Tag: hunting

Are there any activities or hobbies you’ve outgrown or lost interest in over time?

Are there any activities or hobbies you’ve outgrown or lost interest in over time?

Just about every damn one of them. Girlfriends too.

I was infatuated with boats as a kid. I wound up owning two and was glad to unload both of them.

I played Tennis in college, playing and practicing every day for years, and don’t even bother turning on Wimbledon anymore.

I fished (see the boats) for decades every week and haven’t wet a line in years. I caught thousands of fish

I did martial arts for decades, but that fell by the wayside also.

I hunted for years until I decided not to kill anymore unless it was life or death. My house has trophies on the wall from many hunts, but there won’t be anymore.

I biked in group rides competitively multiple times a week for years and even though I ride for exercise, I do it alone now about once a week, just to stay healthy and to get away.

It was the same with all the girlfriends I had before being married. They lasted until I realized who they presented themselves to be to win me over wasn’t who they were, and it was over.

Hell, I don’t even want to see my extended family unless I have to. I keep them at arm’s length as much as I can to not have the stories of my childhood replayed for the 1000th time.

What all of these had in common was that I conquered them. The thrill of victory was over and there were no more dragons to slay. When the passion was gone, so was I.

Now, I try not to get small-talked to death and most of the stuff I do are solo sports.

About the only things that remained in my life were golf, auto racing, reading, and bible study. The rest faded away due to a lack of passion.

Such is life. I try to stay to myself. I compartmentalized the things in the past and write about them occasionally, mostly to myself.

I’ve become more introverted in life and my enjoyment comes from within and time alone rather than in groups. Hell, I have to face people from my past this week and I can’t say I’m excited about that either.

What’s The Most Money You’ve Ever Spent On A Meal – And Was It Worth It ?

What’s the most money you’ve ever spent on a meal? Was it worth it?

When I started hunting, I had to buy a tree stand, camo clothes, a gun, and corn to grow to in a field to attract them. I then had to get the tools to process the deer after harvesting it and the same for my son.

I could have bought a venison dinner for under $50 bucks, but probably spent thousands on that first meal.

Absolutely worth it and every deer after that. I guess the cost of the above listed amortized over all the deer, but that first one cost a lot.

What Activities Do You Lose Yourself In?

What activities do you lose yourself in?

Let’s see, over the years it’s been fishing, hunting, karate, racing, tennis, Biking, and then there was kids and Life, and other stuff, and the next thing I knew I’ve lived in seven decades. I mostly do introvert stuff now so I get lost in my mind a lot.

When You See a Deer You See Bambi, And I see Antlers Up On the Wall

This originally appeared 12/3/2007, but was lost during a transition to WordPress (fail there).  I’m re-posting it as it was my son’s first deer.  Since then he has harvested more food for us, and hat racks for the wall.

Here is the Post:

With all kudos to Brad Paisley, I took my son hunting… and here is his first deer, a nice 8 pointer.   To you vegetarians, sorry, but I’m an outdoorsman and I believe in being able to take care of yourself which is growing and harvesting your food…..both meat and vegetables.  After all, I love vegetarians….most of what I eat are vegetarians anyway.

It’s also because of hunting and fishing that I get to connect with my offspring.  I see many parents fighting with their kids, but we’re getting to spend hours together away from the computer, video games and other distractions that are potentially harmful to teenagers. We put the deer stand together, painted it camo, grew the food plots and reaped the rewards.

We also fed a herd of 50+ animals and worked the land from scrub to ecologically very fruitful and crop producing.

As Brad says, “but what can I say at the end of the day, honey I’m still a guy” .

Here is the song on YouTube: