"Cold" is kinda relative according to your personal perspective.
Examples:
When I was around 12 years old, we would have an occasional Wright City ice storm/snow that would last for a few days. I would put on a pair of canvas "tennis" shoes, blue jeans, a tee shirt and a worn light jacket and then tromp thru the fields and creeks all day long with no thought of "cold" or illness.
When I was 17, 18, 19, working in the East Texas oil field, I would go to work in the winters with ice on everthing (ya didn't eat if ya didn't work). I wore shoes (never in my life have I worn a pair of steel toed boots because "they cost money"). I wore jeans, a "hard hat" and some kind of trashed out waist length jacket. We worked 10-12 hour shifts. Our "heater" was a five gallon bucket of diesel burning (a lot of smoke, absolutely nothing in the way of heat). You only got to enjoy the "heater" on rare breaks (and away from the oil well!!!!). When the temperature was in the teens and it was raining/sleeting, you had a real treat. As you are "going in/out of the hole" (removing or putting back rods/pipe/casing) in a well, your are alternately looking straight up (think rain/sleet in face) or looking down at the well head (think rain/sleet down the back of your neck and running down your spine). (Now imagine that for 10-12 hours without ever getting out of the pasture you were working in?). Yeah, I was "cold", but I didn't have a lot of options, and truthfully, I don't remember feeling like I was especially miserable, unfortunate, or whatever.
From age 20 until 31, I worked as a TROOPER/SERGEANT with the TEXAS HIGHWAY PATROL (sorry bout the all caps, but guess my pride kicked in?) When ice storms hit, I would go to work to handle the problems and not come home for as long as three days. I wore leather cowboy boots, and a DPS uniform. My only concession to the weather was the absolute cheapest insulated underwear that Sears & Roebuck sold, a "parka" coat issued by DPS, and "leather" gloves with rabbit fur inside (I still have those gloves). Again, I got cold, but it was a part of the job (and remember, you don't work, you don't eat). I just did it without much thought because the men in my family had endured much worse conditions for eons before me.
(OK, there is a point to this trip down "cold" memory lane)
Yesterday morning I went to my beloved TIN STAR RANCH (all caps: the "pride" thing) to hunt for venison/trophy/memories. It was 23 degrees. I was wearing truly expensive long johns, insulated boots, a sweat shirt, insulated expensive overalls (over my jeans, tee shirt, denim shirt) high dollar heavy hunting parka, high dollar thick insulated gloves, an insulated hat, and put the parka hood over the hat.
I sat in my deer stand from 6 AM till 8 AM (no wildlife sightings, not even a sparrow/squirrel).
I can't think of the words to say how miserable cold, shaking, (can't even think), bone aching, feet numb, nose running, eyes watering, (fat old gray haired man), my butt got.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TOUGH BUTT GUY WHO COULD DO IT FROM CAN TIL CAN'T AND JUST GO BACK FOR MORE WITH NO REMOTE THOUGHT OF "COLD"????????
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Friday, December 28, 2007
"GIFTS"
Christmas season "gifts" come in many flavors.
Yesterday afternoon I was sitting in my tree stand adjacent to the pond on my land hunting for big horns. About 5Pm I was looking at the pond and an incredibly beautiful red fox walked to the edge of the water, drank to its heart's content, looked around, and then walked back into the brush.
What a neat gift to get to see that in nature.
Yesterday afternoon I was sitting in my tree stand adjacent to the pond on my land hunting for big horns. About 5Pm I was looking at the pond and an incredibly beautiful red fox walked to the edge of the water, drank to its heart's content, looked around, and then walked back into the brush.
What a neat gift to get to see that in nature.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
A SET OF WHEELS
This is going to be pretty boring (more personal history BS for my kiddos) so you might want to get comfortable before reading any further?
I grew up out in the real deal "country" (We are talking downright rural, also known as Wright City). When we went to "town", that was Henderson (about 12 miles away. When we went to the "city", it was Tyler (but not often as it had traffic lights, one way streets, and more people than you would see in a decade in Wright City).
We seldom had more than one vehicle in the family and it doubled as Dad's oil field work vehicle. That meant that we were "on foot" for the most part and put one foot in front of the other to ease around the neighborhood.
***My First Wheels***
When I was about 12, my Dad found a bicycle in a scrap pile somewhere that had the frame cracked and about to break. Dad drilled a hole in the top rail and bottom of the bike, put bolts in the ends of a piece of chain, and tightened nuts on the ends of the bolts until it pulled the frame together (I rode that sucker 900,000 miles and the frame never cratered) It came with slick tires and I left it with the same set of slick tires, but with the inner tube almost completely made of the patches to fix the "flats". The mechanical parts in the rear axle were so worn that the pedals would turn endlessly before they would "catch" and I could pedal effectively. BUT, IT WAS A SET OF WHEELS AND I RODE THAT PUPPY FROM DAWN TO DUSK FOR MANY YEARS (I also painted it new color every time I found a can of house paint with a little left in it)
When I discovered "girls", my parents wouldn't let me ride my bike on the highway, and they threatened me with all manner of things if I "hitchhiked", but for some reason they didn't care if I walked. So::: when I had a girl friend that lived about 10 miles away, I would walk to her house, stay til night, and then walk home. All good except there was a creek bottom along the way and to this day I remember the spooky sounds in the night as I rather briskly walked that "bottom" (while wishing I had a set of wheels to effect a hasty escape).
One more "walking" story (OK kids, you can groan). I was the point guard on our basketball team. We were playing in a tournament in Carlisle. I didn't have a ride to my school, but the bus would go thru Turnertown to get to Carlisle. So for the morning game I walked from Wright City to Turnertown, caught the bus and we won the first game. We didn't play again til the afternoon so the bus came back, stopped in Turnertown, and I walked to Wright City. That afternoon I walked back to Wright City, caught the school bus and helped to win the second game to get us in the championship game that night, BUT, the bus went back thru Turnertown, my butt walked home (and then back that night to catch the bus for the third time). We got beat like a drum in the championship game, in part because ole frankie was playing in his third game of the day and had walked about halfway to the moon and back in between. (The point being, I learned to appreciate "wheels" intensely at an early age)
***My First Access to a Motor Vehicle***
I got my driver license when I was 14 (I now find it hard to believe that Texas law allowed children to drive at 14?). In my youthful innocence I thought the world was about to open up and provide all its glory due to my new found freedom. (dang, I forgot the part about being a one vehicle family and Dad needing that vehicle for his job)(PLUS: when I was 14, Mom and Dad were 31 and they enjoyed going to Kilgore to "honky-tonk", drink some cerveza and dance). To their credit and my undying gratitude, when I started dating, they decided to let me have the family vehicle every other Saturday night while they used it on the off Saturday night. So imagine the romanticism of the following for each "lucky" teen girl: My "limo" was a 1953 Chevy pickup with more rust than paint. On my Saturday I would sweep out the inch of red sand in the floorboard and then get some diesel and with an old rag wipe the oil and grease off the seats, dash, steering wheel, etc (Dad filled the truck with oil field roughnecks every day) I would love to know what those girls thought about my fragrant chariot???
***My School Wheels***
We lived on the end of the bus route for New London Schools. We were the first kids picked up in the morning and the last to get off each night (yeah it was dark a lot as we rode that big yellow sucker from can til can't). Wasn't no big deal as everyone did the same (til they got driver licenses and cars) Not ole frankie. This fat boy rode that big yeller suckah thru the 11th grade. I looked like some of those little kids' Daddy since everyone else was so much younger than me. Finally my senior year in high school a buddy who lived close got a car and took me to school each morn and got me off that bus (and no doubt saved my eternal dignity)
***Heaven at Last***
After graduation from high school, I worked in the oil field long enough to finally get my own personal set of wheels and it was grand!! In 1968 I paid $175 for a red 1959 Chevy Bel Air. I was stylin'!! Only thing was every time I drove it I lifted the hood and put in a quart of oil. Didn't even check the dipstick, just poured that oil (oh yeah, it had a V8 engine, but it was so wore out it wouldn't run over 70 MPH, BUT IT WAS MINE!!!!)
***Upgrade Time***
About 1969 that first Chevy pretty near cratered so Dad took me to Tyler to a used car lot and we found a 1962 Chevy Bel Air that looked in mint condition. Dad co-signed a note for (hold onto your hats: $700) with Mills Parker at the Arp State Bank and I was now formally in debt for the first time in my life. I drove that little Chevy until 1972 and dang near drove the wheels off it.
***New Car***
In 1972 I had been a Trooper for a couple of years and decided to assume some serious debt and bought my first new car, a 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. I was stylin' in high cotton (while choking on the payments).
***My Favorite Wheels***
I have owned a 1964 Corvette Sting Ray, a Mitsubishi 3000 GT and a host of other testosterone ridiculous cars, but my all time favorite that I wish I owned to this day was my first pickup.
I think it was about 1973 that my Dad told me that my Uncle Jerry was willing to sell his truck for $600 (I think that was the amount?). I didn't know the vehicle, but Dad promised me I would not be disappointed and should buy it. Wasn't no way I had access to $600, but I managed to borrow it and sight unseen made the purchase. When Dad took me to White Oak to pick up the truck, I started a love affair with that sweet little truck that continues until this day.
It was a 1964 Chevy step side with a short bed, and all kinds of extra chrome not normally found on trucks of that era. It had "west coast" chrome outside rearview mirrors, a 230 cid six cylinder engine and as much class as anything I have ever rode in. When I would stop at traffic lights in a town, people were always offering to buy it.
In 1981 I was sent to Chicago for a year to attend a management school at Northwestern University. I took my beloved truck to Dad in Wright City and asked if he would keep the truck til I got back, crank it every week or so and maybe once per month drive it to keep it in shape. I left Texas and within a week Dad had sold his truck and moved into mine.
When I got back a year later, I didn't have the heart to take the truck away from Dad (he loved it as much as me). For many years he would let me know when "my" truck needed to be inspected, registered, or needed new tires. Finally at some point I offered to put the truck in his name on the title with the understanding that I would get the truck back one day.
Dad drove the truck until the rust was about to cause the fenders to to fall off, rust a hole in the roof, etc, and the engine was worn to a complete frazzle. Each time the odometer passed 99,999 miles day would pull the cardboard sunvisor down and with a pencil note the event. I think it lasted more than 300,000 miles! Dad parked it in a comfortable resting place at the side of his house and patiently listened to many men over the years stop at his house and try to buy the truck. Finally one day Dad called (he needed some money) and suggested that we sell the truck to Bubba Ward and let him use the parts to build another similar truck. I wanted to help Dad, I liked Bubba, and I felt it was a way to preserve the dignity of my beloved "first pickup" so I agreed (with a degree of sadness).
I'LL NEVER FORGET THAT 1964 CHEVY OR THE KINDNESS SHOWN BY JERRY IN SELLING IT TO ME FOR SUCH A MODEST PRICE AT A TIME WHEN I COULD LITTLE AFFORD SUCH A LUXORY.
***My Parent's Gift***
I have had too many vehicles in my life to even count, but with each one, I have kept the perspective provided by growing up in the country with limited transportation and thus knowing how lucky I have been in the transportation department. I have also never forgotten my parents' love in sharing the family vehicle at a very important time in my youth.
I grew up out in the real deal "country" (We are talking downright rural, also known as Wright City). When we went to "town", that was Henderson (about 12 miles away. When we went to the "city", it was Tyler (but not often as it had traffic lights, one way streets, and more people than you would see in a decade in Wright City).
We seldom had more than one vehicle in the family and it doubled as Dad's oil field work vehicle. That meant that we were "on foot" for the most part and put one foot in front of the other to ease around the neighborhood.
***My First Wheels***
When I was about 12, my Dad found a bicycle in a scrap pile somewhere that had the frame cracked and about to break. Dad drilled a hole in the top rail and bottom of the bike, put bolts in the ends of a piece of chain, and tightened nuts on the ends of the bolts until it pulled the frame together (I rode that sucker 900,000 miles and the frame never cratered) It came with slick tires and I left it with the same set of slick tires, but with the inner tube almost completely made of the patches to fix the "flats". The mechanical parts in the rear axle were so worn that the pedals would turn endlessly before they would "catch" and I could pedal effectively. BUT, IT WAS A SET OF WHEELS AND I RODE THAT PUPPY FROM DAWN TO DUSK FOR MANY YEARS (I also painted it new color every time I found a can of house paint with a little left in it)
When I discovered "girls", my parents wouldn't let me ride my bike on the highway, and they threatened me with all manner of things if I "hitchhiked", but for some reason they didn't care if I walked. So::: when I had a girl friend that lived about 10 miles away, I would walk to her house, stay til night, and then walk home. All good except there was a creek bottom along the way and to this day I remember the spooky sounds in the night as I rather briskly walked that "bottom" (while wishing I had a set of wheels to effect a hasty escape).
One more "walking" story (OK kids, you can groan). I was the point guard on our basketball team. We were playing in a tournament in Carlisle. I didn't have a ride to my school, but the bus would go thru Turnertown to get to Carlisle. So for the morning game I walked from Wright City to Turnertown, caught the bus and we won the first game. We didn't play again til the afternoon so the bus came back, stopped in Turnertown, and I walked to Wright City. That afternoon I walked back to Wright City, caught the school bus and helped to win the second game to get us in the championship game that night, BUT, the bus went back thru Turnertown, my butt walked home (and then back that night to catch the bus for the third time). We got beat like a drum in the championship game, in part because ole frankie was playing in his third game of the day and had walked about halfway to the moon and back in between. (The point being, I learned to appreciate "wheels" intensely at an early age)
***My First Access to a Motor Vehicle***
I got my driver license when I was 14 (I now find it hard to believe that Texas law allowed children to drive at 14?). In my youthful innocence I thought the world was about to open up and provide all its glory due to my new found freedom. (dang, I forgot the part about being a one vehicle family and Dad needing that vehicle for his job)(PLUS: when I was 14, Mom and Dad were 31 and they enjoyed going to Kilgore to "honky-tonk", drink some cerveza and dance). To their credit and my undying gratitude, when I started dating, they decided to let me have the family vehicle every other Saturday night while they used it on the off Saturday night. So imagine the romanticism of the following for each "lucky" teen girl: My "limo" was a 1953 Chevy pickup with more rust than paint. On my Saturday I would sweep out the inch of red sand in the floorboard and then get some diesel and with an old rag wipe the oil and grease off the seats, dash, steering wheel, etc (Dad filled the truck with oil field roughnecks every day) I would love to know what those girls thought about my fragrant chariot???
***My School Wheels***
We lived on the end of the bus route for New London Schools. We were the first kids picked up in the morning and the last to get off each night (yeah it was dark a lot as we rode that big yellow sucker from can til can't). Wasn't no big deal as everyone did the same (til they got driver licenses and cars) Not ole frankie. This fat boy rode that big yeller suckah thru the 11th grade. I looked like some of those little kids' Daddy since everyone else was so much younger than me. Finally my senior year in high school a buddy who lived close got a car and took me to school each morn and got me off that bus (and no doubt saved my eternal dignity)
***Heaven at Last***
After graduation from high school, I worked in the oil field long enough to finally get my own personal set of wheels and it was grand!! In 1968 I paid $175 for a red 1959 Chevy Bel Air. I was stylin'!! Only thing was every time I drove it I lifted the hood and put in a quart of oil. Didn't even check the dipstick, just poured that oil (oh yeah, it had a V8 engine, but it was so wore out it wouldn't run over 70 MPH, BUT IT WAS MINE!!!!)
***Upgrade Time***
About 1969 that first Chevy pretty near cratered so Dad took me to Tyler to a used car lot and we found a 1962 Chevy Bel Air that looked in mint condition. Dad co-signed a note for (hold onto your hats: $700) with Mills Parker at the Arp State Bank and I was now formally in debt for the first time in my life. I drove that little Chevy until 1972 and dang near drove the wheels off it.
***New Car***
In 1972 I had been a Trooper for a couple of years and decided to assume some serious debt and bought my first new car, a 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. I was stylin' in high cotton (while choking on the payments).
***My Favorite Wheels***
I have owned a 1964 Corvette Sting Ray, a Mitsubishi 3000 GT and a host of other testosterone ridiculous cars, but my all time favorite that I wish I owned to this day was my first pickup.
I think it was about 1973 that my Dad told me that my Uncle Jerry was willing to sell his truck for $600 (I think that was the amount?). I didn't know the vehicle, but Dad promised me I would not be disappointed and should buy it. Wasn't no way I had access to $600, but I managed to borrow it and sight unseen made the purchase. When Dad took me to White Oak to pick up the truck, I started a love affair with that sweet little truck that continues until this day.
It was a 1964 Chevy step side with a short bed, and all kinds of extra chrome not normally found on trucks of that era. It had "west coast" chrome outside rearview mirrors, a 230 cid six cylinder engine and as much class as anything I have ever rode in. When I would stop at traffic lights in a town, people were always offering to buy it.
In 1981 I was sent to Chicago for a year to attend a management school at Northwestern University. I took my beloved truck to Dad in Wright City and asked if he would keep the truck til I got back, crank it every week or so and maybe once per month drive it to keep it in shape. I left Texas and within a week Dad had sold his truck and moved into mine.
When I got back a year later, I didn't have the heart to take the truck away from Dad (he loved it as much as me). For many years he would let me know when "my" truck needed to be inspected, registered, or needed new tires. Finally at some point I offered to put the truck in his name on the title with the understanding that I would get the truck back one day.
Dad drove the truck until the rust was about to cause the fenders to to fall off, rust a hole in the roof, etc, and the engine was worn to a complete frazzle. Each time the odometer passed 99,999 miles day would pull the cardboard sunvisor down and with a pencil note the event. I think it lasted more than 300,000 miles! Dad parked it in a comfortable resting place at the side of his house and patiently listened to many men over the years stop at his house and try to buy the truck. Finally one day Dad called (he needed some money) and suggested that we sell the truck to Bubba Ward and let him use the parts to build another similar truck. I wanted to help Dad, I liked Bubba, and I felt it was a way to preserve the dignity of my beloved "first pickup" so I agreed (with a degree of sadness).
I'LL NEVER FORGET THAT 1964 CHEVY OR THE KINDNESS SHOWN BY JERRY IN SELLING IT TO ME FOR SUCH A MODEST PRICE AT A TIME WHEN I COULD LITTLE AFFORD SUCH A LUXORY.
***My Parent's Gift***
I have had too many vehicles in my life to even count, but with each one, I have kept the perspective provided by growing up in the country with limited transportation and thus knowing how lucky I have been in the transportation department. I have also never forgotten my parents' love in sharing the family vehicle at a very important time in my youth.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
CHRISTMAS DAY
WOW!
How does so much food get prepared and ingested??
The important thing, of course, is that we remember the reason for the season. Corny phrase, but exactly where it is at. Celebration of the earthly birth of our Lord Jesus.
But:: how neat to have a family together in a relaxed, happy, atmosphere with positive interaction and so much laughing.
Christmas love to all and God's own blessing as well.
Love to my family, wherever you may be!
TSRH
How does so much food get prepared and ingested??
The important thing, of course, is that we remember the reason for the season. Corny phrase, but exactly where it is at. Celebration of the earthly birth of our Lord Jesus.
But:: how neat to have a family together in a relaxed, happy, atmosphere with positive interaction and so much laughing.
Christmas love to all and God's own blessing as well.
Love to my family, wherever you may be!
TSRH
Monday, December 24, 2007
CHRISTMAS EVE
Christmas love to all as we rejoice in the glory of our Savior Jesus at this special time of love, grace and family unity.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
SPECIAL TIMES
5:30AM
Full moon brighter than anything imaginable
Stars that look anything but real in their collective ornamentation
15 feet up on a ladder stand leaned against a cedar elm with not a leaf in sight
Just lean back against the tree trunk, soak in the God given heavenly view
And realize that it doesn't matter if a deer ever comes in sight
You have seen the glory of the heavens in their finest
Full moon brighter than anything imaginable
Stars that look anything but real in their collective ornamentation
15 feet up on a ladder stand leaned against a cedar elm with not a leaf in sight
Just lean back against the tree trunk, soak in the God given heavenly view
And realize that it doesn't matter if a deer ever comes in sight
You have seen the glory of the heavens in their finest
Monday, December 17, 2007
Blessed Are The Peacemakers
Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God (Mathew 5:9)
There have been 11 Colonels/Lt. Colonels in the history of DPS:
1. L. G. Phares
2. Homer Garrison
3. Wilson Speir
4. James Adams
5. Leo Gossett
6. Joe Milner
7. James Wilson
8. Dudley Thomas
9. Tommie Davis
10. Frankie Waller
11. David McEathron
All of the above worked more than 30 years at DPS with Davis topping the chart at 41 years.
Yours truly managed 33 years and 18 days.
Each year at Christmas the current Colonel hosts a lunch for the remaining retired Colonels. We did that today for a total of four of us. Talk about looking mortality in the face. We each know we are part of a dying breed. The current generation has no thought of putting in 30-40 years with one employer and has a myriad of outside interests that have no relation to law enforcement.
I reckon we take solace in knowing that we gave it everthing we had for our entire adult lives trying to do the right things for the right reasons at the right time, every time, while trying to make the lives of all a bit more secure.
Blessed are the peacemakers.........
There have been 11 Colonels/Lt. Colonels in the history of DPS:
1. L. G. Phares
2. Homer Garrison
3. Wilson Speir
4. James Adams
5. Leo Gossett
6. Joe Milner
7. James Wilson
8. Dudley Thomas
9. Tommie Davis
10. Frankie Waller
11. David McEathron
All of the above worked more than 30 years at DPS with Davis topping the chart at 41 years.
Yours truly managed 33 years and 18 days.
Each year at Christmas the current Colonel hosts a lunch for the remaining retired Colonels. We did that today for a total of four of us. Talk about looking mortality in the face. We each know we are part of a dying breed. The current generation has no thought of putting in 30-40 years with one employer and has a myriad of outside interests that have no relation to law enforcement.
I reckon we take solace in knowing that we gave it everthing we had for our entire adult lives trying to do the right things for the right reasons at the right time, every time, while trying to make the lives of all a bit more secure.
Blessed are the peacemakers.........
Sunday, December 16, 2007
The First Time
There are any number of things that humans do, "for the first time", that forever remains as a special memory.
If one is inclined to hunt for wild game, there is usually no more special memory than the first deer taken.
Today I had a very special privilege. My friend, Lynn, allowed me the courtesy of his son, James, shooting his first ever deer on the Tin Star Ranch (also a "first" as the first Tin Star Ranch doe taken by anyone).
The deer was a doe (a great first deer). James shot the deer with his .223 at 115 steps with a perfect head shot which instantly put the deer down. When Lynn called to let me know, Mendy and I felt the same elation as if it was our own boy's first deer.
I am very proud of and for James and hope that if my four year old grandson, Jonathan, ever wants to hunt, he will allow me to have his first deer come from the Tin Star in the gracious manner that Lynn granted us this privilege.
James, I hope that today begins a lifetime of rewarding hunting memories for you and your sons.
If one is inclined to hunt for wild game, there is usually no more special memory than the first deer taken.
Today I had a very special privilege. My friend, Lynn, allowed me the courtesy of his son, James, shooting his first ever deer on the Tin Star Ranch (also a "first" as the first Tin Star Ranch doe taken by anyone).
The deer was a doe (a great first deer). James shot the deer with his .223 at 115 steps with a perfect head shot which instantly put the deer down. When Lynn called to let me know, Mendy and I felt the same elation as if it was our own boy's first deer.
I am very proud of and for James and hope that if my four year old grandson, Jonathan, ever wants to hunt, he will allow me to have his first deer come from the Tin Star in the gracious manner that Lynn granted us this privilege.
James, I hope that today begins a lifetime of rewarding hunting memories for you and your sons.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Is It Just Me Or ......?
Didja ever see the cartoon where the herd of cows are all standing on their hind legs in the pasture smokin' cigs and drinking beer. Then a car comes by on the highway and they get back down on all fours and munch grass til the coast is clear, then back up to act "human"?
(Yeah, there is a point to this postulation)
This morn I settled into my trustee venison harvestin' structure (technically it is just an ugly hut I built since I have never actually ingested wild game meat acquired while within). It was near 5:45A with the temp 48, and a right stiff North wind blowing heavy mist on me like the Titanic was goin' down (nother words the warm was suckin' outta me like a tall dawg)!
Near bout 6:55AM (when my eyeballs were shakin' with the cold and I was seriously doubting my own sanity), six non-horned deer began to suck up the corn candy (Lisa would call it "slappin on belly jelly") under my Northeast feeder. Two of said ruminants were this year's nubbin' bucks with just the hint of "bumps" on their heads where one day magnificent calcified statuary will no doubt sprout.
Bein' younguns', the two "nubbins" soon began to headbutt, bite and kick each other exactly as my kiddos used to do. As the doe (mom) soon got tired of the commotion, she "charged" at them in an aggressive display. This went on a time or two until the "twins" took off like their tails were on fire. Not to be outdone the "mom" followed at full tilt: closely followed by the entire herd. This unlikely parade then began to circle a group of trees at such speed that they were at best a blur.
After about four trips around the trees, the whole fam damily ran right straight at my location, stopping no less than 15 yards away.
Upon seeing me (with my eyes about the size of tennis balls) they suddenly regained their "dignity" and began to rather stiffly (no doubt due to embarassment) slowly stroll away until they disappeared into the brush.
Heck, who cares that no tangible, braggin' rights, Boone and Crockett, testosterone drippin' stag appeared this morn. Seeing them dang unhorned deer act so "human" was a memory that shall not soon fade.
(Yeah, there is a point to this postulation)
This morn I settled into my trustee venison harvestin' structure (technically it is just an ugly hut I built since I have never actually ingested wild game meat acquired while within). It was near 5:45A with the temp 48, and a right stiff North wind blowing heavy mist on me like the Titanic was goin' down (nother words the warm was suckin' outta me like a tall dawg)!
Near bout 6:55AM (when my eyeballs were shakin' with the cold and I was seriously doubting my own sanity), six non-horned deer began to suck up the corn candy (Lisa would call it "slappin on belly jelly") under my Northeast feeder. Two of said ruminants were this year's nubbin' bucks with just the hint of "bumps" on their heads where one day magnificent calcified statuary will no doubt sprout.
Bein' younguns', the two "nubbins" soon began to headbutt, bite and kick each other exactly as my kiddos used to do. As the doe (mom) soon got tired of the commotion, she "charged" at them in an aggressive display. This went on a time or two until the "twins" took off like their tails were on fire. Not to be outdone the "mom" followed at full tilt: closely followed by the entire herd. This unlikely parade then began to circle a group of trees at such speed that they were at best a blur.
After about four trips around the trees, the whole fam damily ran right straight at my location, stopping no less than 15 yards away.
Upon seeing me (with my eyes about the size of tennis balls) they suddenly regained their "dignity" and began to rather stiffly (no doubt due to embarassment) slowly stroll away until they disappeared into the brush.
Heck, who cares that no tangible, braggin' rights, Boone and Crockett, testosterone drippin' stag appeared this morn. Seeing them dang unhorned deer act so "human" was a memory that shall not soon fade.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Old Wore Out Stories
I can't say exactly why, but for some reason I enjoy sharing stories about growing up economically poor (yes, I know kids, you have heard each story a gozillion times)
I kinda knew we were short on cash as a kid, but everyone else in our world was pretty much in the same boat so it was never that big a deal.
As far as clothes were concerned, we got new school clothes and one pair of shoes once per year when school started. For many years Mom made my sisters' dresses (always just alike so they tried to coordinate so that they didn't wear the same dress on the same day) and she made my shirts and underwear. One day when I was older I was looking at the tail of a store bought shirt and realized something was missing. The I realized it was the first time I owned a shirt that didn't have the writing concerning the chicken feed in indelible ink printed on the shirt tail. (My shirts matched the girls dresses as chicken feed sacks only came in so many patterns)
When those clothes got holes in them, the holes got patched. No new clothes until the next school year started. Some times the patches got patches, but we kept wearing them.
Being a typical boy, my one pair of shoes per year got pretty ragged before the end of their life. One time when I was about 13 the sole of my "slippers" came loose and it made a flopping sound with every step. As this embarassed me, I cut the sole off the shoes and walked around with my stocking feet hitting the ground (but no flopping noise).
When I was about 16, my Dad and I shared a pair of dress shoes. We both had the same size feet. My job was to keep the shoes shined and in return, Dad let me wear them on special occasions when he wasn't wearing them. That worked fine for me as I had no nice shoes otherwise.
Dad made the same deal with our family vehicle, a 1953 Chevy pickup. Every other Saturday night he and mom would use the truck to "honky tonk". On the alternate Saturday nights he would let me use it to go on a date. Of course the truck was also Dad's oil field work truck so in order to go on this date, I had to get about two inches of red sand from the floorboard and use kerosene soaked rags to get all the oil and grease off the seats. No big deal, it was a ride and I was mobile and free (with a strong kerosene smell as ambience.) The only thing to do on a "date" was go to the Turnertown drive-in. The Dairy Queen in Henderson had not been built and there isn't much you can do with $2 anyway. The drive-in was 50 cents each and gas was like 18 to 25 cents per gallon so I even had enough money for a couple of cokes at 15 cents each (but not much else).
When I started high school my english teacher, Ms. Spradley, noticed the ragged condition of my clothes. She had me come to her room alone one day and showed me a sack of nice used clothes she had obtained from a relative and ordered me to try them on and keep whatever fit. She said that this would be our secret forever as no one had to know she was helping me with clothes. That dear lady smuggled used clothes to me for all of high school and to this day no one that I went to school with ever found out.
OK, kids, I blogged this stuff so maybe you won't have to hear it again (Naw, I enjoy telling it too much)
I kinda knew we were short on cash as a kid, but everyone else in our world was pretty much in the same boat so it was never that big a deal.
As far as clothes were concerned, we got new school clothes and one pair of shoes once per year when school started. For many years Mom made my sisters' dresses (always just alike so they tried to coordinate so that they didn't wear the same dress on the same day) and she made my shirts and underwear. One day when I was older I was looking at the tail of a store bought shirt and realized something was missing. The I realized it was the first time I owned a shirt that didn't have the writing concerning the chicken feed in indelible ink printed on the shirt tail. (My shirts matched the girls dresses as chicken feed sacks only came in so many patterns)
When those clothes got holes in them, the holes got patched. No new clothes until the next school year started. Some times the patches got patches, but we kept wearing them.
Being a typical boy, my one pair of shoes per year got pretty ragged before the end of their life. One time when I was about 13 the sole of my "slippers" came loose and it made a flopping sound with every step. As this embarassed me, I cut the sole off the shoes and walked around with my stocking feet hitting the ground (but no flopping noise).
When I was about 16, my Dad and I shared a pair of dress shoes. We both had the same size feet. My job was to keep the shoes shined and in return, Dad let me wear them on special occasions when he wasn't wearing them. That worked fine for me as I had no nice shoes otherwise.
Dad made the same deal with our family vehicle, a 1953 Chevy pickup. Every other Saturday night he and mom would use the truck to "honky tonk". On the alternate Saturday nights he would let me use it to go on a date. Of course the truck was also Dad's oil field work truck so in order to go on this date, I had to get about two inches of red sand from the floorboard and use kerosene soaked rags to get all the oil and grease off the seats. No big deal, it was a ride and I was mobile and free (with a strong kerosene smell as ambience.) The only thing to do on a "date" was go to the Turnertown drive-in. The Dairy Queen in Henderson had not been built and there isn't much you can do with $2 anyway. The drive-in was 50 cents each and gas was like 18 to 25 cents per gallon so I even had enough money for a couple of cokes at 15 cents each (but not much else).
When I started high school my english teacher, Ms. Spradley, noticed the ragged condition of my clothes. She had me come to her room alone one day and showed me a sack of nice used clothes she had obtained from a relative and ordered me to try them on and keep whatever fit. She said that this would be our secret forever as no one had to know she was helping me with clothes. That dear lady smuggled used clothes to me for all of high school and to this day no one that I went to school with ever found out.
OK, kids, I blogged this stuff so maybe you won't have to hear it again (Naw, I enjoy telling it too much)
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