I have never hunted. Despite the long tradition in my family, including both parents (there are photos of my mother in a red jumpsuit with a dead antelope- pregnant with me), and almost every extended relative. Never done it. Fishing- sure. Not well, and not in over 20 years. Never with the hunting.
There was an attempt made. When I was about 5 or 6. I think 5- just because of the surroundings I remember. They took me out in the woods in the truck with them. I remember being told to be quiet. Then there was a deer- or someone said there was a deer. I didn't see the deer. Because I was little and didn't know where to look. Or what to look for.
I started screaming, "RUN BAMBI!!!"
Dad spanked me. Then took me back to my grandparent's house in shame.
I went into the basement where my uncle's room was. He had left incense burning. I touched the burner and burnt my finger. I cried. Grandma put butter on it.
That's all I remember of the killing.
(and I would put good money on it that the story varies immensely if you asked my dad- but I'm relying on the memory of a 5 year old. The butter/burn part is true. The rest- I just dunno. It's how I remember.)
"The caretakers of the various cemeteries involved report that no ghosts walk."
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7 comments:
GOOD wildlfie story. Makes me ashamed I haven't written mine yet.
I almost shot my cousin's dog when I was a kid. We were in the woods in twilight, and it came running up the path at me. It looked like a retarded bear anyway. I swung around with my gun, but pulled up with the shot. My body musta known more than my head.
You're fortunate that you weren't old enough to shoot. My first trip was when I was 17. I shot a deer in the guts and had to dispatch it with a knife. Then wait for it to bleed to death, and clean it out. Which was extra messy since I shot it in the guts. It was gruesome but made me unquestionably 100% not a hunter ever ever again. No way.
Kids and guns are such a tricky proposition. My uncle's first kill was likewise traumatic- he shot it in the front legs- shattering them, after shooting it directly up the ass. Messy, and ugly both.
See, I was a girl- which kind of exempted me I think- despite my mother's participation. If I had been male, it would've been forced upon me, I suspect.
i never understood the "West" way of life, but i acknowledge that it is the way it is. i'm also not from this country, so there's that. the only redeeming issue about hunters nowadays--in the age of abbatoirs and processed food--is that they always, always EAT what they hunt. or rather, they should.
We didn't eat beef as a staple until I was in Jr. High. Couldn't afford it. It's just the way my family grew up. It was survival. We stopped eating venison when my Dad decided that he didn't need to hunt for our food anymore. He's one hell of a shot- scary accurate- but he didn't seem to find any real joy in the process at that point. So there it is. And since he wasn't passing along these skills to his offspring, it just went away.
Yeah- I've often wondered what the gun culture looks like from the outside. Betcha it's a tad unsettling.I gotta say, I'm a crack shot with a high-powered hand gun. Not that I have one, or anything...
from a "foreigner's" (i say that having lived here 27 years now) pt. of view, gun culture in general is unnerving for me. i am not particularly fond of uneducated people wielding guns. But then again, I am not particularly fond of educated people wielding weapons. I think, however, the latter is much more dangerous. Interesting topic, though. In theStates, there is nothing to do now in terms of banning weapons. i don't really understand the right to bear arms nowadays--it's too late though. too late.
Well, the educated ones are scary- they all are- there is some personal shite going on in my world that really makes me wonder about the prevalance of guns. It complicates things. It makes an honest, but painful discussion that much more dangerous. It makes things scary as shit when the other party could be a wingnut. And there you have it.
I often forget about mine. Because they are disassembled around the house. Because I don't EVER want to use them. Unless it's for target practice. The power to kill scares the crap out of me. Because it is irrevocable. And irreversable.
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