Encouraging e-mail for a fellow hunter

Some of you may remember a recent story about an 11-year-old boy from Alabama who bagged a monster-size pig while hunting. If not, follow this link http://www.monsterpig.com/ to his website for all of the details. While there, please look at the comments posted about this feat, especially the negative ones; the venom they contain is astounding. Not that he particularly needs it, but I thought I'd add my two cents of support for the boy, so I sent him the following e-mail.

**********

Jamison,
Congratulations on your trophy! You've accomplished something that hunters many times your age will never have the opportunity to experience. Only in the many decades of hunting you have ahead of you, as you meet, befriend, and share hunting stories with other hunters, will you really begin to realize the enormity of your accomplishment.

I don't know if you've been allowed to read the negative comments posted to your site about your bagging a monster pig, but if so, you are getting a priceless education about people. Disagreement between peoples and groups is as natural as breathing. In fact, it is often essential for human progress. The manner, however, in which disagreement is expressed and pursued speaks volumes about not only those involved--their breeding, intelligence, and education--, but also about their ultimate aims and basic philosophy.

Civility during the discussion of disagreements helps to keep the points of contention in focus, and it will not allow ad hominem attacks to blur that focus. Those who engage in attacks on a person and not in a civil discussion of his ideas are not really interested in finding a solution, or at least an amenable compromise, to the disagreement. No, they are only interested in pushing their thoughts on others, and they demand that these be accepted without question. They usually use emotion in place of reason, a tactic, if they would stop and think about it, used by tyrants since the dawn of man. One has to wonder what their ultimate aim is: true liberty, with its strict adherence to the trader principle and individual freedom; or tyranny, based on a perverted view of man as a child who needs guidance from those who think they know better? Fidelity to civility when dealing with disagreements will, if applied consistently, quickly show who is interested in a reasoned solution and who is not. How? Because those with a paucity of reasoned arguments, ideas, and only the illusion of civility will soon show their hand and begin ad hominem attacks, which is the younger sibling of brute force.

To twist a phrase from Kipling, if you, Jamison, can keep your civility while all about you are losing theirs, you will be a man among men.

Take care, Jamison, you're on the right track.
Sincerely,
DAL

**********
Take care.
DAL357

This is newsworthy?

Hollywood star Newman to retire
One of Hollywood's best-known stars, veteran actor Paul Newman, says he has given up acting at the age of 82.


Newman, a nine-time Oscar nominee who has starred in more than 50 films, claimed he was no longer able to perform to the best of his ability.

"I'm not able to work anymore... at the level that I would want to," the actor said in an interview on US television.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6695939.stm
...

Of all the things I could say, the following suffices: So?

Take care,
DAL357

Internet observations

What I have learned from my 10+ years on the Internet (and from life in general):

--There are a lot of intelligent people out there

--There are a lot of ignorant, or just plain stupid, people out there

--You can find a kindred spirit for practically any interest/activity

--Too many people are so interested in having their say that they don’t really listen

--Engaging in polemics is an end unto itself for far too many folks, supposedly signifying their intelligence, but actually just revealing their lack of reason, poor breeding, and contentious nature

--Arguing your point is 99% of the time useless; state your case clearly the first time and then move on; life is too short to battle the polemicists

--Reason and logic are the rarest elements in the universe

--The latest news item needs at least 24 hours to mature before making comment

--Television and newspapers can’t hold a candle to the ‘net in terms of up-to-date information, education, or entertainment, however, the immediacy of the ‘net lends many stories/issues more importance than they are due

--Not everything needs/deserves comment

--Just as with any other form of human interaction, you must have a reason-based BS filter that’s permanently engaged, and a thick skin for the inevitable barbs

--Few people have any idea about the correct usage of the words “advice” or “advise,” not to mention “site,” “sight,” or “cite”

--Creative (to put it charitably) spelling abounds

--Only so many jokes exist in the world, and these are recycled endlessly, often to my e-mail address

--Anonymity emboldens

--Limiting ‘net time to no more than two hours per day means 22 hours will be wasted on family, friends, work, sleep, etc.

--Porn really can get boring

Take care.

DAL357

A minor milestone

Yesterday, 5-24-07, my son finished kindergarten, his first year of formal education. He goes to a charter school and, thus far, my wife and I are pleased with the results. Not only is my boy reading at a second-grade level, he is also writing in cursive, a skill, along with reading and math, stressed at his school. Speaking strictly from personal experience (but other adults I have talked to have had similar experiences), my own kindergarten education, some forty-odd years ago, seemed to stress playing.

Of course, my wife and I put a lot of time in with our son to make sure he does his reading, writing, and math homework assignments completely and accurately. We also read to the boy regularly, both in English and in Russian. Few children, my wife and I believe, especially in the early years, have the discipline and resolve to make the extra effort it takes to excel at schoolwork, and our son is no exception, hence our active participation in his education. It's not only our obligation as parents to do this, but also our sincere pleasure.

Take care.
DAL357

Notes from the hunting journal--1/20/2007

1-20-07: Went with John A. to a new area. The weather was cold and snowy (snow flurries, actually) and we saw no rabbits at all, although we did see some old sign of the critters. We called it a day after three hours.
Gun: Remington 870 12 ga.
Ammo: my reloads w/#6 shot
Total shots: 0
Rabbits: 0

Take care.
DAL357

Movie: 28 Weeks Later--YES!

Last Thursday, I reluctantly dragged my carcass to one of the local movie theaters to see 28 Weeks Later. I say reluctantly not as a knock on the movie, but it's just that as I age I find myself less and less enamored of the whole movie going experience. In fact, I get more satisfaction--WARNING: OLD FOGEY-MOMENT ALERT--nowadays from reading a good book. Regardless, as a fan of zombie movies since seeing the mother of all modern zombie movies, Night of the Living Dead, in the 1970s, I was compelled to see 28 Weeks Later, and I'm glad I did. The pacing of the movie was zippy enough to keep me interested, the plot was as plausible as could be for an implausible subject, the acting good to excellent, and the editing was superb (yeah, I look at that kind of thing, especially in an action-oriented movie--good editing can turbocharge an otherwise mundane flick...sometimes).

If you saw the first movie, 28 Days, and liked it, I'm willing to bet brain cells you'll enjoy the sequel.

By the way, from the way the sequel ended, it looks like there could well be a third movie in the future. I just hope that by the time it comes out I haven't completely given up on the cinema in favor of other diversions. If so, the loss would be Hollywood's, not mine.

Take care,
DAL357

Notes from the hunting journal--11/19/2006

11-19-06: Same area.

This was a productive trip, although not as productive as I would have liked. I followed the same route through the area as in the past, going up the initial hill and through the long tract of pinon trees, yet I saw nothing. When I neared the dirt road, I saw and heard a truck going past; those in the truck did not see me. I continued across the dirt road and straight ahead until, due to a canyon, I could go no farther in that direction. I turned to the right and continued hunting, along the edge of the canyon. As I had not yet seen any rabbits, and it was well past 9 a.m., I began to think that this trip was going to skunk me.

Later, I heard a shot ahead, and then, later still, the voices of other hunters, presumably the two people in the truck I had seen earlier. I continued to hunt, hearing the voices become clearer as I walked along. Then, finally, as I approached closer and closer to the voices, I saw a rabbit. Per usual, he was headed towards the edge of the plateau. Not taking a snap shot at him as soon as I saw him, I waited instead until he cleared a bush and he was angling away from the voices before I fired. His first mistake was in moving at all, for I probably wouldn't have seen him, and his last mistake was that he stopped for a last look.

As I gutted and skinned him, I heard the truck drive away, containing, no doubt, two very startled hunters who were not even aware I was near. I counted myself as lucky for having harvested one rabbit and left for home.
Gun: Remington 870 12 ga.
Ammo: Federal #6 shot
Total shots: 1
Rabbits: 1

Take care.
DAL357

Did you ever...

laugh yourself awake? This happened to me this morning, and all I can remember about the dream that caused it was it had something to do with a commercial about erectile dysfunction and a guy and girl anxious to check in to a motel. The rest of the dream, if there was any more, has left my memory. Needless to say, waking to a laughing loon was not my wife's idea of a perfect way to greet the morning.

Take care.
DAL357

Animals (sometimes) attack!

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep..." and, sometimes, extremely challenging. The vast majority of the time a venture into the wilderness is safe, save for those rare exceptions like the one recounted below. Thank goodness the boy's okay. I hope his family, and others who have read/will read this cautionary tale, learned something about preparing for wild-animal encounters, like carrying bear spray AND/or a firearm (notice the emphasis on and?).

Take care.
DAL357

http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=70286
BOULDER - The Feldmans never heard the mountain lion before she struck. A wildlife official estimated the 83-pound cat tracked them for 45 minutes as they hiked near Artist's Point on Flagstaff Mountain.

This is the story of how then 7-year-old Shir Feldman survived a mountain lion attack, how his family fought to save him, and how the ordeal changed them all.

While rare, studies show that mountain lion attacks have increased in recent decades, likely due to habitat reduction, increased human recreation and human encroachment.

According to a report by the Colorado Division of Wildlife, since 2003 there have been seven fatal and 38 non-fatal attacks of humans by mountain lions in the United States and Canada. Sightings and interactions with mountain lions have increased on the Front Range and a DOW pilot plan for a long-term study of cougars has been proposed and is now being considered by the City of Boulder.

For their part, the Feldmans say they hold no grudges against mountain lions in general. They say they now look at the attack on their child as a gift of a deeper appreciation for life and told their story to 9NEWS in hopes it would help educate, and possibly inspire, others.

"You can't really plan everything," said Anat Feldman, Shir's mother. "When things come and they're not always such good surprises, you should always focus on what good it can teach you or how you can grow from it, become stronger from it and affect other people from it."

In April 2006 the Feldmans were visiting Boulder and their 19-year-old son, Tal, a student at the University of Colorado.

They were enjoying a hike on a clear spring afternoon and at about 5:30 p.m., the family began heading back to their car. Anat walked about 40 yards ahead with Tal and one of the twins, 7-year-old Gaul. The other twin, Shir, ambled behind holding the hand of his dad, Zur, and pausing from time to time to collect pine cones.

Even as he felt his son's hand push away from his, Zur Feldman said he was not alarmed – he thought Shir had stopped to inspect another potential treasure.

Then he heard Shir scream and Zur whirled around.

"It took me probably a few seconds to understand what I'm seeing," he recalled. "I saw Shir's head in the mountain lion's jaws."

In an instant, carrying his 46-pound son by the head in her mouth, the mountain lion was gone, running down the mountain.

Following the sound of his son's screams, 47-year-old Zur sprinted after the mountain lion. Born in Israel, he had served three years in the Israeli defense force before moving to the U.S., and had kept in shape, running five miles several times a week.

However, this animal was fast. Scrambling down the side of the rocky and heavily treed mountain, also screaming and roaring as he ran, Zur tripped and fell, losing sight of the lion and snatching up rocks in his hands as he leapt back on his feet.

Glimpsing her again, he says he does not remember when he threw the rocks, but he knows they did not reach the animal. He tripped a second time, again losing sight of the lion, and this time picked up handfuls of sticks before frantically resuming his run.

He would later recall that his thoughts were racing at what felt like a thousand miles a second. Memories of Shir's life, from the time he was a baby, flashed through his mind.

"I didn't care what happened to me," Zur said. "I really wanted him to be in my hands again."

Suddenly, Zur came upon the lion, who stood 20 feet in front of him. She had stopped running and was still holding Shir in her mouth. She dropped the now motionless boy on the forest floor and turned to face Feldman, who threw his sticks at the lion as he ran toward her.

"I remember her eyes, and she's posing, and he's on the leaves,' he said. "I thought, 'She's going to jump and attack me,' and I was ready to engage."

At that moment, Tal arrived. Crashing through the woods, waving his arms and screaming, the 19-year-old ran toward his father, brother and the lion.

The lion hesitated, Zur said, still looking at him. Then she turned and ran, leaving Shir, who was still.

"I thought Shir was gone," Zur said.

He ran to the boy and as he picked him up and saw his son covered in blood, he felt his emotions welling up, and he remembers struggling to stay in control.

Then he saw Shir's eyes, open and very much alive.

"His eyes said so much," Zur recalled.

Carrying Shir, Zur and Tal began running back up the mountain, with Zur talking to his son in both English and Hebrew.

"I asked him, 'Stay with me, Shir. Stay with me,'" he said, and Shir signaled with his eyes in response.

At they neared the top of the trail, Zur saw his wife, Anat, who had been waiting with Gaul, the other twin.

Anat says she never glimpsed the lion – it ran away with Shir before she realized it had struck – but she knew after hearing her husband and son Tal scream that the family was under attack.

"I anticipated, I don't know why, that it's a bear," Anat said. "I was thinking that we would probably be attacked next and then I will just – I will protect Gaul, and whatever it is. That vicious thing that has attacked us will have to finish me before it gets to Gaul."

Upon seeing her husband holding Shir, who was torn and bloody, Anat said she ran to take the boy. At first, Zur could not let go, but she finally convinced him to let her hold Shir so Zur could catch his breath.

The family then began to run back to their car in the parking lot, with Zur and Tal taking turns holding Shir while Anat called 911.

"Shir had a lot of open wounds," she recalled. "I remember I was begging them, I was screaming at them, I was just telling them … to please hurry up."

Gaul, Shir's twin, was silent on the race back to the car, the Feldmans recall. At one point, when his father dropped a water bottle, Gaul picked it up and then continued to run quietly beside his father.

After reaching the parking lot, they put Shir into their car while they waited for an ambulance. Paramedics then took Shir to Community Hospital in Boulder. He was then transferred to Children's Hospital in Denver, where surgeons worked for seven hours to repair his wounds.

Since it is policy that any mountain lion who injures a human is put down, the lion that attacked Shir was tracked and killed that night.

The lion's claws left deep punctures in Shir's stomach and thighs, yet none of them hit a vital organ or vein. His jaw was shattered, and his mouth was torn, as well as his scalp. In all, he received 180 stitches, and steel plates were inserted in his shattered jaw. His mouth was also wired shut.

Looking back, Shir's parents both marvel that his encounter with the mountain lion did not take his life. Not only was it remarkable that his neck was not broken, they say, but the fact the lion took him by the head prevented severe brain injuries as she dragged him over rocks for about 180 feet down the mountain – or half the length of a football field.

One cut his son received, Zur said, "Was a split of a hair from the main artery."

Within days, his jaws still wired shut, Shir returned to school. After the last surgery, when the steel plates were removed from his jaw, the family decided to take a two-week RV trip to major wilderness parks throughout the west – including Colorado.

"It was great to see how naturally the boys ran on the trails and climbed the rocks and had a lot of fun," Anat said. "That actually was the best gift – life goes on."

"Shir is great. He's back to his life, which is another miracle," said Anat.

The only visible reminders of the attack are a few fading scars on his face and neck.

"Obviously, it was Zur and Tal who did the right thing and saved Shir's life," Anat said, "but us working as a team was also an important lesson to the family."

While Shir was in the hospital, their 23-year-old daughter, Shai, flew home from college so the family would be together.

More than anything, Anat says she struggles to articulate to her husband her gratitude and admiration over his determination to save their son.

"I don't think I've expressed it enough," she said, "until now."

One irony, she says, is that the attack on Shir is the second potentially deadly encounter with a wild animal for one of the twins.

When he was nearly 2 years old, Gaul, now 8, was bitten on the hand by a rattlesnake as he played in a school yard in Sacramento, Calif.

Gaul nearly died, yet now all he has to show from it is a scar that runs the length of his right arm.

"Animals don't like us," Gaul said with a laugh. "I love animals – these animals didn't like us for a reason. Maybe the mountain lion was hungry. Maybe I pulled the rattlesnake or touched it."

If they had one message to give others, Zur and Anat Feldman say, it would be: Never give up.

"This really emphasized that you never know what the outcome will be until you go through everything you have in you," Zur said. "I don't think there's a glory here. I think we all approached it as something that happened, and we need to make the best out of it, and we can really make it."

"It's a gift," he said, "to really go through this kind of experience and know that you can face it successfully."
(Copyright KUSA*TV. All rights reserved.)

Notes from the hunting journal--10/29/2006

10-29-06: Same area, better results.

Rabbit 1: Approx. halfway up the hill that leads to the hunting area proper, I saw a rabbit dash under a pine tree and stop when it had a small bush between my line of sight and it. As cottontails are prone to do, he sat there hoping he had evaded me. He hadn't, of course, and I knew he'd take off as soon as I moved toward him, although I wasn't sure which direction he'd take. Upon my first step he ran to the left, uphill. I swung the 870 and fired at him just as he made it under the canopy of another pine tree. The cloud of #6 shot intercepted him and stopped him decisively. The range was short, about 6 or 7 yards. I field dressed him, he was quite a good-sized rabbit (later, it turned out he was the largest of the season), and moved on up the hill.

Rabbit 2: This guy was moving at a pretty good pace, especially after my first shot missed. I fired at him a second time just before he rounded a pine tree and disappeared. My shot went high, as evidenced by the brush above him shaking in reply to the charge of shot. This second shot set me to wondering how to fix my inconsistent shotgun shooting.

Rabbit 3: I continued on and didn't see another rabbit for a long time. Upon crossing a dirt road, I saw a truck parked on the road, a somewhat unusual sight for the area; I presumed it belonged to other hunters. Reaching the edge of a small valley, I sat down to glass it for any game I might see with my binocular, figuring the rabbit hunting was over for the day. After doing this for a while, I saw the truck driving away.

Thinking I should be heading back, I began to retrace my route. About 10:30 a.m., a rabbit jumped and ran from behind a pine tree. My startled movements seemed like slow motion as I snapped off a shot. I checked the area and saw no sign of a hit, so I continued on. A few paces later, what I assumed to be the same rabbit ran in front of me, but more slowly than before. I shot at the rabbit three more times, hitting just in front of him each time. This reminded me of some type of arcade game because as one shot would land in front of him, he would reverse direction, and then do the same with the next shot. Finally, as I ran the shotgun dry, he hopped a short distance, then stopped.

By this time I had loaded another shell in the gun. As the distance separating us was only 10 feet, I tried to shoot at his head but either he moved or I misjudged in my aiming because the shot nearly cut him in two. Fur flew everywhere after the shot. Much of the midsection was destroyed, but I was able to salvage about half of the meat. I'll remember not to do that again.

In retrospect, I suspect that my very first shot probably wounded him, which was why moving slowly when I spied him the second time.

Gun: Remington 870 12 ga.
Ammo: Federal #6 shot
Total shots: 8
Rabbits: 2

Take care.
DAL357

Warhol work sets record at NYC auction

Just to prove once again that taste, intelligence, and wealth are not necessarily mutual acquaintances, here's a story about the extremely overrated 1960s pop artist Andy Warhol's works of "art" selling for record prices.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070517/ap_on_en_ot/art_auction_2;_ylt=Aroa5VKOJaPeo7oOdSGTL9ME1vAI

Take care,
DAL357

Notes from the hunting journal--10/22/2006

10-22-06: Perhaps the rabbits are a bit more wary, but with this trip, to the same area as last time, the chances to see a rabbit were fewer than last time. Why? I arrived at least 30 minutes later in the morning than the previous trip. Regardless, I only spotted two rabbits, both of which I fired at, and both of which I missed.

The first bunny showed itself some distance ahead of me. I snapped a quick shot at it as it ran from right to left. It passed a scrub pine on its way, temporarily blocking my view of him. As expected, he reappeared on the other side of the tree and I fired again, without positive result. I estimate the distance to have been approximately 30 yards.

Onward I trudged, hoping this would not be the only rabbit I saw that day, but half expecting it to be, due to the late start. Some time later, as rabbits are prone to do, a bunny surprised me by sitting still until I was nearly upon him and then running quickly in front of me. Another snap shot and another clean miss. I saw no more rabbits.

One odd thing I did find a little after seeing the second rabbit was a blue helium-filled balloon under a tree. Upon inspection, it looked to have some religious writing on it in Spanish. I have no idea where it came from, nor how far it traveled, but I took it, wrote "10-22-06" on it, and tied it to the tree. It still had some buoyancy to it, so it floated.

Gun: Remington 870 12 ga.
Ammo: Federal 6 shot
Total shots: 3
Total rabbits: 0

Take care,
DAL357

Notes from the hunting journal--10/15/2006

What follows is an entry from the little hunting journal I began to keep during the 2006/2007 hunting season. Other entries will follow in the future (doubtless you can hardly wait).

Oct. 15, 2006: first outing for small game this season. Went to XX. XXXXXX, to my usual area, and had good success (as opposed to bad success?). Just after climbing the hill, a rabbit ran from right to left across my path. I promptly fired at him and missed, which I think was partly due to the sling on the shotgun, but mostly to my lousy shooting. After removing the sling, I continued on. Not five minutes later, a second rabbit appeared and I fired two shots at him, managing to miss with both. A bit mad at my poor performance, I continued onward.

Shortly, I saw a third rabbit, which I shot--twice, once while he was running and once while he was moving in a bush. I waited a minute while he expired, then I field dressed him and tossed the meat into a Wal-mart bag, which I tied to my backpack. Once again moving forward, I soon saw another rabbit, which ran behind a scrubby evergreen tree. I fired just as he went behind the tree. Not sure if I had connected, I went to the spot where I had fired and there he was--dead. When I finished cleaning him, I decided to call it a day and left. Maria was happy when I told her of the harvest via cell phone.

Not bad for 30 minutes of hunting.

Gun: Remington 870 12 ga.
Ammo: Federal 7.5 shot
Total shots taken: 6
Total rabbits taken: 2

Take care,
DAL357

The Long Dry Spell...is Over!

I went fishing on Monday and, finally, caught a fish. Not two fishes, mind you, like my fishing partner, but a single fish, called a wiper, of about three pounds. I kept it and we will feast on it tonight; my wife is a wiz in the kitchen, so I am sure it will be delectable.

On a related note, the guy I went fishing with has a 17-foot canoe, so that's what we used. Paddling about 2.5 miles on a reservoir in moderate winds proved to be exhaustive exercise for both of us, especially the return leg of the journey, when we paddled back non-stop. This morning I am feeling it in my shoulders and back, but I'll survive. Oddly enough, we had a head wind both leaving and returning, due to a wind shift about mid-morning, or perhaps a malevolent creator with a wicked sense of humor, but I'm betting on the former rather than the latter.

As you can tell by the above info., I am not much of a fisherman, yet, but I enjoy getting outdoors after what seemed to be an unusually long winter. I'm sure it's just me, but winters really do seem to be getting longer and longer the older I get. The outdoor activity I enjoy most of all, though, is rabbit hunting, but the season is now closed until October, so fishing, camping, hiking, and shooting will have to do until then.

Take care.
DAL357

Wow! My first blog post, and I can't think of much to say. Although I've read the blogs of many others, most of whom have a ton to say about everything under the sun, I doubt I will be motivated to follow suit. This will not be a daily thing, nor will it be tied to any timetable. I'll post when I feel like it on any subject that strikes my fancy and moves me to share, relate, or comment. Besides, I doubt many people will visit anyway, and if they do, I would have to wonder about the state of their lives.

That's it for now, mainly because this is putting me to sleep, an effect any reader is no doubt currently experiencing.

Take care. пака
DAL357