Yesterday's blog included 125 and 126. So sorry if there's any confusion about the date.
Today's blog is about Friday, November 19, 2010. This is the Friday before hunting season so there are some things going on that only happen once a year.
Men's wardrobes change to blaze orange. Men can be seen carrying around large bags of apples and corn, and their trucks have gun racks that are packing. The town fills up with anxious and excited guys hoping to bag their big buck of their dreams. Tonight the bars will fill up as they all hang out in gangs to talk about previous year's hunting stories.
Their hunting clothes hang up outside on screen porches or on frozen clothes lines. They don't want them to smell like the inside of a cabin. They don't want any deer to be able to smell them when they are sitting in their deer stand tomorrow.
Even though some of the hunters are so full of alcohol that it will evaporate from their skin for over 24 hours after their night of drinking, at least their blaze orange outfits are hanging up outside. Then they have a chance.
Some of the hunters sit in their cabins playing cards and smoking cigars. The smell of the cigars will infiltrate their pants, underwear, hair, socks and boots. But at least their blaze orange outfits are hanging up outside.
After the first day when they come back with nothing, and they wonder why, they are too tired to stay up to play cards or go out drinking. They take a shower, which they probably neglected at 4 am, and land in their beds early. When they wake up to the 2nd day of hunting, they are up early, refreshed, take a shower before they head out and put on clean clothes that were in their suitcases.
They see deer and most will get their first shot at a deer this season on the second day. Some will let the does go by in hopes of seeing a buck instead. As the day wanes, they will finally see a deer again around evening and will probably get a good shot at one if not more.
If they don't get their deer on the second day, from missing their shot or not getting a good enough shot, there's still a good story there to tell. So they either play cards and smoke a cigar or go into town to the bar to talk about what they saw. Then the next day they don't see anything and wonder why. And the cycle starts over.
Now you might say that I am negative towards deer hunters. But I grew up in this area. Hunting is as much a part of my life as pine trees. I have always been an observer of other people. There will always be exceptions to my opinions, of course, but the majority fall into this idea of what I think is the cause/effect of most hunters. I think it very humorous how the generations go on and on and it is still a lot of the same. Perhaps the thrill of getting away from the women in their lives is what really makes them act the way they do. I know women really cut loose when they're away from their men. So why wouldn't the men?
Sure there are hunters out there who don't smoke or drink before hunting. I would bet money on the fact that those are usually the ones who get the big bucks. Ask around for yourself. See if I'm right.
For my entire life I was around men who would let their beards grow in anticipation of sitting in their tree stand in the cold. I was around men who would clean their guns and check their supplies in anticipation of the hunt. I listened to them get animated about getting together with the guys again. I would see those men in my life go out in their trucks, to their stands the days before hunting season to bait their piles, put up their stands in the best places and see them come back all excited. I saw them get back the next evenings with their big bucks and a grin on their faces a mile wide.
There is something elemental about a man killing an animal for food on the table. Some men need to feel that in their bones. Perhaps they are closer to the hunter of generations past than others. Who knows. But I do believe that they need to feel appreciated when they bring home the venison.
I can say for sure how I felt inside. I thought it a waste of money. I once added up all that was spent in one year in anticipation of a deer hunt and the resulting processing, etc. of the meat. The venison added up to $14 a pound. To me that wasn't worth it. But don't ask a hunter to understand this. They feel the need to kill to put meat on the table. They feel superior when they shoot an animal and I believe some even need this.
So we continue to have deer hunting season. It brings the hunters, renters, bar drinkers, gas buyers, restaurant eaters, bait buyers and happy men. Our town benefits as well as our resort by all the customers. We do not have any complaints. Certainly I do not either.
This was merely an observation of a lifetime of being around hunters. Most people have not been raised like I have and they do not know the above like I do. So I thought I would do my best to put my thoughts on cyber space. Please feel free to add yours to the comments either on Facebook or here. I would love to hear them.
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