My Wussification

It literally has been ages since I've been hunting.  I believe the exact count is eight years.  I've missed doing so.

You see, I'm not one of those hunters who needs to shoot something.  I enjoy getting out into the middle of nowhere and listening to nothing.  Well, you don't listen to nothing.  You hear the birds, the wind blowing, the creak of your chair as you adjust yourself, the snap of a twig when a deer steps on it--it's quiet enough out there to actually hear these things.  It is peaceful.  It is relaxing.  It's a joy.

One of my church members graciously invited me to come hunt on his place this year, and I jumped at the chance.  Two hunts in, and I'm enjoying myself thoroughly.  But, I have found that I have become more of a wuss.

This morning, it was cold.  Not bitter, nasty cold.  But the cold of South Texas.  45 degrees.  Cloudy.  North wind between 10 and 20 mph.  It's not bad when you are moving around, but when you're sitting still....it's cold.

As we headed to the blind this morning, my congregation member said, "There's a heater in your blind."

I replied, "I probably won't use it."

You see, in my mind, I'm still 13-20 years old.  I still have something to prove.  Tough guys hunt.  I've sat in deer stands in below freezing temps with the wind blowing.  That's what real hunters do.  They grit their teeth and bear it, and d@mn the weather conditions.

I hunkered down in my blind this morning determined to do just that.  After 45 minutes of enduring the wind and cold and huddling, I started thinking to myself, "You idiot.  What do you have to prove anyway?  You're almost 40.  You deserve to be comfortable when you hunt."

Well, maybe I don't deserve to be comfortable, but that voice convinced me anyway.  I pulled out my cell phone so I could get enough light to see how the heater operated.  After a few moments, the propane ignited and warmth started to wash over my legs.  As I sat there, I felt the most cold coming through a few cracks in the north wall.  A simple rearrangement of the blind fixed that.  The heater was moved to that wall ensuring the cold air blew the hot air right toward me.

It was most enjoyable.  Hadn't felt so warm while hunting in cold weather ever. 

A little voice in the back of my head started saying, "You're being wussified."

I replied, "Shut the h*ll up!"

(And the heater stayed on.)