What’s It All About, Really?


Ten years ago, my husband Don finally decided to take up a hobby that was just for him. My dad gave him a Mississippi hunting license for Christmas, loaned him a gun, and off he went. For a few years he went in December and soon the trip became a biannual event. He and a buddy began to plan more and more elaborate trips, building a cabin out of a cow shed in the pasture my family owns in Newton, MS. We gradually accumulated enough hunting gear to warrant the purchase of a trailer for him to use for storage and transport.

These trips have become the highpoint in the year for Don. He plans them out, preparing for them months in advance, meticulously packs and repacks the trailer, and then sets out on his grand adventure. His entourage now consists of his buddy Matt, and cousin Mickey. It’s great to see him enjoy their company and the time away.

I often wonder what his trips are really like. I mean, what do guys do when they’re all alone in the woods? Do they read? Reflect on nature? Think about their loved ones? I know that if I were to get some time alone, that’s what I’d do. I’ve often peppered Don with questions about the trips, and have gotten some very interesting answers….

“We put up a fake deer out in the woods and Matt shot at it.”

Oh.

“We went to the fish camp and Matt ate a quart of cole slaw.”

Uh-huh.

“We went to Wal Mart and the Waffle House.”

Ah… “Did you get a deer?”

Some trips the answer is yes, and some no.

“So, what else did you do?”

“Sat in the deer stand.”

When I saw the pictures he’s taken from the various trips I truly understood. They simply play. Good old guy kinda fun-- probably the kind that involves laughter, cigars, camo, and outdoor toilets. (Maybe we should add beef jerky to that list…)

Last Fall he and Matt went duck hunting near Mosquito Lagoon on the East Coast of Florida. Rising in the pre-dawn hours they set out and spent the morning hiding in the reeds and sawgrass. I asked him if he got anything when he came home that afternoon.

“No… it was really quiet out there—we didn’t get anything,” he explained. “But we still had a good time.”

I understood just how great it was when he showed me this picture.