Kevin's Stories |
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As we waited in the cold dark morning, it was a chance to catch up with Jim, whom I had not seen in a couple of months. As Jim and I spoke in hushed tones, Rick’s participation in the conversation was at normal voice levels. It seemed as if his voice was shaking the leaves in the trees. It was startling to me. In reality, Rick was not loud but initially struck me as a breach of the peace. I focused on why Rick was creating so much noise. What I did not factor in were the idling trucks, headlights and opening and closing of truck doors. We were on a road waiting. We were not on the ranch, hunting. At least not yet. I guess I was putting on my game face a little early. Over the years I have developed the practice and habit of speaking softly when I am outdoors. So it is a little shocking to me when someone speaks at a normal volume. Processing this issue rationally in my head did little to ease my emotional discomfort with all the noise. So I was relieved when, right at daylight, the rancher arrived with all the subtly of a freight train. He was towing a massive old, rickety horse trailer. The trailer was unhitched in a manner that was far from stealthy. Finally, I hoped things would quiet down as we actually began our hunt. It got quiet…for about 10 minutes! Just as we were getting into the hunt mode, Jim suddenly said “There’s a boar!” There he was, about 100 yards away, slowly quartering away from us. I looked at Rick, who seemed puzzled by our early good fortune.
Jim suggested that one of us shoot before it was too late. For whatever reason, Rick was not ready to pull the trigger. I could not fault him. He had not been pig hunting, not to mention big game hunting for many years. It was too early for this hunt to be over. On the other hand, I have had many hunting opportunities year after year. If my hunt ended early, that was fine with me. I was there to hunt with Rick and my freezer was low on wild pork...
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