. I love hunting small and large game with rifle, shotgun and archery. I am willing to share my bounty with the landowner and all I am respectably asking of you is to give me the opportunity to share this with my family so that it will not be forgotten to the future generations. With sincere thanks, Clay Copeland — —