For me the holiday season was always the most rewarding time of the year as a child interested in hunting. I had every issue of deer and deer hunting magazine to fill in during the non-holiday months. But hearing and seeing hunting as a kid can never be replaced..those memories will stick with you the rest of your years. During Christmas and Thanksgiving, we started a tradition. My Grandfather, God rest his soul, used to sit down after the meal and tell us of all the deer hunting stories he remembered growing up. For me their was no better story teller that lived. He seemed to bring back his memories in full color HD detail in my mind. A lot of those stories are fleeting at best, I am sure he added in his own little exaggerated touches but back then it didn't matter. That is what Deer Camp stories did for me in D&DH magazine in the off season too. My Dad used to call my grandfather a bullshitter and never fully understood that till after growing up and experiencing life for myself. I think this life needs bullshitters to carry on that tradition of deer hunting we have all come to love.

Not only were the fads up in the air in the seventies, so were the headline news. In 1971, the 26th Amendment was passed allowing a U.S. citizen to be able to vote at age 18. In 1974, President Nixon resigned from office as the Watergate scandal unfolds. In 1975, President Ford announces war in Vietnam was finished as far as the U.S. was concerned. And Space became the "New Frontier". In 1972, Pioneer 10 lifted off to journey past Jupiter. In 1973, Skylab was launched by NASA. And in 1976, the Viking I landed on Mars. Boy, times were changing fast, just as Bob Dylan had predicted. read review This didn't happen over night. My wife and I separated seven months before she filed for divorce. We stayed together though. We still had a sex life, we still did things with each other and we still took care of one another. Just like we did when we lived together. We both liked the option of having our own space though. Sure, we missed each other but it was nice for both of us to have the option of saying to the other, "I just want to chill at home alone tonight" and send the other home. The dark figure standing, staring by the street, is noticed by the two men in the front seat of the truck, they stare but keep going, --trees blowing to his right and left, the waves of the Great Lake of Superior, makes a humming sound, and everything else, as if you were in the middle of a hurricane, the stranger stands erect yet, never moving. He sees the eyes of the passenger in the Ford-truck, a small figure, a man of about forty, the driver calls him Skip, and he hears that. The taller man at the wheel, his arms are solid, and frozen to the wheel, is called Amery, for some reason you know he knows that. There were three major car manufacturers. Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. Each manufacture had a following. Arguments could erupt over which car was the best. A man's Dodge pickup was a source of pride. Sunday morning the family would dress in their best clothes and get into a Buick for the trip to church. The Cadillac represented power and money while the Ford and Chevrolet represented the working people. People that lived in the country had a buy truck wheels. It was a working truck and on Saturday's the kids jumped in the back for a trip to town. Well, since that was the only plan the three of us were able to come up with that whole evening, I figured it was destiny. There really wasn't anything else going on in my life so as dawn arrived we headed for the Army recruiting office. There were, of course, some tests for me to take. Outdoor Bob, needed a truck to go to work. Linda went with Bob to the local Ford dealer and bought a new Ford pickup. Linda had the credit so the loan was in her name. About six months later, Bob started to stop off on Friday at the local saloon to cash his paycheck. Sure enough, there was a dart board there and a few of the guys started tossing darts for beers. Bob was pretty good and they invited him to be on the local dart team. Teddie grew up, started his own family and moved away. The man died of some terrible disease, but Charlie lived on. Twenty years and several more trims later, he was still going strong. She sometimes sent Teddie photos of the plant, if only to remind him of that time in their lives. She always hoped he'd see in those pictures what she was really trying to say. She'd have to remember to mention it someday.