Autumn Memories

Autumn Memories

The best part of deer hunting was of course the long night of drinking that always followed.

Out in a cold november night, drinking wild turkey under the stars, chasing the turkey with ice cold beer, lying about who we were when we were kids.  I always liked that part of hunting deer.

The part that I didn't like was hauling the deer back from where we killed it.

Sometimes even for a medium size buck, it would take four of us to drag it through the woods and the mud.  And then the cleaning.  Flushing out the deer's insides with a hose.  Too much dirt work.

But some people liked it.  One of my friends always got philosophical as he washed the deer out.  He'd start talking about his dad and his grandfather, and what they said to him about life before they died.

I guess that was a part of deer hunting I liked too.  I liked listening to my friends soften up, become the kids they were a long long time ago.