Okay, so maybe Todd is not ready to step up to the plate to replace the guy on the commercial as some of you may suggest, but he is certainly an interesting guy.   I should know, I’ve been following him around all my life.  My name is Mike Seeklander and Todd is my older cousin, and we have grown up together.  I wanted to wrote a short post and say some things that Todd may not, as we document the events following his horrific attack.

So, the first thing you must know is that Todd has been doing interesting and adventure filled stuff for a long, long time!   Maybe some would guess that he is a random guy that was dealt a blow by fate and was attacked by a bear in the woods, but truth be told Todd has spent so much time in the woods he has had hundreds of bear encounters, and several other close calls (I will let him write about that).  Let’s just say that one of them was so close he had to bring his pants to his mother to get her help sewing them from the rip left by a bear claw while I believe he was sitting in a tree.

Extreme sports?  Yep, Todd has that one covered as well.  As young boys probably around the ages of 10 I can remembers following cousin Todd into random caves on their Montana property looking for bones and indian artifacts.   Oh, and if I remember correctly, we were on the top of a large ridge-line that was edged by a steep cliff.  Todd (and his younger brother Tim’s) solution to getting down?  I think we jumped to a tree and climbed down.  I guess non of us thought about the 80 foot drop if we missed the tree.

If you check out Todd Facebook you will likely find the pictures of him on a snowmobile, riding in a manner that is beyond what I would say is your normal daily ride.  To put it bluntly, I guess he has probably caught almost as much air as the local pilots.   It’s just who Todd is!   He is, and always has been an adventurer who likes to have fun and push things to the limit.

And for you California types, Todd has long been into surfing, just like you.  And there aren’t any oceans in Montana, so he and his buds have long been pulling full length surfboards behind their boats.  For those of you that wake surf, this is different, think waterboarding but on a surfboard behind a tow rope!   Years ago Todd created a group called the Montana Surf Riders, and at that time (although we could be wrong), we didnt know of anyone else surfing like that.

And you dirt bike riders out there would totally dig the guy.  Let me put it this way, some of the trails he has ridden on his Honda XR 250 and 400 are probably not suitable for a mountain goat.   Seriously, I wouldn’t attempt to hike some of the stuff he has ridden in his hundreds of hours in the woods.  Todd’s work vehicle for part of the year is his bike, which he uses to scout trails for the forest service contract crews he manages.

Basically Todd is any 40 year olds hero, living his life exactly as he wants and doing what Todd does.  He’s an angler, hunter, conservationist, and a great all around guy.  As most of you know, he is tough as nails and this is coming from someone who doesn’t give that compliment likely.   He is also a great human being, one that his brother and other cousins look up to.  Everyone wants to be a bit more like Todd.

And even though he may not get the official title, to me he is probably the most interesting man in the world.   We are incredibly thankful he is safe and pray he recovers well, as he has a tough road ahead.  As I write this he is resting from a complicated surgery (he will post about it) that discovered “two tendons ripped off at the muscle” and more damage than expected.

Please keep him in your prayers.

Mike Seeklander