Brent Scott awoke before either of his kids or his wife on a recent Saturday morning, which meant command of the remote control.

At least until they got out of bed.

So he took advantage, pouring himself a bowl of cereal and flipping to one of the outdoor networks to watch whichever hunting show was on. It happened to be a duck hunting showcase in which one of the staff members of Ducks Unlimited was taking his 8-year-old son hunting for the first time.

"That just brought all the memories back," Scott said.

Raised in Hannibal and now living on a farm near Memphis, Mo., Scott first went hunting with his father, David, when he was 8 years old. Together, they sat in a crickety deer stand as David harvested an 8-point buck.

"I was telling everyone it was the biggest deer in the world," Scott said. "When you're 8, it certainly seemed like it was a monster."

As vivid as that memory is, Scott admitted there is one that takes him back.

That's his first day in a duck blind.

"Cold and windy," he said. "It felt like I was going to have icicles on my face by the time we got to the blind."

Some of his dad's friends had invited them to go duck hunting on the Mississippi River, and after a short boat ride, they were seated in the back of a six-person blind, sipping coffee or milk and sharing a box of donuts.

"Best donuts I ever ate," Scott said.

And the best morning of his life.

"I was just 9 years old, but listening to my dad and his friends tell stories and watching them knock down mallards as they dove into the decoys, that's something I will never forget," Scott said. "That's a moment my dad gave me."

It's a gift that lasts a lifetime.

We celebrate Father's Day this weekend, and everywhere, sons and daughters are trying to find creative ways to show their fathers how much they care. Yet, as many have learned, no gift can match the memories created in the outdoors.

"There have been moments, some funny and some intense, that we share," said Danny Jones, a Quincy hunter whose father, Tim, passed away about two years ago. "I hold on to those moments. My dad made sure we did things together -- hunting, fishing, camping. We did things as a family -- my sisters included -- but he and I went to the woods when it was just us.

"He did that for me. I'll do that for my son. There's a bond created when you're roughing it in the outdoors that can't be created anywhere else. You can't repay that."

You just need to enjoy it.

Relive the moments you remember. Share the fondness. Make your father understand the hunting heritage he helped create is as important to you as it is to him.

And while you're at it, make him laugh.

There's bound to be one story that will.

The creek incident does it for me.

Of all the memorable moments my dad, my brothers and I have shared, nothing tops my second year hunting deer. Rain poured the first weekend of the Illinois shotgun season, and the creek we crossed to get to our stands turned into a roaring river while we hunted.

That might seem a little exaggerated, but the creek broke its banks and raised to such a level I couldn't cross it. At the time, I was 10 years old and the water had become chest deep while running at a fevered pace.

So after my older brother crossed and we safely handed the guns to him, I climbed on my dad's back and he carried me across. To this day, I can hear the water rushing past and see the whitecaps it created as it crashed over the banks.

I remember using my glove to keep water from dripping into the barrel of my gun and the trickle of water coming off the bill of my cap. And I remember how strong my dad was as he carried me safely across the creek.

He's just as strong today, although a piggy-back ride these days is out of the question.

But creating another memorable moment isn't.

Any time we spend together creates one.

-- mschuckman@whig.com/221-3366