| Daddy Was a Hunter | |
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The boy's daddy was a hunter.
One thing the boy knew, even when he was a rebellious and irreverent teen, was that he wanted to be like his daddy. His daddy was well-liked, well-respected, didn't take any guff from anyone, and liked to laugh and make other people laugh. His mama, too, was pretty, bright, and cheerful, and she was sweet and kind as well. But what became one of his strongest family ties and life-directing forces was that his daddy was a hunter.
Fewer things are more powerful when it comes to shaping a life than good examples set by other folks. His mama and daddy set the best examples they could -- powerful and healthy ones at that. So the boy had something good to work with. And he wanted to be a hunter.
It seemed at times that this desire was one of the biggest motivators in his life. When his grades in school started falling off and he started acting up, he was faced with choosing between his poor behavior and going to the woods with his daddy. The boy chose the woods. What else could he do? To be left at home while his daddy went hunting was simply unacceptable.
In time, years later, he would look back at his early years and think how wrong it all could have gone for him, if he hadn't been raised by two intelligent, loving parents... if they had lived in the city instead of the country... if his daddy hadn't been a hunter.
Hunting kept him, as his father might say, "off the streets and out of trouble." And though his daddy always said it with tongue in cheek, in this case it proved to be very true.
Once, one of his high school teachers asked him (in front of the class) if he'd ever gotten a deer. Well, he hadn't gotten one yet -- deer hunting was tough where he hunted, and more often than not there were no deer brought home from a weekend's hunting, though success at hunting is not always measured in pounds of venison. Then his teacher -- poor ignorant thing -- suggested that maybe he wasn't cut out to be a hunter after all! Sin of sins -- to purposely and publicly step on a young man's love and dreams and aspirations! It hurt him, but he knew better than to be discouraged, because his mama and daddy had taught him how to think for himself. He simply lowered his estimation of that teacher as a person, and kept on hunting.
When he got his first deer a year or so later, there was simply no way to describe his joy. All at the same time, he was in love with a sweet and beautiful girl, he had a wonderful family, he was accepted and liked by the menfolk in the camp, and by golly, he had gotten a deer! Could life ever taste sweeter? He didn't think so. He still doesn't.
As time went on, the boy got more deer. He married that beautiful girl (gaining some more great kin), met and parted ways with some hunting buddies. He lost some beloved family members, worked his way up in his chosen profession until he was at last licensed in his home state (passed the three-day exam the first time, he'd proudly tell you if you asked), and took on other activities as well.
The boy made some good friends and he moved to the woods when his home town got too crowded for him. He enjoyed living a quiet life, away from the rat race that he had lived long enough to get very tired of. He was never jailed or arrested and he never shot anyone, although he spent a large part of his life handling and shooting guns.
The boy enjoyed some success at everything he tried, and in the back of his mind he gave at least part of the credit for that to his love of hunting. And he always enjoyed some things more than others. More than once his beautiful wife would look at him and sigh and ask, "It's always about hunting, isn't it?" The boy would always smile and nod.
His daddy was a hunter.
Russ
Chastain
