Grugger’s Way

My First Time to Fire a Rifle I killed a deer.  I was only 12, and was just riding along with my Father during a hunt for the first time.  I didn’t have a rifle of my own; my Dad had a 30-06.

The year was 1959.  We were alone on a country road when my Dad spotted a Mule Deer doe and pulled off into the pasture.  The doe took off running directly away from us.  Dad fired.  The doe turned and ran across our field of view. He fired again and she went down.  I yelled, “You got him!”  I think Dad was more surprised than I was.

We ran to the downed deer and Dad saw that she was “gut-shot.” He said, “We need to finish her off. Here, son, you do it.”

I didn’t know what to do.  He said to aim between her eyes from a couple feet away and pull the trigger.  I was scared and shaky.  Her eyes were light brown and she was looking at me.  Her eyes reminded me of a woman, a nun, that I knew at school:  Sister Mary Jeanne.  I pulled the trigger.  That was my last hunt.

I have nothing against hunting or hunters. Harvesting wild game animals is a large part of the western heritage where our family has always lived.  I just never anticipated the total revulsion I would experience at the kill, and later…when Dad had the deer hanging from her hind legs in the garage…when he sliced off a small piece of flesh from her thigh, bloody, raw, and told me to eat it.  And he ate a piece. “This is like the Indians used to do,” he said. “Be a man!”  I ate it.

Not something I would ever want to push upon any one of my three sons–none of whom turned out to be hunters.

A few years later, Dad had to sell that 30-06 to the local Coast-to-Coast hardware store for $75 so we could buy groceries.  Times were tough, but I was glad to see the rifle out of the house.  I never trusted my Father around guns–but that is another story completely–and one that will never be told on these pages.

Emergency Stuff to Keep in the Car

To assemble this list I examined what I like to carry along for emergencies.  Obviously, you will want to adjust what you include based on the season of the year, where you live, and what one might want to have on hand for weekend trips (or longer).  The extremes of summer in the desert and winter in the mountains will require extra attention be paid to this list, as it is by no means all-inclusive:

First Aid Kit with extra elastic wraps and large gauze pads. Add snake bite kit in summer and, in winter, have some of those little heating bags you crush for wearing in your ski boots and gloves.

Axe, bucket and shovel. Required for travel in any mountain state. A good idea anywhere.

Hammer (I keep a 20-ounce with straight claw)

Leatherman tool, plus an assortment of other screwdrivers, blades and wrenches (whatever you have room for in a $20 tool bag).

Flashlight (Big enough that you need at least two D batteries)

Flares, road type.

Tow line made of nylon, usually. These come with big hooks at each end.

Jack and lug wrench for changing tires. (Better check just to make sure the lug wrench FITS and that you know how to operate the jack, especially in the dark.)

Tarp (I recommend 6’x10’)

Gloves, Leather

Gloves, Rubberized (these are waterproof for working outside in winter snow, etc.)

Rope nylon.  Fifty feet of it.  You just never know.

Twine.  A standard ball of it, because it can be used in first aid, and is a way to start a fire too)

Bungee cords. I like the nylon type that are flat and have plastic hooks. Also good for first aid as in securing a splint to arm or leg.

Butane lighters or torches. Waterproof matches are ok too. 

Red flag, plastic, like you hang at the end of an oversized load. Good for signaling that you need help, and you can secure it from the driver side window to alert other drivers.

Tire Chains for winter traction. (Practice putting them on in the dark.) Don’t you dare believe that four-wheel drive is all you will ever need in the mountains.

Sleeping bag (I think I prefer this over the little shiny and thin ”space blankets”)

Energy Bars (There are other high-energy foods, like granola and carrots, if you don’t like energy bars)

Drinking water (bring a gallon per person)

And, remember the cell phone with a charger that works in the car.

If you have additional suggestions, please Comment.

RETIRED AND RESTLESS isn’t just a slogan or tag line for my blog; it’s my life now.  And frankly, the “Restless” part is becoming more prominent as summer is quickly passing.

And it’s not just this summer; it’s ANOTHER summer!  Yes, another year gone by.  For some reason, and maybe this is a holdover from childhood, my “years” seems to end when the new school year begins. 

THE ENDLESS URGE TO “GET AWAY” FROM IT ALL

Anyway, summer is nearly over and about the only good thing I can say about that is the tourist traffic will soon be off the roads and out of the campgrounds.

I made so many plans for summer and accomplished so little.  Maybe because it takes me so much longer to accomplish anything these days.  I always feel like I could, or should, be doing more.  Yet, whenever I really get enthused and get after a project I seem to overdue it, overexert myself, and end up injured in some manner that I am slowed down for a week or two.

I really wanted to get in some serious flyfishing this summer, but I haven’t been able to get away and hit my favorite spots.  I really get mixed feelings about the “desire” to get away and the “need” to get away.  There is some guilt here because my spouse is working a full-time job and I am retired.  I could go without her, but how to justify that…. Besides, I enjoy her company and would really prefer to be fishing and camping with her…not anyone else…and not alone.   Getting away when I already live in the mountains, is kind of a relative term…just cabin fever I think…just the feeling that life is passing me by while I sit here at the computer.

And there is the truth of it.  I am still sitting here at the computer.

Boomer Toys we must have to Compete

To be “competitive” with our Boomer Generation cohorts, we must always keep in mind the importance of new technology, and “Power” equipment, along with Prices and “Prestige Value.” Here are some essential possessions to consider (all are essential):

An All-Terrain Vehicle 4×4 for just wheeling around in the forest and making new roads.
A snowmobile for doing the same thing in the winter.
A Waverunner for doing (sort of) the same thing on the water.
Perhaps a Motorcycle, but not just any bike.  A BIG one. (My own Father called them murdercycles, so I’ve never had one).

Techie Gadgets:

Newest high-end laptop computer
Newest digital camera and video camera equipment with highest resolution.
GPS device (If you don’t know what it is, this may be the exception to “essential”)
Smart phone. (ditto above)
Satellite Phone
Satellite Radio
Satellite Dish for the motor home
In-vehicle Navigation System (Make certain that it actually “talks” to you too.)
Amazon’s Kindle, the digital book reader

Other “Stuff”

Newest model ski, snowboard, and snowshoe equipment
Bullets that can pierce ANYTHING
Fly rod that threads itself, ties its own flies, and throws the line thirty feet with no assistance. Golf clubs that do all the stuff fly rods can do plus drive the ball 300 yards
Bicycles, two each, (one for the road and one for the mountain trails)
Latest smart fabric in outdoor wear
The coolest outdoor boot on the market
The most expensive running shoe. (It doesn’t matter whether you run in them or not; just wear them occasionally.)

Tools:

Pets:  A dog.  A “big dog,” because the size of a man’s pet reflects on his masculinity.  After all, he has to retain the “alpha” position in the household, and it is a negative reflection on a man’s virility if he can only “manage” a ten-inch pug or shih-tsu at the end of a leash.  (Have you ever witnessed a man taking a cat for a walk on a leash?)

Trophy Spouse:  Okay, a spouse is not supposed to be a “toy” but then neither is a pet.  And, the term “spouse” is used because this works both ways.  Ideally, the trophy spouse is at least ten years younger.  Fifteen years is better; and Twenty years younger “almost” says it ALL. (You have to also re-read “big dog” above)