I'm a lucky man. Heading out bright and squirrelly tomorrow morning to partake in my second deer opener of the year. 'Headed down to Indy to pick up my son, then we're on to New Waterford, Ohio to spend a night with my bro and sis. We leave Satruday around noon for deer camp in Pennsylvania. The grand daddy of all deer openers happens on Monday. You ain't lived 'till you've experienced a Pa. deer opener. It's an unofficial state holiday. The schools close, absenteeism rates at work go way up. Heck, some labor unions negotiate the Monday after Thanksgiving as an excused day off.
The camp's been in our family for 70 years now, and once again we hope to hang some meat from the game pole. Special thanks to the original members, the Olde Guard, as we refer to them who made this all possible:
Dad, the master carpenter, and the best hunter and marksman of the group. Bud, the maintenance guru of the camp. Bud's old .270 was bad medicine on whitetails. Bert, another good hunter and very good carpenter. Bob, the only guy in the group with three cents to his name when they built the camp. He gave up hunting way too soon. Charlie, the first one to leave us, and from what Dad told me, a very good guy.
Next Monday, all across the mountains of Penn's Woods, camps will start coming to life around 4 to 5 a.m. The Orange Army will head out for their favorite haunts to do what our ancestors have done for many, many years. Good luck to all the Pennsylvania boys. Hunt hard, and hunt safe.
