It's about time I finally told you why I don't hunt. I've been promising to for a while and, well, there's no better time than the present. At least, that's how the saying goes!
The main reason I choose to not hunt is simple: I do not like to be cold! I could tell you there are other things that come first, but they don't. I really don't like winter. I don't like seeing my breath, or if it's early enough, not seeing my breath. I once saw a hunting show on tv. They were hunting in Texas. They were in this "blind". Yeah, right, it was a small house on stilts. It had running water, windows, a/c and heat. Yes, I said a/c and heat! They were watching a big screen tv and sitting in these really comfy looking leather chairs. They had to TURN OFF the a/c to shoot the deer. The guy opened a window, shot the deer, closed the window, and went back to watching the game. Ok, so I love the "house blind" idea, but somehow, that just doesn't seem to be in the right spirit of hunting!
Secondly, I will eat deer meat, but I don't crave it. I have often told customers that when they open up cow hunting, I'm there! Imagine hunting the elusive Black Angus! So it wouldn't be much of a challenge, but man would it taste great! I have customers who hunt all season just to fill their freezer for another year. That is great. I applaud their living off the land, but my idea of living off the land is my garden.
I know deer aren't the only thing to hunt. Inevitably the word squirrel has come out of someone's mouth as they have read this. Squirrel? No thank you. A squirrel and a rat seem to closely related to me. One is the country cousin to the other. Just get a squirrel in your attic and see how closely related it is to a rodent! Hey, but if you like squirrel, rabbit, whatever... I say, "Go for it!"
I believe if you are going to kill something, you should be able to clean it yourself. I also have no desire to clean any animal, especially a deer! I don't always, but I have cleaned fish when we have caught them. Fish are bad enough, but man, the way folks smell after gutting a deer... NO THANK YOU!
Lastly, I don't hunt because I don't have time to come home in the middle of the day and take a two hour nap! Seriously, my husband goes hunting, comes home and sleeps on the couch with the tv on in the background like a lullaby playing for a baby! No thanks. I have too much to do. Plus, who will be grilling the Black Angus steaks from my hunt for dinner?
Friday, December 2, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
TGIC- Thank God It's Christmas?
I was sitting here throwing around ideas for my next post. I was listening to Christmas music while I was "thinking". "How can I think and listen to Christmas music at the same time?", you ask. It's simple friends. I am a multi-tasker. I can do many things at once and none of them well! It's how we've all learned to live in the 21st century. What was I talking about again? Ha, Ha, Ha! I remember. Just testing you.
Really, I should say Ho, Ho, Ho because that is the time of year we now find ourselves in. Can you believe it? I was listening to a Christmas song by Relient K called "Merry Christmas, Here's To Many More". The first 2 lines of the song really describe how I, as well as, many people I know and come into contact with feel. They say:
The thing is, yeah the economy is bad, but maybe it's made us think about the important things. Instead of spending money on things we don't need, we save for items we do need. That's one of the great things about our store. If you come here, you can buy products that will help you eat- like a fishing rod and reel. Of course, you'll need some tackle with that to catch a fish, but you get the idea! How about if you know someone who is an avid hunter? Why not get them some gun cleaning supplies? Knife sharpeners are always good gifts whether or not you hunt or fish. How about some hot hands for folks you know who work in the outdoors? Or, better yet, a set of gloves! If you want to get back to when kids played outside instead of vegged out on a screen, we have kickballs, footballs, basketballs. If you have a friend that camps, we even have items like compasses or fire starters. Many of these gifts are less than $10.
You see, we understand how it is to use coupons and save your pennies. We aren't a big box store offering layaway. I don't even think we have anything that you would need to put on layaway here! We are a business in YOUR neighborhood. We live here too. We shop here. Pay taxes here. Some of you may even know me as your child's coach! When you shop with us, you keep that money in your community. So this Christmas, come by and shop local. I'm not the only small business in Broadway. There's a lot of us. In my building alone, there are three. If you come here, we'll greet you with a hello and help you the best we can. Most of all, we'll always be grateful for your business.
By the way, if you'd like to hear the song by Relient K. Here's a link to it on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE0s2cGVF10
Really, I should say Ho, Ho, Ho because that is the time of year we now find ourselves in. Can you believe it? I was listening to a Christmas song by Relient K called "Merry Christmas, Here's To Many More". The first 2 lines of the song really describe how I, as well as, many people I know and come into contact with feel. They say:
I made it through the year and I did not even collapseWow, Isn't that true? This year has sped by. It has also been tough. As a small business owner, the economy is really hurting my business. Many of my customers have had hours cut back, or even been laid off. The other day a customer said, "It sure takes a long time to make the money, but a few seconds to spend it." I couldn't have said it better.
Gotta say "Thank God for that."
The thing is, yeah the economy is bad, but maybe it's made us think about the important things. Instead of spending money on things we don't need, we save for items we do need. That's one of the great things about our store. If you come here, you can buy products that will help you eat- like a fishing rod and reel. Of course, you'll need some tackle with that to catch a fish, but you get the idea! How about if you know someone who is an avid hunter? Why not get them some gun cleaning supplies? Knife sharpeners are always good gifts whether or not you hunt or fish. How about some hot hands for folks you know who work in the outdoors? Or, better yet, a set of gloves! If you want to get back to when kids played outside instead of vegged out on a screen, we have kickballs, footballs, basketballs. If you have a friend that camps, we even have items like compasses or fire starters. Many of these gifts are less than $10.
You see, we understand how it is to use coupons and save your pennies. We aren't a big box store offering layaway. I don't even think we have anything that you would need to put on layaway here! We are a business in YOUR neighborhood. We live here too. We shop here. Pay taxes here. Some of you may even know me as your child's coach! When you shop with us, you keep that money in your community. So this Christmas, come by and shop local. I'm not the only small business in Broadway. There's a lot of us. In my building alone, there are three. If you come here, we'll greet you with a hello and help you the best we can. Most of all, we'll always be grateful for your business.
By the way, if you'd like to hear the song by Relient K. Here's a link to it on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE0s2cGVF10
Saturday, November 26, 2011
True Grit- in real life...
I'm going to warn you. This one is about football, again. Yes, again. How can I not brag about the Broadway High School Fighting Gobblers? This team has something special. They never give up. They have GRIT!
Dictionary.com defines grit as "firmness of character; indomitable spirit". Perfect description of this year's football team. I, and half of the Shenandoah Valley, saw it last night. There was a beautiful catch by Jefferson Forest. The Broadway defender even got a piece of the ball, but the JF receiver stayed with it and subsequently scored a TD. Mind you, it was one of those touchdowns that takes the air out of the fans. It was so quiet you could hear a mouse fart! Ok, maybe not that quiet, but you get the picture. Come on folks, I'm typing a dramatic sequence here! Anyway, the Broadway boys went in at the half down 14-6 after that stinkin lucky catch. Seriously, he couldn't have done it twice if he tried! Just sayin...
The second half began. What would these boys do? Would they respond to the challenge or just give up? Not this team. This is what I'm trying to tell you- Grit. They are marching down the field. Closer and closer to the endzone they come, QB Quinn Arbogast, who is tough as nails, goes down on the 5 yd line. Folks, there is no feeling like seeing a young man hurt and not able to get up. You feel for these kids. If you could take injury away from sports, it would be perfect. I thought about his mom and how she was feeling. You know it's different for us moms. Your instinct is to go down and fix it, but you can't. For one thing, your child would be utterly embarrassed by you doing such a thing. Secondly, you would never hear the end of it. These are teenagers after all. So these "rules" make the wait to see if your child is ok agonizingly long. They finally helped him off the field. I'm not sure what happened, but he was on crutches later. I hope he heals quickly and completely. So, the boys compose themselves, attempt and make a field goal after what could potentially throw another team into a tailspin. Now it's 14-9 JF.
G R I T... this is where you see it. Do you give up? I mean your starting QB is out of the game. You have a back up who is not tested in this type of fire. Broadway kicks off. The JF receiver fumbles and the boys get the ball back on the 14. One play later, the Gobblers score! It was crazy at the field. I bet they heard it miles away. They tried a two pt conversion and failed, but they now had the lead 15-14. They were pumped up. They were raising their hands to get the crowd more pumped. Pandemonium had broken out now. Ok, maybe not that wild, but it was loud and uproarious.
Broadway starts the fourth qtr, the untested QB pulls it off with a touchdown pass. Without the receiver's effort the TD would have never happened. He gave his all and so did the entire team. The Gobblers ended up winning the game 29-14. They never gave up. They played every minute on that field. They believed in each other. One guy goes down, another steps in for him and does the job. It's expected, not a surprise. This is why you want your kids to play sports. Not to be a "jock", but to learn how to work together and to believe in one another. To learn that you do not truly have to do everything yourself. If you work together, you can accomplish great things. They have.
Congrats on being the Regional Champs, Broadway! Next weekend at 1pm, Christiansburg will play at Broadway High School. It's a semifinal game. I guess the whole town will be shut down and at the game. If you come, don't expect some showy team. What you will see is a never-say-die team with GRIT!
Dictionary.com defines grit as "firmness of character; indomitable spirit". Perfect description of this year's football team. I, and half of the Shenandoah Valley, saw it last night. There was a beautiful catch by Jefferson Forest. The Broadway defender even got a piece of the ball, but the JF receiver stayed with it and subsequently scored a TD. Mind you, it was one of those touchdowns that takes the air out of the fans. It was so quiet you could hear a mouse fart! Ok, maybe not that quiet, but you get the picture. Come on folks, I'm typing a dramatic sequence here! Anyway, the Broadway boys went in at the half down 14-6 after that stinkin lucky catch. Seriously, he couldn't have done it twice if he tried! Just sayin...
The second half began. What would these boys do? Would they respond to the challenge or just give up? Not this team. This is what I'm trying to tell you- Grit. They are marching down the field. Closer and closer to the endzone they come, QB Quinn Arbogast, who is tough as nails, goes down on the 5 yd line. Folks, there is no feeling like seeing a young man hurt and not able to get up. You feel for these kids. If you could take injury away from sports, it would be perfect. I thought about his mom and how she was feeling. You know it's different for us moms. Your instinct is to go down and fix it, but you can't. For one thing, your child would be utterly embarrassed by you doing such a thing. Secondly, you would never hear the end of it. These are teenagers after all. So these "rules" make the wait to see if your child is ok agonizingly long. They finally helped him off the field. I'm not sure what happened, but he was on crutches later. I hope he heals quickly and completely. So, the boys compose themselves, attempt and make a field goal after what could potentially throw another team into a tailspin. Now it's 14-9 JF.
G R I T... this is where you see it. Do you give up? I mean your starting QB is out of the game. You have a back up who is not tested in this type of fire. Broadway kicks off. The JF receiver fumbles and the boys get the ball back on the 14. One play later, the Gobblers score! It was crazy at the field. I bet they heard it miles away. They tried a two pt conversion and failed, but they now had the lead 15-14. They were pumped up. They were raising their hands to get the crowd more pumped. Pandemonium had broken out now. Ok, maybe not that wild, but it was loud and uproarious.
Broadway starts the fourth qtr, the untested QB pulls it off with a touchdown pass. Without the receiver's effort the TD would have never happened. He gave his all and so did the entire team. The Gobblers ended up winning the game 29-14. They never gave up. They played every minute on that field. They believed in each other. One guy goes down, another steps in for him and does the job. It's expected, not a surprise. This is why you want your kids to play sports. Not to be a "jock", but to learn how to work together and to believe in one another. To learn that you do not truly have to do everything yourself. If you work together, you can accomplish great things. They have.
Congrats on being the Regional Champs, Broadway! Next weekend at 1pm, Christiansburg will play at Broadway High School. It's a semifinal game. I guess the whole town will be shut down and at the game. If you come, don't expect some showy team. What you will see is a never-say-die team with GRIT!
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