Wednesday, October 20, 2010

The Rotten Kidney takes a week off











Hey y'all.

This week the keeper of the Rotten Kidney is on vacation.
Earlier this year, my brother, Barett, invited me to go along with him
on his annual trip to the opening week of Pheasant season in Kimball,
South Dakota. Not having been a hunter in the past didn't stop me and so
over a period of a few months I have now transformed myself into what appears
to be a Cabela's hunting clothing model complete with a piece of art that is
in the form of a 12 gauge shotgun made by an obvious artisan in Italy. I did some trap shooting with Bobby Raney and so now I can load a shotgun and hit a clay target from time to time.

On Sunday we drove 900+ miles to Kimball and joined with a couple dozen other hunters from Louisiana, Arkansas, Arkansas , DC, and TX for a week of hunting wild pheasant
at the HorseshoeK Ranch. Some of these guys have hunted wild pheasant for decades and some for only a few years, but they are willing to holler at me and help me learn how.
The main thing is to not pull a Dick Cheney and shoot your fellow hunter. You will see by some pictures that I actually can hit a flying pheasant too. Those seasoned hunters don't mind letting you know when you missed too....AFTER they shoot your bird for you.
Remember when you were 20 and largely indestructable? Well I'm 20 with almost 40 years of experience and still get that indestructable feeling now and then. On Tuesday afternoon, after hunting , four of us jumped in a truck and drove like hell for 250 miles so we could see Mount Rushmore before dark.... eat a steak on the western edge of South Dakota... then drive back 250 miles to the Horseshoe K so we could get up and go hunting again on Wednesday..... Piece of cake. Got the picture.....got the t-shirt.
We got back in about 2 Am
but apparently didn't wake anybody up...they were all up anyway making their first bathroom run. Old guys get up in the night for some reason !!!!
On the way back on Saturday, they dropped me off in Fayetteville so I could meet Debbie for the Arkansas/Ole Miss football game. There was a lightning delay during the 3rd quarter and we retreated to Erin's house. I got to play with Ethan and Elliot for a while before they went to bed. We stayed with Matt and Rachel so we could sleep in. 10AM Sunday .....stretch / well rested.
I had a great time. Thanks to my brother, Barett, for introducing me to pheasant hunting. Now that I have all the stuff, it will be much, much cheaper next year... NOT !
Now i'm in Austin, Texas. I'm exhibiting tile at a nationl meeting of the National Trust for Historical Preservation. I'll be home Friday night in time to head for Fayetteville for the
Arkansas/Vanderbilt game.
I'm managing the Sutent.... trying to control the sore feet and balancing treatment and quality of life with the modified protocall. New scans will be in late November. Life is Good!
October was busy ! Happy Halloween y'all.
Bryan