Kid Stuff/1950's Version

After hearing what kids want for Christmas this year I started thinking back to my childhood. I'm old enough that I was around during the "Middle Ages" of the 20th century. The good old days some would say. I don't know about that, but I do know that things were a lot different back then.
I was about 8 or 9 years old in the mid 50's. Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and Davey Crockett were a young boys heros at that time. So anything that could be associated with them was high on our Christmas list. Toy western gun sets, cowboy hats and coon skin caps were highly prized. Today it's anything from cyber space.
A Snickers bar was a nickel and a Coke was 8 to 10 cents. But one has to remember that a dollar ment a lot more then. Wages were much lower than today. Me and my friends would scour the neighbor hood looking for empty soda bottles. They would bring .02 cents at the local grocer. So if you could come up with ten or so, you could treat your friends with a soda and candy bar.
Something else I remember, it didn't take a lot to entertain us back then. When stuck inside during the winter, we could amuse ourselves with a cardboard box we had converted into a make believe western fort.
The picture above reminds me of the time me and some friends discovered an old Harley in the neighbors barn down the street from my grandparents house. We were out doing some exploring. Some days we would sneak down to that barn, climb into the hay loft and jump out the upstairs door for fun. The fact that we were doing it without the owners knowledge made it more exciting.
Ummm. Come to think of it. Those were the good old days...............X.

On The Road

Sam learned about life
from the books he'd read,
but learned how to live
on the road.

"You meet a lot of people on the road",
says, "Everybody knows something,
and most of them are lookn'
for someone to tell."
He likes to listen.
That's how he learned where
all the good bathn' cricks are.

He says you can see stuff from the road.
like how deep the desert sky can get.
A sky like that, always makes him laugh.

Once he found a lottery ticket.
Won.
Three Hundred eighty thousand dollars,
That's a lot of money,
figures he can live forever on it.
Sam is careful not to laugh about that.

By: Vol Lindsey

Happy Hollidays

May the days ahead be filled with happiness and joy. But please, either keep the plug in the jug, or don't be driving around with your instant glee. We all have loved ones out there, that we would like to see come home ok. X.

You ain't nothin but a hound dog

Still miss ya Elvis......................X.

Total Lunar Eclipse on Winter Solstice

For the first time in several centuries, there will be a total lunar eclipse on tuesday morning, the day of the Winter Solstice. It will begin about 1:30 a.m. ET and be in a total eclipse around 3:15 a.m. ET. It will have a reddish orange color at the total stage. All of north america will be able to observe it, given the absence of cloud cover.
If your a moon lover, you don't want to miss this one. X.

Freebird By Vol Lindsey

Louise ain't no elf,
Sam says she is a whole other species,
calls her a "freebird".
Sometimes she just flies away
and when she comes back
she has things to say.
So Sam walks with her
and listens.
He is in love with her voice,
says it sounds like water
splashing over rocks.
She tells him what she saw
and what she thought about it,
but never invites him along.
Sometimes when she is out there,
she thinks of him,
thinks of what makes him laugh
and smiles to herself.
Once she bought him a little silver dragon
to wear around his neck.
He thinks it's magic
and reminds him of the elves.
Sometimes when he wears it,
he can look down
and see it lying on her breast.

Old Faithful

Something you can count on. X.

The Meaning of "Bogaman"

I have always been interested in archery and bowhunting. A few years back I became interested in making my own bows and arrows. At first, I thought I wanted to make laminated bows. But the more I read up on the subject, the more I became interested in making primitive bows. Solid wood bows like the indians made and bows like the europeans made about 1000 years ago. That is how I came by the handle "Bogaman". Bogaman is the old world celtic word for Bowman.
This is my 1st bow. It is an english style long bow, made from Osage Orange wood.

This is a repeat of my first blog post about one year ago. Xavier

National Bird

Was on my way home from the farm this afternoon and happened on this Bald Eagle that was beside the road eating on a dead deer. Stopped and got a couple pictures before he flew off. X

Favorite Modern Poet; Vol Lindsey

Introduction:by Vol Lindsey

Sam has always been able to live life the way he wanted to; as far from the cares of everyday life as he could get. Figures God feeds the sparrows pretty regular, so he never worried much. Just worked occasional odd jobs to pay expenses and keep the Fat Boy runnin'.
Thinks of himself as a modern Tom Bombadil. He likes people, but thinks modern life robs their souls. Sam thinks it's important to take care of his soul...........


I know I've not been to attentive the last few months. I'm wrapped up in all sorts of activities in the fall, my favorite time of year. Hope to get back on track now that winter has settled in.
In a few days it will have been a year since I started this blog. I mentioned in the beginning that it was a way for me to catalog a peice of my life and character, so that my kids and their kids would have a better understanding of who I am.
Above is a poem by my favorite modern day poet. Vol writes about a biker named "Sam", in his poems. I posted one of his poems previously, it was titled "Flashback". I know I'm guessing here, but I would venture to say that "Sam" mirrors much of Vol's personality. X.

Football, a passion!

The bottom picture is of my youngest grandson, Carter Johnson. He plays for Shawnee Mission South's fifth grade football team. I got to watch him play a couple of weeks ago. Also got a picture of him sacking the Quarterback. He had a good day. I enjoyed watching him play.
The top two photos are of the South Shelby Cardinals. They are in Class One, which is the smallest class here in Missouri. They were playing in the Quarter finals against the number one team in the state. Unfortunately we lost 13 to 6. We have been ranked fifth most of the year. It was a heartbreaker. We've had some great teams in the past. We won the state championship in 2006, and usually make it into the playoffs. I go and support them and take photos to put on facebook so the kids and family can enjoy. X.

Political Poo Poo (a rant)

I realize it has probably been the same way since the Romans. Just wish there was some way to illiminate thier hogwash. Keeping it off the tv's and radio would be a huge improvement. But they would cry about it violating thier rights to free speech. What about our rights, the other 99% of the population has to give up thier right to be free from hearing one man or woman bad mouth the opponent.
Sorry for the rant. Just totally fed up with every commercail being a political slam on someone or somebody. With so many negative politicians out there, it's no wonder the country is in the shape it is, we elect these negative people. X.

My dot com site

Several years ago I created a dot com website. It just sets there not doing much. If your interested, check it out. Click on my image with the helmet at top right X.
http://bogaman.com/

Cast Away

I think this is probably one of my favorite movies. I have watched it 3-4 times, which is saying something for me, I usually only watch a movie one time. There are so many things in this movie that cover the more important things that we experience in life. The challenges and trials we face alone, whether we are in other peoples company or not. I have yet to watch it that i didn't shed a tear or two. I guess I associate what 'Hanks' is going thru with some of the peaks and valleys in my own life. There are times in my life that i have felt 'cast away' and later, after great trials, felt redeemed.
What other movie can you see someone take part of a porta pottie and make it into a life saving 'sail'. Or also observe him form a close relationship with a volleyball named Wilson.
It is the end that brings to play ones imagination as he stands there at that crossroads in rural Texas and looks down the roads leaving the area. And then looks back down the road in the direction of the lady he has just met, moments earlier. X.

Harvest Time

After an exceptionally wet summer, things have settled down and been almost perfect for the farmers this fall. With dry weather and temps in the low to mid 70's for the past 3-4 weeks a lot of the crops have been harvested. Some beans, which were planted late because of the wet weather, have not turned yet, but will soon. The corn crop is average as far as yeild but beans are doing better for our area.
Quit a difference from last year when it stayed wet up until things froze up. You have to appreciate the risk our american farmers take. They are gamblers in a way, because they never know what Ol Mother Nature is going to dish out to them. X.

American Icon Gone???

This post may seem like it is really out in left field. It has to do with Walls Drug in South Dakota. Last year while on vacation we stopped at this famous attraction on our way home. It pretty much consists of all the stores in the small town of Wall, and has been a tourists attraction for years. This was my fourth visit. Something has changed there. Almost all of the clerks, waiters and store managers were foreigners. Primarily from Russian counties. The young men who waited on us, as we ate in one of the restaurants, were rude and unfriendly. They seemed more like thugs than waiters. And the food wasn't what we expected as far as quality. The people I was with discussed this among ourselves and we joked that it appeared the Russian Mafia must have bought Walls Drug.
When I got home I even searched the web to see if it had been sold, and could find nothing about this enterprise being sold. Which, if that is the case, then the original owners have decided to hire foreigners to operate thier business. All of us were disappointed about what we experienced there, as in the past it has always been a pleasant visit.
I am at a loss to explain what has happened there. But it seems this sort of thing is happening in a lot of businesses in our country. It is troubleing to me and I wish I knew how we could take our country back. X.

SW North Dakota & SE Montana

I was surprised to see that the south eastern part of North Dakota was much like the Badlands in South Dakota. The second picture from the bottom. X.

North Dakota

My great grandparents homesteaded near Hope North Dakota. I shot these pictures west of Hope on our way to Carrington. X.

Beartooth and Teton Mountain Ranges

The top picture was taken in the Teton mountains south of Yellowstone before you get to Jackson Wyoming, sometimes referred to as Jackson Hole.
The bottom picture was taken in the Beartooth mountains east of Yellowstone and north of Cody Wyoming. X.

Where the Buffalo Roam

We entered Yellowstone at the northeast corner on route 212. There was a stream in this part of the park and lots of buffalo. We saw several large herds, and quite a few fisherman, fishing the stream.
Many of the tourists were in a big hurry, which irratated me. You'd think they would have been able to slow down and enjoy thier visit. They created a hazzard to other people and to the wildlife as well. I guess they couldn't get out of thier rat race mentality. X.

Moose Is

We've been gone on vacation for a spell. Gi Gi loves Moose. Not sure about the plural for more than one moose, thus the title:^) I got a picture of these two guys in the Big Horn Mountains as we were headed to Cody Wyoming on our way to Yellowstone. We got snowed on about 20 minutes before I snapped thier photo. Great trip, but glad to be home. X.

Who's Checkin Out Who?

Mr. Coon meets the ladies! X.

Who

GiGi snapped a photo of this feathered critter early yesterday morning. Unusual to see them here in town. X.

Latrisha Michelle

Happy Birthday darlin. My youngest daughter. Goes by Trish now. Would have been named Hope if I hadn't been tricky and out foxed her mom. Here mom named our first daughter. I figured it was my turn. Love Ya, Dad.

Country Dogs Are Different

If anything the wimp factor between country dogs and city dogs seems to be widening:

City dogs wear knitted
turtlenecks and scented
shampoo to ward off ticks.
Country dogs wear ticks the
size of pocket watches.

City dogs answer to
"Mitten" and "Buffy"
Country dogs aswer to
"Butch" and "Mollie".

City dogs fetch cute little
rubber squeaky toys.
Country dogs fetch cow bones
and the neighbor's chickens
...dead or alive.

City dogs sip from mono-
grammed plastic bowls.
Country dogs drink from
mud holes and swim in green
farm ponds.

City dogs chase the vacuum
cleaner cord as it wiggles
from room to room.
Country dogs chase anything
that moves, including
tornadoes.

By: Marti Attoun

I posted this when I first started blogging. Thought it was worth a repeat. So what are you? A Country Dog or a City Dog? X. the Country Dog!

Grandpa Buck

Went and pulled the SD cards out of my cameras this afternoon. The camera that captured the twins had a lot more pictures of the twins and a number of other does with single fawns. As I downloaded them to my computer I noticed this old boy. Grandpa Buck showed up about 1:30 A. M. last saturday night. Probably checking on his twins don't you imagine. X.

Fawns During Daytime

The cameras are motion activated. The daylight pictures are in color. If it's dark enough for the flash to go off the pictures come out in black and white. I have quite a few pictures of this doe and her twins, both during the day and at night. X.

Twins

One of my game cameras captured these deer just as it was beginning to turn light this past tuesday morning. The adult doe in the background has twin fawns. The picture snapped just as one was nursing it's mother. X.

Chigger Attack!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, this isn't the greatest looking leg in the world without chigger bites, but with them it is plumb ugly:^( August is probably the worst month in the summer for these little varmints. Probably got most of them while I was out in the woods setting up some game cameras. I think our yard and garden is loaded as well.
I forgot to use any OFF. Sulfur powder is also a good deterrant. Anyhow, if you happen to fall victum as I have, you have my sympathy. X.

'The Last Time' By S.X.W.

When I was drinking I became consumed by the alcohol and what it could do for me. It was my way of dealing with the horrors of war. I drank to illiminate feeling. It almost cost me my life and sanity. I truly hope "that" last time was my last time.

I can barely remember the last time I laughed so hard it hurt. Don't get me wrong, I still have laughter in my life. I just wish "that" last time I laughed so hard, wasn't my last time.

The last time I saw my blood brother, Uncle Sam, he was dieing. It was an overcast day except for the few moments the clouds parted and the sun shined thru long enough to show him the way, as he passed to a new adventure.

Can you remember the last time you hugged a loved one tightly and wished you could just hold them forever. I do.

The last time I failed to be true to myself. I died a little on the inside.

The last time I faced Death. I lived. SXW

How?

The recent weather pattern has made me wonder how we would cope with this horrible heat and humidity without the air conditioning or even electricity to propel a fan. Many would perish I'm sure. Makes one wonder if global warming isn't for real.
Imagine this lasting through out the year. If so, I would think there might be a shift in populations to cooler climates to the north. So, get prepared Canada! X.

Bikers and Elves

"Flashback"

A poem by Vol Lindsey

Sam was always out there
riding the roads,
findin' out all kinds of good stuff
like how the wind feels in your hair
and how to get comfortable
in the rain.
Says that's how he met the elves.
They were on motorcycles
I think it was them
made Sam move out on his own like that.

He was camped beside a lonely road
next to the fire, drinkin' coffee
with bourbon, against the frost
he knew was coming,
when they rode up.

He could tell they were elves
by their laughter,
says "sounded just like bells"
And those elves talked to him all night
in the quiet
under the stars.
They thought he would understand,
and he did.
He says "Them elves,
they know."
Says he learned the truth that October
in the quiet under the stars.
When they were done
he began to laugh.
He laughed so hard
the stars could hear him,
and they laughed too.
Even some of the rocks around the camp
cracked up and rolled down the slope.
He laughed till he ran out of breath
and just when he thought it was over,
he'd start right up again.

Laughed two solid days and nights,
laughed long after the elves were gone.

More Garden

Fried green tomatoes anyone??? X.

Delayed By Mother Nature

We've had a lot of unkind weather this year. First we were deluged with way to much water. Next came about 2 weeks of 90 to 100 degree heat, which I thought was going to fry everything. Now we've got the heat and water.

It seems like this year anything that came up volunteer is doing better than what we have planted. A lot of things died during all the rain. Some more due to the hot spell. What's left is about a month behind what it should be. Hopefully we will have a decent harvest in spite of some horrible weather.

That packet of high dollar giant pumpkin. There were 8 seeds in the packet @ 2.00 per seed. Four produced a plant. None have as yet yeilded a pumpkin :^( X.

A Short Story About Chance, Luck And Kharma-Final Part

I recently looked up the meaning or difinition of Chance, Luck, and Kharma. Here is what I found.

Webster says chance is something that happens unpridictably without intention or cause. What the ancient Greeks believed was contrary to that. They believed that nothing occurs at random, but everything for a reason and by necessity. Almost in line with what kharma means.

Webster says that luck is a force that brings either good or bad fortune. Another source says that luck is either good or bad fortune attributed by some to reasons of faith or superstition, which happens beyond ones control.

Webster says that kharma is what the Hindu and Buddhist believe to be the force generated by a persons actions that determine the nature of the persons next existence. Other sourses say that the effect of all deeds actively create past, present and future experiences, thus making one responsible for one's own life, and the pain and joy it brings to others. In religions that incorporate reincarnation, kharma extends through one's present life and all past lives as well. It is cumulative. And so it appears the belief that I held for many years about the hippies inventing kharma is a bunch of whooie. Kharma is much like some of the biblical quotes such as, an eye for an eye, or, you reap what you sow. Or some of the common day slang like, what goes around comes around. Basically you have control over your life because your actions will determine what happens to you and others in the end. Whether you are willing to own up to it, is another matter.

For some time after I heard about Butch's death, I felt a loss and emptiness inside. I was upset that Maria, his second wife, had not contacted myself or any of Butch's friends about the severity of his illness or the death itself. It was a about six months after his death that we found out, from one of his relatives, who themselves had just been made aware he had passed.

One day I decided I needed to say goodbye to my friend, so I fired up my old Road King and headed for Topeka. It was the fall of the year and as I rode along, I thought about some of the hunting trips I had made out to Colorado with Butch. I found his headstone in the new part of the cemtery. And as I walked up to it I was stopped in my tracks by what I saw. There across the top of the stone was Butch's full name, Richard Chance Wilson. All those years that I had known him, I wasn't aware his middle name was Chance. There were a number of things rushing through my brain. One was, with such a cool name as Chance, why would anyone go by Butch. Another thought that crowded that one out was that maybe that is why Butch had decided to take me on as a friend. Did he befriend me just to increase his odds by putting Chance and Luck together. Then I had this strange feeling that Butch was standing there by me, smiling. I've had those experiences before, where I felt the presence of a spirit. And I believe his spirit was there with me, so I could say my goodbyes.

On one of our last trips to Canada fishing, Butch had talked about his belief in riencarnation. He said he believed we were friends in a past life in which we both died young. He thought we were given more time this go round so we could realize some our dreams. I too believed in reincarnation. Partly because of some of the dreams I had as a young person that dealt with lives I had lived in older times. And just an overwhelming feeling that we kept going from one life to another until we got things right. Sort of a progression if you will. Anyway, I hope that I can be less self indulgent and more giving the next time around.

Most of the time I can see my blessings and the good things in my life and other times I feel like the dog in that old humorous lost dog ad.

"Lost dog: Labrador and Pit Bull cross, blind in right eye, only three legs, left ear missing, recently castrated. Answers to Lucky."


Fiction ? By Xavier

A Short Story About Chance, Luck And Kharma-Part 5

After returning to the real world Roger, Woodrow, Butch and I all sort of scattered to the wind. Roger was in St. Louis working for the phone company. Woodrow ended up in Wisconsin with the local fire department. Butch and Janie moved to Grand Junction Colorado where he worked highway construction. And I married and moved to Enid Oklahoma where I sold veterinarian supplies in that part of the state.

Butch and I saw each other about once a year. We would go on fishing trips to Ontario or Manitoba Canada. Butch and Janie had twin boys and one girl. And seemed happy until the last time we went on our annual fishing trip. After picking up Butch and heading out of town, Butch asked me to pull off the road for a minute. He said, " instead of going fishing this year, why don't we go to Vegas". So off we went. I'm not sure why I went along with his idea, but next thing i know we're in Vegas. In those days Butch was a heavy drinker and so was I. Somewhere between the casino running and the women chasing we got seperated. And Butch ended up in jail and had to call Janie to wire money so he could get bailed out. I would have given anything to seen Janie's face when he called her.

It wasn't to long after that when Janie packed up the kids and moved back to Kansas. Butch married an hispanic lady about a year later. I didn't hear from him to much after that.

The last time I talked to Butch was in 1991. He called me and was well into his cuffs and was slurring every word. Said he had been diagnosed with colon cancer and needed me to tell him my military service number. His number was one digit behind mine and that's all he could remember. He couldn't remember his number. He told me he was living in Topeka Kansas. I told him to keep me posted. That was the last time I talked to him.

That evil I spoke of earlier, which followed us home had claimed it's first victim from Hanover. Butch died about 2 months after I talked to him on the phone.It wasn't long before Roger got prostate cancer. Woodrow got colon cancer. I got diabetes and cancer. The evil culprit was Agent Orange a powerful herbicide used to defoliate the jungles of Vietnam. It makes me angry every time I think about it. Our own government had used biological warfare on it's own troops. And then in recent years they have the nerve to criticize Sadam Husein for using biologic agents. Don't get me wrong, I love my country, I just don't have any good feelings about the ones who have been running it.

I would venture to say that more Vietnam vets have died from Agent Orange than died on the battle fields. Every time I pick up a newspaper I see where another vet has died as a result of his exposure to that terrible herbicide.

So, what does all this have to do with chance and luck and kharma? You'll have to wait for the final part.

Fiction ? By X.

A Short Story About Chance, Luck And Kharma-Part 4

If you have never been thru Marine Corps boot camp I'll try to give you a little peek at what goes on. They arrange it so you arrive about 2:00 A. M. It starts immediatly as you step off the bus from the airport. The D. I.'s are screaming at the top of their lungs telling you to line up on the yellow footprints on the the asphalt. It goes nonstop from that point on. You are marched to a barracks where you are issued all of your military clothing, then to another where you remove and package your civilian clothes and ship them home. Somewhere in this mayley your head is shaved down to bare skin by barbers who have no feelings and very dull clippers. Next you are taken to your new home for the next few months and told to mark all of your clothing with stamping kits you have been issued. You spend the rest of the day running and doing exercises while you are being yelled at and called every kind of low life the D. I. can think of. You are finally put to bed about 10:00 P. M. that night totally exhausted.

Now is the time you are wondering what the hell you have gotten yourself into. And your thoughts are drifting back to your home in Kansas. To make matters worse the Recruit Depot in San Diego is right next to the airport where you arrived. You hear the planes landing and taking off all night long and you wish you were on one of those planes headed home.

Back to labeling the clothes for a bit. In the military you go by your last name first then your initials. Most of the guys that were in my platoon in boot camp I only know by thier last name. I never got close enough with the majority of them to find out what thier first names were. And so I sat there marking my stuff, Luck EE. That's right my given name was Edward E Luck. Mom didn't want to give me a middle name but Dad insisted on at least giving me a middle initial. So it was I was Edward E. And Lord only knows what the "E" was for. Anyway the D. I's had a field day with the Luck EE stamped on my fatigue's.

Thier main goal was to break us down to dirt, then build us back up again to thier standard. It was a rewarding experience in the end but I don't wish to repeat it. One of the recruits died during training. The D. I.s said it was heart failure, not surprising.

Butch, Woodrow, Roger and I were together in the same platoon. But that was as far as the"Buddy System" went. After boot camp we went seperate ways, but all were in basic infantry. And would all end up in Viet Nam in different units.

It's a wonder as many can live thru a war and return home in one piece physically. It is such a time that you begin to start thinking about chance, luck and kharma. Your spiritual beliefs are stretched to the max and then you question how there could even be a god. If there were, how could he allow such horror?

Anyway, Butch, Woodrow, Roger and I all returned home physically intact, which to me is an amazing fact when you consider our units were in some of the worst combat that occured in the I Corps (northern south viet nam).

But little did we know that something even far more evil than what Victor Charlie threw at us would follow us back to the real world.

Fiction ? By X.

Grand Kids

The two younger grand kids have been here this week. It's been a joy to visit with them. We've been doing a lot of fishing, but very little catching. Just too hot and humid.
They really grow up fast. Seems like yesterday when they came into this world. X.

A Short Story About Chance, Luck and Kharma-Part 3

During our senior year in highschool Butch and I had met these twins as we played football in a rival community not far away. We started dating them soon after. Butch dated Judy and I dated Janie. They were identical twins and even I had trouble telling them apart. I think twins are fascinating. At times they would even finish the other ones sentence without breaking stride. They had thier differences, don't get me wrong, but at times it seemed like they were exact clones.

I'm not one to pull practicle jokes on people, but our situation got the wheels to spinning in my brain. I approached the twins with the idea of switching on the next date and having Janie go with Butch and Judy with me. I just wanted to put one over on Butch, as he was always pulling some prank on me.

Well the whole thing backfired on me. It turns out Janie had been wanting to date Butch and I had just dealt him up on a silver platter. Thier relationship got more serious as the year progressed and they had wedding plans for the following fall after graduation. Janie apologized for what happened and also thanked me at the same time. Only time I've received an apology and a thank you in the same conversation. Of course I was the best man or maybe I should say second best man at the wedding.

Butch got a job working at the Sinclair station and I was helping the local electrician. About six months after the wedding, Butch came into Martha's diner one day all excited. He said the Marine Recruiter would be at the Sinclair station at 4:00 and he and Roger Todd and Woodrow Allen were joining up on some kind of buddy plan. He urged me to join them. Seems like any time Butch asked me to do something it was almost like a dare. Of course I took him up on the invite, the next thing I know I'm headed for boot camp in San Diego. And it wouldn't be long after that we would find out what war was really like.

Fiction ? X.

A Short Story About Chance, Luck and Kharma-Part 2

The games boys will play.

As youngsters growing up in Hanover, we would play cowboys and indians or war an awful lot. The first stages were innocent and involved a great deal of pretending. That progressed into using tomatoes and other garden produce raided from neighborhood gardens, which by the way, makes a lot of angry neighbors. After someone got smacked a little hard it escalated to dirt clods and rock throwing.

Then one of the guys suggested we use our BB guns. That went fine until one day when Bill Whalen got his eye put out. We reasoned it was all Becky's fault. She was Pat Carter's little sister. Someone had forgotten to tell her not to shoot anyone above the belt line. That was one our main rules. We thought it was humorous to blast someone in the lower extrimaties. Anyway we transferred the blame to her. After all wasn't it always girls who were spoiling our fun.

In highschool someone got the bright idea that we graduated to more serious fun. We all met out at the old Jennings farmstead. It had a bunch of barns, sheds and an old farmhouse. This time we brought our shotguns and boxes of birdshot. At first we would just try to get close and not hit anyone. Next thing we know Dickie Collins is hit in the side of the face and neck with birshot. Dickie was bleeding pretty good and complaining about the pain. "Oh come on Dickie, it can't be that bad, It's just birdshot," said Butch. Any way we came up with a story about shooting skeet and said it was an accident. His parents bought the story and it became our dirty little secret.

It's amazing that none of us at that time could come to the realization that when you do stupid things, bad things will usually happen. Most of my life I have thought that the word "Kharma" was just something the Hippys pulled out of thier cosmos,but, more on this later.

Anyway, that episode at the Jennings farmstead, ended our boys games. We were now ready for adulthood and the games that they play.

Fiction ? By X.