Halloween 2009

Yes, I'm posting something on the day it actually happened, within hours. Tonight is Halloween and Abbey dressed up as Wonder Woman and Mae as Cat Woman. Yes, a couple of women. Michael did not dress up because he was supposed to be on the youth deer hunt today (cancelled for Michael's failure to keep his end of the bargain) and also because he's 13 - a little too old in my mind to go door-to-door asking for candy. It was beautiful weather here and the kids had a good time.



Here are the kids as we were on our way out....

And here with their loot........

Certified Hunters!

Back around 1988 the Missouri Department of Conservation decided it would be a good idea to institute Hunter Education for everyone born after January 1, 1967. Even though I had already hunted three deer seasons, I suddenly found myself faced with taking a Hunter Education class or else giving up my hunting. I took the class at age 16 along with my cousin Bud - that was back in April 1988. I passed the class, received a temporary certificate so I could purchase tags, and I received a Hunter Education patch that I still wear on my orange hunting vest to this day.

Since Michael got his first deer last year and is now 13 I decided he was ready to take the class and get certified. (Without certification you can only hunt on a youth tag in the immediate presence of an adult - with certification you can hunt in your own deer stand). I also twisted Abbey's arm and convinced her this would be a good thing to do also, even though she is not currently interested in hunting.

The class is twelve hours long so this past Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings we attended the training from 6-10 p.m. each day. It is taught by a Conservation Agent along with several guest speakers. They cover a variety of topics, including primitive weapons, survival skills, tree stand safety, and proper handling of a firearm. It is excellent training for everyone, whether a hunter or not. An 80% or better is required on the exam and Michael and Abbey both scored in the mid 90s. In the photo they stand with their patches and certificates around 10:30 p.m. on Thursday night. I am so proud of them and looking forward to opening day of firearms deer season (not the youth hunt, but regular firearms deer season) with Michael. Maybe if we're lucky we'll both bag a deer on the same day!

October - My Favorite Month

October is my favorite month for a lot of reasons. The weather cools, the grass stops growing. Bow season is in full swing. The first hard frost comes. The leaves change colors. Anticipation of deer season grows more each day. October memories are also something special for me. High school football games, Homecoming, all the magical Cardinal moments of the 1980s, time spent afield with Randy, Larry, Papa, and Willie, my trip out west with Annette back in 1993, on and on I could go.

This afternoon our family did something special. Each fall I need to go to a rifle range and prepare my rifle for deer season. You know, shoot it, check it out, make sure everything still functions correctly and it's still sighted in properly. This year I bought a new scope and we adjusted Michael's scope so both rifles had to be sighted in again. Instead of just the two of us going to the gun club to shoot, the whole family went, and each person shot. Michael shot his single shot .243, I shot my Winchester 30-06, all the kids shot a .22 Marlin, and Annette, Michael, and I all shot my 9mm Ruger. We've never before had a day where we all shot together.

We drove to Owensville Gun Club to shoot because I am a member there and they have a 500 yard rifle range. We left there at the end of the day and on the drive home the setting sun behind us cast an orange glow onto the treetops in front of us, onto trees whose leaves were already beginning to fade from green into yellows and oranges. It was a beautiful moment on a quintessential October day. It reminds me yet again about the importance of families finding time to do things together.

Now, Michael's rifle and my rifle are both hitting bullseyes at distant targets so the burden is now on us to deliver deer to our freezer this year. If we don't, we won't be able to say, "stupid gun." Also, tomorrow night begins hunter education which I will be taking with Michael and Abbey. Passage allows them to buy deer tags and hunt in their own deer stand. Abbey isn't ready to hunt but Michael is. So tomorrow the class begins. I was hunter education certified in 1988. I suspect a lot has changed in the class in the last 21 years!

1977 Camper

Since I took up hunting in 1985 I have camped in various places over the years. In Papa's popup camper, in a motor home, large upright campers, motels, tents (brrrrrr!), and even a homemade shelter made of flat panels of plywood bolted together to form a very roomy camp. Around 2002 I finally decided it was time for me to get a camper of my own. What I came up with was a 1977 upright camper, approximately 17 feet long. It was nothing to get excited about then or now, but it provided beds, a sink, a toilet, cabinet space, closet space, and mostly just a warm place to spend the night that I could move from place to place. Since our initial investment in it I've basically just used it without much improvement until now when I've finally undertaken some long overdue projects, such as getting new tires, fixing a soft spot in the floor (right by the door), painting the bumper, and so forth. I had been piddling with it for months until a few weeks ago when I realized just how close I am to hunting season, then I put it in high gear. I've been working on it every spare minute I have. Here are a couple photos.

This is me installing one of the two new tires. There is more rubber on these tires than on any of my vehicles tires!

This is the floor where I've been working on it. Looks messy but it's actually almost done.

Also, unrelated to anything I just wrote, here is a picture of Michael playing catch with his third or fourth cousin from Arkansas over this past weekend, Skip. He is the son of my cousin Margaret (second or third, whatever). She lives in Russellville, Arkansas.

Men at Work

The first job that ever required me to wear a tie came at age 17. I worked at Anchor Floor, a primarily industrial flooring company. I did general office work as part of a cooperative program through my high school. Those days of wearing a shirt and tie continued on through my years at Hermann Marketing and later Maritz. But a few years ago Maritz decided to go business casual, so we tossed our ties aside and went with polos and tie-less shirts for the most part.

Looking for something to spice up work last week, some of us who are a little older than the youngest generation of twenty-something young men in our department (who have barely ever had to wear a tie) decided to have a "throwback day." Yes, that meant ties and for some, even suits. This may all sound very boring to you right about now, but think about how Dilbert cartoons can make people smile in the office, then consider the reaction we got when seven of us actually put ties on, including some of the young whipper-snappers. The Division V.P. of the entire department who is wholly in favor of ties thought the idea was great, but then forgot it was tie day and wore a polo. As the men began to gather the ladies gawked, and a digital camera was found. We posed in our Sunday best (well, maybe not our very best, but close), and our V.P. tossed on a hoodie and jumped in the photo just for fun. And no, not every man wore a tie. We had a few others not pictured who just opted for normal "business casual" attire.

Yes, this is me at work, busy with very important business. Posing for photos.

Abbey is Twelve!

It hardly seems like twelve years ago that Annette and I watched Abbey come into the world. Annette had a scheduled C-section to deliver Abbey so on the scheduled morning we drove Michael (who at the time was not even one and a half) over to Papa's house and left him there, then we headed to Christian Northwest hospital in St. Louis County. We were in the operating/delivery rom and I was sitting there beside Annette as the doctors tugged on her, getting ready for the birth. Just like with Michael, someone finally said, "stand up dad," so I abruptly stood up, looking over the curtain that prevented Annette from seeing what they were doing to her mid-section. Among all the unpleasantness of surgery was my little Abbey's head in the hands of a doctor. When I stood up, they pulled her out and she was born.

It only took a few seconds for me to sense something was wrong. They cleaned her up but I noticed the look in one of the nurse's eyes. She nervously looked back to one of the doctors and they quickly whisked Abbey away to another area. Annette knew nothing of all this so I departed from her side to follow Abbey. They laid her down on a table and placed an oxygen mask on her face and said things like, "come on, come on" while they whacked her little rear end. She was turning blue. I was anxiously watching this unfold hoping that any second things would turn better. I asked, "What's wrong?" The doctor did what so many do, that is, they try not to alarm the family even though they might be concerned. The answer I got back was, "She's just having a little trouble breathing." Her blue face and body began to show it. The words of the medical staff were calming but their actions weren't.

Then, about as quickly as the situation developed, the blueness dissipated and a pink color took over very quickly. "There we go" the docs said, much to my relief. After confirming that all was now fine, I returned to Annette's side as they put her back together. She knew nothing of it and I didn't tell her for some time.

The whole thing went down in just a couple minutes but it made me as nervous as I have ever been as a parent. And now she is 12. We sure love our Abbey Hope.

A Finger in the Eye

Since Michael was only a few years old he has been wearing glasses. His early glasses were a bit oversized so his eyes looked small behind those big frames. I had forgotten about that until I looked at some pictures lately and then realized it. You never see it at the time, only in retrospect. Over the last few months he was making an argument for contacts and we finally bit the bullet and got them for him, an office visit and a year's supply for about $400. Fortunately in today's mail we got a rebate offer to take about $30 off that price so WOO-HOO!

What else is going on - oh! Last Saturday I bought a brand new 3x9x40 Leupold Rifleman scope for my .30-06 and replaced my old Bushnell that Annette bought for me over ten years ago. I got quite the deal at Cabela's during a four hour sale.

Today I helped my sister Michelle move and as I type this Annette is at the hospital with Willie and Lisa (her siblings) since her dad was hospitalized today. His blood sugar went too low so they are stablilizing and testing him right now.