Football, Hunting, NCAA, Sports

No Bats in the Shack

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Made it out today. Yesterday it was pretty warm outside, but today it was freezing. It even snowed a little. I know enough about bats to know they don’t mess around when it’s cold. They huddle together for warmth and stay that way until temperatures rise again. Any bat not in the huddle is either dead or dying.

So, I wasn’t too worried about being in the shack today. I admit that I was a little jumpy, but not terribly. Got in a few hours of hunting, but didn’t see any deer. Pretty much just read. Been getting in a lot of reading while sitting in the shack this year.

I packed it up when it was getting dark and made it back to the house in time to catch the last quarter of the Michigan-Indiana game. That was a hell of a snowstorm you guys in Ann Arbor had. People were making snow angels on the field. At times the snow was falling so hard, we could barely see the game.

Michigan won. The final score was 20-10.

Hunting

A Bat In My Shack

Today was a very nice day. I wished I could’ve gotten over to my mom and dad’s earlier, because I would’ve spent hours sitting in the shack, reading and waiting for deer. But, as it happens, I didn’t get over there until after 4  There wasn’t much time left to hunt, but I went out anyway, just to see what happens.

A little after 5, I was reading Chapter 23 of Joe Hill’s Horns and I became aware of something crawling up my leg. I lifted my leg to see what it was, glimpsed a brownish mass on my ankle… just before it took flight.

“Fucking SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!””

If there were deer approaching my bait, they bolted when I yelled. Probably every hunter for a couple square miles wants to kick my ass right about now.

I sat there for several minutes muttering “holy shit” over and over again. I couldn’t see the bat, but it flew toward the door. For all I knew, it was waiting in the shadows by the hook I needed to lift to open the door.

Eventually I worked up the nerve to reach over, smack the hook up and shove the door wide open. I took my time climbing out, but I kept an eye on where I put my hands until I was on the ground.

Have I mentioned that I’m terrified of bats? I can deal with mice and rats. But bats, uh uh..

Some hunters have names for their hunting shacks and now I know what to name mine. From this day on, my hunting shack shall be called The Bat Shack.

I need to get Batman’s logo, to display on one of the walls. Though, at the moment, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to get into my shack again.

Misc

Thoughts on Transgender

Recently a friend announced that she is trans, that not so long ago she had the operations to change her sex from male to female. I think that’s awesome. If she’s happier as a woman, then that’s cool.

I don’t think I’ll ever fully understand why someone would have their sex changed. It’ll probably always be a little strange to me. But I don’t need to understand it to be fine with it. I won’t criticize you for it. In fact, I’ll be your biggest cheerleader.

This friend is married. Had been married to a woman for some years now. They got married long before the operations, and they’re still married. I understand it to be a happy marriage.

A common belief seems to be that a man would want to become a woman because he’s attracted to men. And vice versa, woman, man, because women. Maybe that is the case sometimes. But I think often it has nothing to do with whether you’re attracted to the same sex or the opposite sex.

It might not have anything to do with attraction at all. Maybe it’s that some people feel they should’ve been born as the opposite sex. I can, kind of, wrap my brain around that theory. But transgender is a complex subject.

If you’re transgender, whether you actually had an operation or not, you got my full support. If it makes you happy and it’s not hurting anyone, then I see nothing wrong with it.

Though my friend is now a woman, I don’t think her interests or personality have changed. She’s the same person and I’d still have a beer with her. My only complaint is, now I gotta get used to calling her by a different name.

Hunting

Firearm Season is Here

Firearm season started yesterday, but I didn’t make it out yesterday. I did today, though.

On the way to the shack, I rounded the hill and a deer ran across my path. It disappeared into the woods. A moment later two more deer went by. Guess I spooked them. They were probably lying around in the field when I came stomping along the path.

I never mastered the silent walk, but I should try to be a little more quiet next time.

I made it to the shack, put some apples on the ground and got settled in. I was reading Joe Hill’s Horns on my phone when I heard a crunching sound. I looked and saw this little deer eating the apples. By the time I got my phone’s camera ready, it was walking away.  That was the only deer that showed up at the shack today.

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Hockey, NHL, Sports

A Bummer on Ice

That’s gotta sting. At the beginning of the third period, the score Lightning 3 and Red Wings 1. But the Red Wings picked up their game, got in one goal and then another, bringing the score to 3-3.

As the last few minutes ticked off, I thought they would end up in another shootout. But, the Lightning struck again, 4-3.

The Red Wings did not manage to score again before the buzzer sounded.

Series Talk

Ooo, Negan

On last night’s episode of The Walking Dead, Negan turned up at the town gate with his barbed wire baseball bat and a bunch of assholes. I don’t like Negan, he’s a shit sickle. You know what he did last night? He threatened to kill Judith if Rick didn’t turn over all the guns that the town had listed. Two of the guns on the list were missing and Negan wanted them found.

How about that? Negan had the right idea there. If you want to control people, the best thing to do is disarm them. And oops, if Rick’s town hadn’t been keeping a list of all the guns, Negan wouldn’t have known how many there were and some of the guns could have remained hidden.

Well, Rick was tempted to bash Negan’s head in, but he didn’t. If Negan was cut down, though, I wager his herd of sheep wouldn’t hold together so well. So, really, Rick needs to grow his balls back and bash Negan’s head in.

It’ll probably happen later in the season, but how many will die before it does?

Football, NCAA, Sports

No Blue

Well, damn. It just happened. Iowa wrecked Michigan’s perfect season. By one point.

The Wolverines were ahead. The score was Michigan 13- Iowa 11. But the Wolverines’ defense failed to hold the Hawkeyes back as the last seconds were running out.

The Hawkeyes got themselves within field goal range with three seconds left on the clock.

I prayed that Iowa’s kicker would miss the mark or one of our guys would miraculously leap and block the ball as it flew overhead.

But when has God ever listened to me?

Political

No American Should Have to Fear the President

I’m grateful for the people protesting Donald Trump’s presidency. I don’t care how fair the election was. I don’t care if the other half of the voters want Trump in the White House and are just anxious for the day he takes over. A lot of people are scared. If that many people are afraid of the president-elect, then something is terribly wrong.

Yes, since Trump won the election, he has said some things that almost restore hope. It sounds like he doesn’t plan on wiping out the Affordable Care Act, but intends to make changes to it. I hope they are good changes. He also said something about wanting to work with all parties and bring the country together.

But a number of things he has said during his campaign are not forgotten. This is why so many people are afraid. Since Trump’s victory, there has been a number of hate crimes reported. It’s going to get worse as time goes on.

No one in the United States should have to accept a president who promotes hate.

I don’t know that the protests will make a difference. I think the best we can hope for in this scenery, is that the protesters do not give up and continue to grow in numbers. Maybe with enough pressure, Trump will resign before he even takes office.

But that’s a huge maybe. I doubt it’ll happen, because the number of Trump supporters is practically equal to the number of people who voted against Trump.

I pray that Trump ends up being something like Louis XIV and has a total change of heart.