Every family has a few colorful characters in the family tree who are topics of conversation every time the extended family gets together.

Our family is no exception, and, in fact, we might have a whole crayon box full of them

Two of my uncles come to mind when I think of colorful and larger than life. Uncle George was a brick mason by trade and a card player at the union hall most of the time. He taught me a lot about taking chances and not holding back on opportunity.

Uncle Mike lived in Las Vegas and was a professional card player who made his living that way long before poker was in vogue. He knew people, odds and was the luckiest man I know.

In WWII, he was a Navy man and had three ships sunk beneath him. When he got out of the Navy, he moved to the desert of Nevada, not wanting to see the ocean again.

These two men always made me appreciate life and opportunities when they came knocking, so when the new hunting season comes, around I apply their philosophies to my goals for the year.

One goal is to get out as often as possible to hunt, fish, explore and enjoy time with my friends. The outdoors is a great place to test my uncles' theories on life.

After buying my 2008-09 hunting license this week, I'll get a start on the quest for a great season afield. The elk and bobcat license lotteries will be starting, and you can bet I'll be in on the elk drawing.

I've already had the good fortune to pull a bobcat tag for a hunt of a lifetime with my buddy Beaver Boy, who also pulled a tag. That was beating the odds, and now the state Game Commission has a point system that will guarantee a license to a hunter who applies each year.

When I talk about beating the odds, I have three stories that are true and all of them figure into fishing or hunting episodes. Because of space limitations, I will relate only condensed versions of the tales.

One fall, I was on the streams feeding Lake Erie with fresh rainwater. My quarry was the salmon and steelhead that were making runs up the creeks and I was having a banner day.

It wasn't until later that I realized that I lost my watch during one of the battles with the fish. It was too late to worry, as I was well on my way home.

At a family dinner a few weeks later, my brother-in-law was carving a turkey and I noticed my watch on his wrist. When I asked him where he found the watch, he said he discovered it on the banks of 16 Mile Run a few days after I had lost it.

With a grin he turned over my watch and told me how lucky I was.

The second tale was last deer season when I placed a buck rack on the bench by the kitchen door for my buddy to pick up while I was at church. But before I left, I heard a loud thump and noticed that the rack was stolen by an animal.

I searched for the rack, but it was gone and my only hope was that I had a tag on it with my name and address.

Eight months later, we received a call from a couple who said they found the rack in bushes near their home.

The final story was when I took a lad hunting and he became very upset when he discovered that his hunting knife was missing. It was a gift from his brother who had moved to a different state.

We walked for miles that day and to retrace our steps in the snow was possible but would be arduous. We walked down the trail a bit farther and I stopped and asked him to make a decision.

The kid was praying over his decision (his father was a minister) and I let him have his moment. It was then when we crossed our old trail and I looked down at my feet and the knife was there like it was waiting for us.

Now that's what I call beating the odds!

Jay E. Hewitt is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.