One of These Days...

One of these days...

That phrase rings in my head. It's a familiar one to most of us, I wager. We intend to do something, or we would like to do something, or see something that appeals to us - no matter how vaguely - and say (or think) something like, "One of these days, I'll get me one of those." Sometimes we do, and sometimes we don't.

When I first started hunting, it was all about bagging a deer. One of these days I was gonna get me a buck! And here in Florida, that is usually much easier said than done. We have a good population of whitetails, but they are hard to find in the usually-thick scrub where they live. But, one of those days, after about five years of hunting, I did get my buck. It was a good day.

After that, it was about a bigger buck - a wall-hanger, maybe. Then two years after I'd gotten my first buck, I shot a nice big, blonky buck. Some readers might not think it was much of a buck - 150 lbs, medium-heavy beams, 11.5" inside spread - but it was (and is) a great buck to me. But take it to a taxidermist? "Nah... one of these days I'll shoot one even bigger." And one of these days, I might - but it hasn't happened in the fourteen years that have passed between then and now.

Somewhere along the line, it was about hunting out west. "One of these days I'll go out west and hunt pronghorn antelope, elk, and blacktail deer." That hasn't even come close to happening! And I don't have the burning desire that some folks have for the same dream. But one of these days, it just might come to pass.

After reading some of Robert Ruark's books - especially "Horn of the Hunter" - I started to develop a longing to hunt the Dark Continent. That longing hasn't left me yet - and one of these days I would still like to hunt Africa, even though I can never hunt the same Ruark's Africa of half a century ago.

Sometimes these things sneak up on us... less than a year ago, I was invited on a hog hunt. I was given the opportunity to hunt hog with dogs, and kill one with a knife. Now I will admit that I had my doubts about that scenario - and never, not once in my life, had I said, "One of these days I will stab me a hog." But I did stab me a hog, and it was really rather enjoyable! In fact, I would have to call it one of my all-time most intense and enjoyable hunting moments. Just thinking about it brings a smile to my face and gets my heart a-thumpin' a little bit harder.

One of these days, I may have accomplished everything that I would like to do "one of these days." In one way, I hope that I do - I hope I can get it all done, leaving no dream unfulfilled. But in another way, I hope I always have a "One of these days..." dream lurking somewhere in my mind. It gives a fellow something to look forward to.